A/N: Minna, look, another update. Happily, the story is ending soon. I don't know what got me on a writing kick lately, but I'm sure all of you will be happy with this being finished. -chuckle- It's not that great anyway ne? Enjoy it!

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The trip proved to be a long one, and with Sora staying in his 'bedroom' Riku was stuck under the bed. The small bout of weakness resulting in his tears had been forgotten as the now-familiar pain returned, leaving him clutching his chest and holding his heart in again. Of course, Sora was oblivious enough that he stayed asleep while Riku was choking back gasps of pain. For that, he was thankful.

The ship landing jolted Sora out of his sleep, and as he left the Riku-smelling bed and made his way to the door, a shadow slipped from under the bed to stretch. Apparently, heartless had muscles that could cramp up too. Silent as a wraith, he followed his friend until they got outside, then he simply walked past them, leaving Donald spluttering incoherently and Goofy doing that stupid ahyuk noise that annoyed him so much.

Sora was just gaping for a moment before walking after him. "Hey! Who the hell are you!"

"Gee Sora.. you could tell from your room?" With that, Riku broke into a run. He couldn't let him see how he looked right now. Sora would have a fit and he was so close to finding his body.

"RIKU!" Sora set off after him in a sprint, following the boy through the winding tunnels of the Hollow Bastion. He didn't register right away that he was holding the hood up with one hand as he swung around the corners, leaving him to guess later why. "Riku! Matte yo!"

But Riku wouldn't stop. He could feel it, his body, resonating to his heart from deep within the dungeons. He had to reach it before Sora did. If Sora saw his body, lifeless in there, then he didn't know what would happen. He heard the younger boy stumble behind him and glanced back, watching him catch his footing again as he jumped down a tunnel to take him to the right level.

This time, it was Riku who stumbled as his heart thumped uncomfortably in his chest. He staggered down past cells he was all too familiar with and reached the one where his body was resting, looking like a lifeless, broken doll. Catching his hand on one of the bars, he sagged a bit toward it, the other clutching his chest as a wave of pain ran through him.

"Riku...?" Sora called him tentatively, only walking forward when he sensed his friend in pain.

"Open...the door..." he whispered, tugging on the bars to show that it was locked. "Please..."

With just a little bit of apprehension, he looked into the cage to see what he was opening the door for, not at all surprised when he saw the body though. It was like Kairi all over again, but not the same. "Riku..." The keyblade appeared and lifted in his hand to release the catch that held the door shut, letting his friend stumble in.

Riku caught himself on his own body, looking into eyes that he'd only seen in mirrors, though now, they looked as if dead, with a flatness to them that scared even him. He closed his eyes, and for some reason, as the cloak melted away, so did the artificial skintone, leaving him as a black, naked shell for Sora to look at. He didn't have to turn to see the horrified expression. The gasp told him as much. But even as he looked over his shoulder, a faint smile showing in the blackness, the artificial body faded away, leaving only his heart in it's place, glowing a bright magenta and seeming to have a gold outline.

Sora watched still, the horror dying from his eyes as his friend lifted his hands, his eyes still lifeless, to capture that heart and bring it back to his chest, where it seemed to melt through the skin. It was all the warning he had before Riku's back arched away from the wall with a gasp, like a drowning man would with his first taste of air. The eyes that had previous been unfocused cleared, and as he settled back into a sitting position that was natural, the eyes rolled to Sora. This time, the soft smile that came to his lips with the whispered 'thank you' brought tears to Sora's eyes, though he refused to let them fall. "Riku!" He all but launched himself at the other boy to glomp him, not caring at all that he'd just been scared of his other form.

Riku let out a little hiss, but the smile stayed as he closed his eyes and let his arms fold around Sora in an embrace he remembered. "Arigato...you brought me back...so I could be me again," he whispered, only noticing how Sora's arms trembled around him before they tightened. "I missed you.."

Sora's response was to burrow closer to him, his face tucked against his neck as he tried to not cry. Finally, after two long years of searching, he had Riku back. And suddenly, reservations disappeared as he drew back, mashing their lips together in an awkward kiss. It was all teeth and lips but he didn't care. He had Riku back and he would be damned if he lost him again, whether to the darkness, to a girl, or to circumstances he couldn't control because he couldn't do a damn thing to change them.

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TBC

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