Baymax could now confirm that the break in Sora's arm had been so severe it had caused significant nerve damage. "This is what is causing the partial numbness and discomfort, and why you are having trouble moving your hand."

"Can you fix it?"

"I am not programmed to perform surgery so unfortunately, I cannot. It may heal by itself, but it will take a long time, and I cannot guarantee a full recovery. I am sorry Sora."

Sora stared at him in horror. Without his arm, he couldn't wield his Keyblade. Sure he wasn't terrible with his off-hand, but if he could only use that? He'd be a shadow of his former self.

He'd be useless.

Before panic set in, Kairi interjected. "Aqua said she can help though! She said she could try to heal it when you were feeling better."

"Really?!" She nodded and intense relief spread across his face. "That's great! Can we go see her now? We could-"

"I am afraid I cannot recommend that," Baymax interrupted. "It would not be wise for you to travel yet."

"Aw come on Baymax, I'm feeling much better!"

It was a pretty pathetic lie, and Riku let out a short snicker. "Sora, you can barely walk, let's give it a few more days OK?"

"But…" He wanted to argue, but if he was honest with himself, he knew Riku was right. He lay back, looking dejected. "Fine then…"

"It's OK, we don't need to go!" Kairi said. "She said she could come to visit if you wanted her to try!"

He perked back up immediately. "That'd be great!"

"I could call her now and ask, would that be ok Baymax?"

Baymax placed a hand up to his chin and considered it. "You have regained some strength, Sora, so it may be safe. However, someone with more extensive knowledge of healing magic than me should be consulted first."

"Well, Aqua is an expert at that!" Kairi grinned and took out her phone.

Sora lay his arm down on the table and Aqua carefully removed the splint so she could get a better look at the damage. There was still significant bruising and swelling in the area where the bones had snapped. The bruises were definitely starting to change colour though and looked like they were finally beginning to fade. She had arrived just a few hours after Kairi called, with an excited Ventus in tow. It seemed she'd been expecting they would need her soon.

"This will take a lot of healing, and it will be draining. Let me know when it's too much, OK?"

"Yup got it."

"It's going to hurt."

"I know, it's fine," he grinned. Regardless of how much it hurt, he was desperate to see if it worked.

"Alright, I'll start slow. Stop me if it's too much."

She held her Keyblade out and began casting cure, focussing her magic, directing it past the muscles and bruises and down into the bone and nerves. As the magic flowed into his skin, he felt the bones in his arm start knitting together and gritted his teeth. He'd had cuts, bruises, and pulled muscles healed hundreds of times before and it had hurt while the spell was being cast, but never seriously. This was definitely worse, but easily endurable.

After 5 or so seconds, Aqua ended the spell and he let out the breath he'd been holding. Anxious to see if it had worked, he tried to form a fist but found he could still barely twitch his fingers. Seeing his disappointed expression Aqua put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, it's not going to work straight away."

"Oh, OK!" he smiled, relieved.

"How are you feeling?" Ven asked, sitting down next to him.

Sora could feel some of his energy had been sapped but still felt alright. "I'm good! I can definitely do more."

"OK then," Aqua said. "Don't let me overdo it though. If you tire yourself out too much it will be a long time before you can have it healed more."

He nodded, and she began a slightly more powerful spell. The same uncomfortable feeling of bones knitting together set in and this time it was more intense. He clenched his other fist and gritted his teeth again. When Aqua ended the spell, Sora gasped and started panting. She put her hand on his shoulder again, concerned by his heavy breathing and the thin layer of sweat that had appeared on his face.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I'm OK," he said, voice shaking slightly.

"Good. I think that's probably enough for today though."

He didn't want to stop yet, but she had said doing too much would slow things down rather than help. His energy reserves really were incredibly low right now. If they did anymore he thought he'd probably fall asleep at the table or pass out. "Yeah, you're right."

She examined his arm and refastened the splint. The swelling already seemed to have gone down, and the bruising was more faded, but Baymax would need to scan it in a few hours to check how well the bones were healing. It may have hurt during the spell, but the parts of his arm that weren't numb felt much better than before.

"Thanks Aqua, I really appreciate it." He gave her a wide, genuine smile. "It feels better already."

She smiled back and, to his surprise, reached out and ruffled his hair. He reminded her of Ven so much sometimes that she had done it automatically.

"You don't have to thank me."

The five of them sat together talking for a while, Sora enjoying being out of bed again, and feeling like a functional human for a change. He hadn't realised just how little time he and Ven had been able to spend together before he disappeared. They'd been each other's constant companions for 10 years, even if neither was fully conscious of the other. It was strange to finally start getting to know a person you had somehow known for most of your life, or a good portion of it at least for Ven. It was a strange combination of meeting someone new and catching up with an old friend you haven't seen in years.

Ventus had been looking forward to this for a long time, being able to finally get to know the person who had saved his life by being kind enough to take his heart in, without any consideration for the effects it might have on himself. He had no idea how to tell Sora how thankful he was, but hoped he knew it anyway.

They played a round with the Command Board. Sora was worn out from the healing magic, and his brain was still foggy from his concussion, and he found trying to learn the rules made his head pound. He contented himself with sitting beside Ventus and watching how he played, giving away his strategy by accident more than once as he asked him to explain the cards in his hand. It wasn't long before he started nodding off on Ven's shoulder and Aqua insisted he rest again. Reluctantly, he let them help him back to bed, falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Aqua, Kairi, and Ven headed to the training ground; it had been a while now since Kairi trained with her master and fellow student. Riku hung around the tower and tried to stave off boredom by reading, keeping an eye on Sora as he slept.

He must have been exhausted. He was out cold for the several hours the others were away, too deeply asleep to even be bothered by dreams. It was hard to believe he was still so unwell after this long; it had been almost a week since he first woke up. He should have regained more strength by now…

Sora was obviously frustrated with this slow progress as well. Maybe it would be worth visiting the Land of Departure next time Aqua worked on his arm. Riku wondered if the change of scenery might do him some good.

Sora woke up when the girls and Ventus returned, and Baymax took the opportunity to examine him while Riku joined the others in the office. Baymax was pleased to inform Sora that the magic had indeed worked, and the bones in his arm and wrist were healing well. Upon checking the laceration to his chest, Baymax had more good news. The cut had healed significantly, and he was able to remove the bandage now that it hadn't bled for several days. He then withdrew to the other room, leaving Sora once again to sleep.

He was restless though, still exhausted but sick of sleeping. Now that Baymax had removed the large dressing, he felt rather exposed and acutely aware that he hadn't been wearing a shirt for quite a few days. He was very keen to put one on before anyone else turned up to visit… He'd been immensely relieved to find himself still decent when he first woke up, but at this point being half dressed all the time felt rather embarrassing.

His jacket and recently repaired singlet were hanging on the back of a chair across the room. He could have waited for Riku or Ven to come back, but he could hear people chatting outside in the main room and didn't particularly like the idea of calling out and having Kairi and Aqua also come in…

He was still exhausted from the healing session, but surely he could manage this short a distance by himself? He'd walked to the table by himself yesterday. As long as he took it slowly this time he was sure he would be fine.

He sat up carefully and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stayed there for a while and stared down at his feet, waiting for his head to stop spinning from the effort of sitting up. His headache and dizziness were still constant, but did seem to be slowly improving. Holding on to the headboard to steady himself, he slowly got to his feet. His knees were shaking, but only a little.

So far so good. One step at a time...

A wave of nausea and vertigo came over him, but it was mild compared to yesterday, and he made it to the table without incident. When he reached the seat with his clothes he lowered himself slowly down and closed his eyes, resting his forehead on the table. He sat for a minute or so until the dizziness receded. He grinned to himself. After being near comatose for almost two weeks, and what happened yesterday, managing this tiny walk without assistance felt like an achievement, even if it was just a small one.

With some difficulty he pulled on his singlet and slowly pushed himself to his feet once more, making sure to stand very slowly. One step back towards the bed, and then another… He didn't feel lightheaded and the nausea that returned was still mild. A few more steps though, and the vertigo came on much worse.

Not yet... Almost there…

He paused and raised a hand to his head, waiting for the dizziness to pass. The room began to spin.

Their conversation stopped abruptly as a loud bang sounded from the room next door. Riku was first through the door.

"Sora!"

Sora had fallen partway between the table and the bed and was trying, with difficulty, to push himself back up off the floor. Riku and Ven rushed to crouch down beside him and help him sit up, Kairi close behind.

"Are you OK?" Ven asked anxiously.

"Uhh…yeah."

He wrapped his arm around his chest and tried not to wince. He'd landed hard on his right side, though luckily not on top of his broken arm. His partially healed ribs were aching horribly, almost as sore as when he first woke up.

"Did you faint again?" Kairi asked, wondering if she should run to get a bin.

"Nah, it's nothing. I just got dizzy." He felt embarrassed and angry with himself, all feelings of achievement and joy gone. Why couldn't he do something as simple as walk a few metres by himself? He was sick of making them worry so much, so he grinned and tried to brush it off. "Sorry, I'm fine. Guess I'm just a bit clumsy right now."

Neither Kairi nor Riku was particularly convinced by this. A year ago they might have been, but they'd learnt the hard way just how much Sora could hide with a happy face. He was good at covering things up with a smile, it was rare for it not to work. They might just be better at spotting it now, but Kairi wasn't sure. She wondered if maybe Sora didn't find it as easy to put on that mask anymore.

Aqua stood awkwardly in the doorway, unsure if she should stay and try to help. Riku and Ven helped Sora to his feet and back to the bed, where he sat on the edge and shut his eyes, waiting for the pain to subside. He was still holding his right side where his rib cage had hit the ground, and couldn't suppress his grimace this time. He had gone completely white again, and Kairi was worried by how pained he looked. She sat down next to him and put a hand on his knee.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine."

He couldn't bring himself to try and smile again now. He was too tired, too sore, and too frustrated with himself. It didn't really make sense, but all he wanted right now was for them to leave him alone again. Unconvinced, Riku turned to walk out. "I'll get Baymax to come check-"

"I said I'm fine!"

The atmosphere in the room rapidly shifted as Sora cut him off. They stood in awkward silence, everyone taken aback by the sudden change in Sora's tone and raised voice. The anger in his words was clear. He didn't want them there anymore.

Riku stared at him for a few tense moments, but Sora kept his eyes closed. "Alright." He left.

Ven looked awkwardly back and forth between Kairi and Aqua in the doorway. Kairi slowly took her hand from Sora's knee. When he didn't react, she glanced up at Ven, looking sad and confused. He shrugged, his expression mirroring hers, and they made their way out of the room as well.

Aqua stayed though. She watched as, thinking he was alone now, Sora opened his eyes and stared blankly at the floor.

She had spent 10 years alone in the dark realm. Time passed differently there, but it had still been a very, very, long time. She knew what it felt like to be completely isolated and lose all connections to her friends. What it felt like to lose yourself and all your strength in the darkness, giving up on all hope of escape or rescue. She knew what it felt like to fall and believe you would never be able to get back up. To feel like a failure for not being strong enough to pull yourself free of it.

She also knew what it felt like to come back to the light. To be rescued.

The wonder, the relief, the pure joy, and the way those feelings inexplicably didn't last. When she had come back she found a world that she no longer knew how to be a part of. Aqua expected he was going through something similar to what she had felt then. She had returned to a world that was whole, one where she should have felt whole. Yet, she had found herself still feeling broken, still feeling like there was something wrong with her. Still feeling lost.

Right now, Sora looked as though he felt lost. Maybe she should say something to him? Try to talk to him and tell him that, though it might take a while, these feelings would pass? The words sounded hollow in her mind.

She had come back physically uninjured and able to at least feel like her old self when she had her Keyblade in hand. He had lost that part of himself too. She left and closed the door quietly behind her. Maybe it was better to leave him alone for now. She could try next time she saw him, when she had taken some time to think of the right words.

Sora didn't understand where the anger had come from. Why would he snap at Riku like that? He hadn't done anything wrong. He was sure he had hurt Kairi as well. It didn't make sense... they'd done nothing but help him. He'd missed everyone so much, and them most of all.

He felt lonely, but right now, all he wanted was to be alone. Why would he ever want to be alone again after being away for so long?

He lay back down and found the pain in his chest wasn't subsiding. If anything, it was getting worse. Riku had probably been right and he should have let Baymax look him over, but it was too late now. Struggling to suppress the pain and the angry, racing thoughts, he rolled onto his less injured side and tried to sleep.

Once he got over the initial shock, Riku didn't feel hurt by how Sora had spoken to him. If anything, he felt angry. Not with Sora, but with what he was going through.

Burdening his friends and causing them pain was Sora's worst nightmare. Seeing everyone so constantly worried must be killing him. The drastic change from being completely isolated for so long and now being back here, constantly surrounded by concerned friends and well-wishers, would be a lot for anyone to handle. Add to that what he had gone through in Quadratum, and being so badly injured...

It must be shattering. He had no idea what to do to help.

Kairi was upset, and Aqua gave her shoulder a squeeze. "He's not angry with you. I'm sure he just needs some time to himself. This all must be difficult for him."

"It's just… He's never pushed us away like that before. I don't understand."

"I think he probably doesn't understand right now either," she said sadly. "Just hang in there, OK? He might push us all away sometimes, but it won't last forever."

Riku thought she was probably right but was worried nonetheless. "Aqua? Ventus? When Kairi goes back to your world to train, would it be alright if Sora went as well? I think being somewhere else with friends might be helpful."

"Definitely!" Ven exclaimed happily.

"I was actually thinking the same thing," Aqua said. "I'll need to work on his arm more as well." She turned to Kairi who looked thrilled. "Let me know when he's well enough for you to both come join. You're welcome as well Riku. There are plenty of spare rooms. You can all come stay as long as you want."

"Thanks so much, Aqua." Riku smiled, relieved he would be able to stay with Sora, at least some of the time.

"We'll head back now then if you're both OK?"

"Could I come to stay tonight?" Kairi asked. "It seems like Sora doesn't really want many people around right now…"

Riku was taken aback. If Sora did want anyone around right now it would obviously be her, he'd been considering retreating to one of the spare rooms so he could leave them alone again. Maybe she was more upset than he had realised.

Aqua suspected Kairi needed some time away from all the stress of this experience as well. "Of course"

"Do you know how to fly the Gummi ship though?" Riku realised he'd never seen her pilot one before, and Aqua and Ven had travelled on their gliders.

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Ven dug through his pocket, pulled out a small silver dome, and handed it to Kairi. "They finished working on it, your glider should work properly now.

She turned to Riku and gave him an unexpected smile. "Don't need one anymore." She held the small dome up to her shoulder and in a flash of white light, a metal pauldron with the dome embedded in it appeared on her shoulder. It looked just like the one on Ven's arm, though smaller and the colour of rose and yellow gold.

"Where did you get one of those!" Riku gasped.

"We found some notes about Keyblade armour and how to get the metal to make it in the Departure Castle library," Aqua explained. "Chip and Dale have been studying them and managed to make this one. Kairi's is a prototype, so she needs to be with me or one of the boys when she uses it in case something goes wrong."

"Like the glider randomly disappearing," Ven laughed. "They're pretty sure they've fixed that now, guess we'll find out today!"

"They're going to make more of them once they're sure there aren't any issues," Aqua said.

Kairi was still smiling broadly, excited to try her glider again. "I've only used it twice so I'm not great at flying yet, but it's brilliant!"

"Well, I'm jealous" Riku grinned at her. Everyone who had seen the other three's armour and gliders was envious.

"I think they're making the next one for Mickey, but maybe they could make you one after him," Aqua said.

"Don't show Sora until they do, otherwise he'll definitely want the next one."

Kairi laughed, but her smile didn't stick. Aqua put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get going."

She nodded, gave Riku a hug, and the three of them left. Riku watched out the window as they all transformed, Ven into his gold and black armour, Aqua into her blue and silver, and Kairi into her almost identical pink and gold, and left on their gliders. He had to admit, Kairi looked pretty amazing in the armour, if you ignored the weird helmet.

Riku waited half an hour or so before going back into Sora's room, wanting to give him enough time to fall asleep again. Sora would probably be unhappy to find him checking on him so soon, but he couldn't help it. After a day like this, and what had happened yesterday, he was too worried to leave him alone. Sora slept barely an hour before the searing in his ribs woke him again. He'd gotten pretty good at ignoring the aches and pains and sleeping through them, but right now he just couldn't seem to block it out.

Wondering if lying down might be making things worse, he slowly dragged himself up and swung his legs off the side of the bed, clenching his eyes shut with the effort. He held his right side and grimaced, waiting for the pain to pass. "Ow, ow, ow..."

"Busted."

He turned to find Riku leaning on the wall by the windows, arms crossed, expression somewhere between worry and reproach.

"Oh, Riku…" He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He hadn't realised anyone was in the room with him.

"You're not fine, are you."
It wasn't a question. Sora didn't reply, so Riku sat down in his usual seat beside the bed, facing him as Sora stared resolutely down at his knees. "You know you don't have to pretend in front of us, right?"

"Yeah, I know... I don't want you guys to worry though. I'm just a bit sore, it's not a big deal."

"Sora, we lost you for a year and then as soon as we got you back you almost died. You can't expect us not to worry."

Sora didn't respond straight away. A whole year… Another year of his life, gone. Wasted. At least he hadn't slept through this one, although maybe that would have been better. "Sorry about before Riku…"

"It's ok, you don't have to apologise."

Sora shook his head. "No I do, you've all done nothing but look after me since I got back and... I just don't know why I got angry."

"It's OK for you to be angry, it's not like things are easy for you right now."

Sora looked up at him, confused. "For me to be angry? I've got nothing to be angry about!" He hung his head again, "if anything, you should be angry."

"What?" It was Riku's turn to be confused. "Why the hell would I be angry?"

Sora let go of his side and rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "I broke my promise."

"What promise?"

"I told you all I'd come back..." He put his hand back down on his knee and gripped it hard, scrunching the fabric of his pants up in his fist. "Right before I went to find Kairi, Mickey said if I did it I might never be able to come back, but I told you that I would... Then you told him to believe in me. You said everyone should believe in me, you said you knew I wouldn't give up, and then... I failed."

"What do you mean? Sora, you're back now, why would you think you failed?"

Ever since he had spoken to Kairi about the charm breaking this had been nagging at the back of Sora's mind. The guilt was eating him alive. Once he told him he was sure Riku would hate him, but he had to tell him the truth.

"I gave up on trying to get back. I said I would come back and then I couldn't do it... after a while, I just stopped trying." He was trying hard not to cry but didn't know how much longer he would last.

Riku realised what he was talking about now. He wasn't sure if he should do it or not, but he cared far more about comforting Sora right now than he did about trying to protect his own feelings. He sat forward in his chair so their knees were touching, reached out, and took both of Sora's hands in his.

Sora didn't understand why Riku had taken his hands, why would he still want to make him feel better? He mustn't have understood what he said.

"Riku, I gave up! You should hate me! I didn't care if he killed me, I stopped trying to get back to you, I-"

"Sora, stop."

"If you and the others hadn't been there I'd be dead, you shouldn't have had to-"

"Sora, stop!"

"You should hate me, I-"

"Sora, STOP!"

Sora looked up at him, afraid of the expression he would see on his face. But Riku didn't look angry. He didn't look sad, or like he felt betrayed. He looked stern.

"You didn't fail. You held on long enough for us to get there."

"But-"

"You kept your promise." He let go of Sora's bandaged hand and tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but Sora shook his head and shrugged it off.

"No! I'm only here because of you and Kairi... If you hadn't-"

"Do you remember when we found Aqua in the realm of darkness?"

That stopped him.

Sora frowned. Why would Riku bring that up now? "Yeah?"

"She had fallen into darkness, and we brought her back, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Aqua is weak?"

His eyes widened with shock. "Of course not! Why would-"

"Do you think she gave up? Or that Ventus and Terra should hate her?"

"No! Riku, what-"

"Do you think she's a failure?"

"No!"

"Then why do you think you are?"

"I-" His voice caught in his throat. Suddenly he wasn't sure what to say. He looked down at his knees. Riku was holding both of his hands again. "That... was different."

"No, it wasn't."

"But..." He trailed off.

Riku was wrong, he was sure he was wrong. Aqua had been strong, she'd held on for so long, and even when she fell into darkness she held on to herself enough to not fade away completely. He'd given up on making it back here, he went into that fight knowing he would die. He hadn't tried to save himself... he hadn't wanted to.

"Aqua couldn't escape on her own, she needed help, and she held on until we could help her." He looked up again and Riku smiled at him. "Sora, you went through hell, but you stayed alive long enough for us to get there and help you. You held on as long as you could, and that gave us enough time to find you. You kept your promise."

He wanted to believe him.

Riku squeezed his uninjured hand. "Needing help doesn't mean you failed Sora."

"Then... why do I feel like this?" Riku wasn't sure if he'd ever seen Sora look so dismal and lost before in his life. The unfairness of it all felt like a knife in his chest. He knew the answer to Sora's question easily. Putting that answer into suitable words was more difficult.

Because even though you're far too caring for your own good, you don't care enough about yourself.
Because when you needed help before, you were just expected to grin and bear it while the rest of us were too blind and stupid to realise you were in pain.
Because all you ever want to do is help people, and then you don't think you deserve it in return.
Because you have no idea how incredible you are and how much you mean to us all, how much we love you...

"Because you care so much more about the rest of us than you do about yourself."

Sora didn't know how to respond to that, his mind was such a mess right now.

"You say your friends are your power, but you have to know Sora, you're our power too." When he still didn't say anything, Riku shifted forwards again and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "And I could never hate you, you idiot." Sora let out a small sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. He put his arm around Riku's waist and clung to the back of his shirt, letting himself cry quietly into his shoulder for a little while.

When they broke apart, Sora's eyes were red, but he'd stopped crying. "Thanks for not giving up on me, Riku."

"Well, you never gave up on me."

They smiled at each other, and Riku suddenly realised just how close their faces were. Sora felt his heart beat a little faster, suddenly light-headed. He guessed that must mean he'd been up for too long again, and raised a hand to his forehead. "I think I better lie down... getting dizzy."

Riku helped him slowly manoeuvre himself back into bed, where he leaned back into the piled pillows and closed his eyes for a moment, holding his side again and looking pained. "You should get some more sleep, you weren't out for long and it's getting late"

"To be honest, I think I'm too sore to sleep much right now."

At least he's being honest...
Riku thought for a moment. He knew he'd be angry at himself later, but he didn't want to leave Sora alone when he was feeling this down, and in pain. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed, wrapping an arm around Sora. "I guess I'll just have to stay here until you can then."

Sora was taken aback for a second, then smiled and settled in next to him, laying his head on his chest. "Thanks."

It was strange, Sora thought. They hadn't been this physically affectionate with each other in the past, not since they were little kids at least. He was pretty sure the last time he'd held Riku's hand frequently he had been 7 or 8 years old. Sora didn't know why things were different right now and didn't really care to put much thought into it. He'd missed Riku for so long, and being close to him made him feel better. It made him feel safe. Knowing that was enough for him. It had been a long time since he felt truly safe.

They chatted about lighthearted things, Riku doing most of the talking. He told Sora about the data organisation Cid had accidentally created, Donald and Goofy's narrow escape after their disastrous run-in with Hades, and how Roxas, Xion, Axel, and Isa had claimed the mansion in Twilight Town and turned it into a decent place to live. It was wonderful to hear about his friends' lives over the past year, and the things they had done and experienced. But he couldn't help feeling sad. "I guess I missed a lot of things."

Riku didn't miss the despondency in his voice. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but suddenly realised they were holding hands again. "Do you want to talk about something else?"

"No, it's great to hear about everyone. It makes me happy, but sad as well, you know?"

"Yeah." He massaged the back of his hand with his thumb. "You were still there with us you know."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Riku laughed. "Aren't you the one who usually says this stuff? As long as we don't forget each other, and we keep each other in our thoughts, then we're always with each other. I'm sure I've heard you say that a hundred times. I don't think there was a moment we weren't thinking of you... I know I never stopped."

Sora blushed a little but didn't know what to say.

"I know it's not the same, but you were still with us."

"Yeah... Thanks Riku." They sat quietly for a while, Riku sensing Sora was thinking. "I don't regret what I did, it was worth it. It's just... It's like I lost a year of my life for the second time, you know?" He paused again. "Don't tell Kairi I said that, ok? I don't want her to feel..."

"Guilty?"

"Yeah"

"Actually, I was about to say she might be the best person to talk to about it."

"Really? How come?"

"She missed a lot of that time as well. She was in a pretty different situation, but she missed a lot of that year too."

"What do you mean?!" He pushed himself away from Riku and turned to him, looking shocked and moving far too quickly, ignoring another jab in his chest. "What happened to her?"

"Oi, stop moving so much! Are you trying to hurt yourself again?" Riku gently pulled him back into the pillows.

"But what happened?"

"Well, we were all searching for you or information about where you might be in different places. But she was sure there might be some kind of clue in her heart."

"Her heart?"

"Yeah. She asked Ienzo and the others in Radiant Garden to search her heart for any kind of clue about how to find you. To do it they had to keep her asleep for most of the year. She woke up about two months ago I think."

"She really did that..."

Riku laughed again. "Why are you surprised? She'd do anything for you, and she was right about it. By doing that she discovered that you weren't in either the realm of light or of darkness, that you were somewhere on the other side of our world. It was that clue and the dreams I was having that finally led us to you."

"Wow... I'll have to say thank you when she gets back." He went quiet again, trying to process just how much all his friends had done to try and rescue him. He would have to find some way to repay them all for this one day. Riku eventually broke the silence.

"Do you want to hear about when she almost blew up Ven?"

"Wait, seriously?!"

Riku continued his stories, starting with how Kairi had accidentally blasted Ven off the side of a cliff when Aqua was training them, and was convinced she'd murdered him before he flew back up on his glider.

Sora's laughs and voice slowly became quiet and mumbled and, eventually, Riku looked down and found he'd fallen asleep. He smiled, treasuring how it felt to have him breathing steadily against his side. After spending so long afraid Sora might stop breathing at any moment, it was a wonderful feeling. With no one there to see, he leant down, pressed his lips to Sora's forehead, and his face against the top of his head for a few minutes.

Then he groaned as he realised he had made the same mistake Kairi had, and was now trapped until morning.