Sora woke up feeling like he was in a stranger's body. He'd gone to sleep knowing what his voice sounded like, how tall he should be, how far his arms should reach, the length of his stride. How much strength he needed to open doors, to pick up objects, to wield his Keyblade.

All of that was different now.

He felt just how different as he pushed open the door that led them out of the library. It opened too quickly, and he nearly tumbled onto the creaky wood floor, just barely catching himself in time. He shot Donald a glare because the silly duck was snickering at him.

"What?" he demanded with a pout. He nearly started at the sound of his own voice again. It was way lower than it was when he'd gone to sleep, and he still wasn't fully used to it. "You'd be struggling too if you'd gone through overnight puberty," he grumbled.

Because that was what this all was, basically. Most people had the luxury of adjusting to the process little by little, day by day. Sora would have to come to terms with it all at once. The whole thing still made his head spin.

"Wasn't overnight ya goofball," Donald pointed out. "You've just been asleep for a long time."

"Now Donald, let's not be so pedantic," Goofy said as they walked to the nearest staircase. "Sora's been through a lot of changes for a feller."

"You can say that again." Sora's voice cracked, and he groaned as Donald sniggered again. "What is even going on with my voice?" he said to no one in particular as he took the stairs two at a time. "I know, I know, it's normal that it's getting lower, blah blah puberty, whatever." He frowned and touched his throat. "But it doesn't sound like me, you know? How will anyone know it's still my voice?"

Goofy put a hand on his shoulder. "True friends will know who you are, no matter what you look like or how you sound."

Sora smiled. That was true enough. Kairi had known it was him when he'd turned into a Heartless—

Kairi. Heat crept up his cheeks and his stomach fluttered and his heart thumped in his chest. How was she? Did she want to see him as much as he wanted to see her? He faintly remembered dreaming about her, and suddenly his clothes felt too small, too restrictive, too hot.

"Sora, your face is red," Donald said, and Sora groaned again. If Donald and Goofy figured out he'd been thinking about Kairi, he would never hear the end of it.

He broke into a stride, and they had to trot to keep up with him. Huh, so there were good things about his legs being longer after all. The look on Donald's face as he tried to waddle fast enough was worth the teasing Sora had endured earlier. He grinned and pushed open the doors to the main entrance, and he was much more successful in calculating how much force was needed this time.

He paused in the courtyard and let the breeze ruffle his hair. His first time outside in months, and he wanted to take everything in. He was awake and he was alive, and if his journey had taught him anything, it was to treasure every moment. The mansion was surrounded by a forest full of pine trees, and when their scent reached his nose, he took a deep breath and sighed.

"Man it feels good to be awake."

"You can say that again," Donald said as he waddled past, pushed upon the gate, and tumbled into the grass. Goofy ran after him, took a springing leap, and landed on him, and Sora grinned and dogpiled them both.

"You're too heavy for this now," Donald grumbled from the bottom of the pile, and Sora just laughed and rolled off.

"Sorry, still not used to this new body of mine." He rolled onto his back, being careful not to hurt Jiminy, and reached towards the sky. It was the colors of sunset, muted reds and oranges and yellows and violets instead of the bright blue of the sky back home.

Home. He wanted to go home and see Kairi. But he promised he'd find Riku first. He had to find Riku and bring him home. Only then would he allow himself to go home to Kairi, to see her smile, hear her laughter, maybe even give her a hug. It wouldn't be right, going home without Riku. Kairi would be expecting them both.

He lowered his arm and examined his hand. His fingers were longer, and his gloves felt too small. Had she changed as much as he had in their time apart? A whole year, gone. A year of memories he'd missed out on. He wasn't there for her birthday, or Valentine's Day, or Christmas or—

"Sora? What's wrong?" Goofy asked, peering over him. Donald likewise was looking at him with concern, and Jiminy hopped onto his chest, a frown on his little face.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about all the things we missed while we were asleep. Birthdays and holidays and festivals and stuff."

He didn't want to bring up Kairi yet. What he felt towards her now excited him, confused him, embarrassed him. The last thing he wanted was more teasing as he sorted that complicated mess of emotions out. But one thing he knew for sure was that she'd been a part of his life for so long that he'd taken it for granted they'd always be together. The thought of spending more time apart from her made him feel hollow inside.

Goofy's head drooped. "A year is an awfully long time for a feller your age to be gone."

"The years fly by quick when you're that young," Jiminy agreed. "That's why I keep a journal. I don't want to forget a single moment of our journey." He scratched his head as he scoured one of the pages. "I still don't know why there's only one line left from our previous travels. I know I wrote more."

"Well, you'll keep a better record this time," Donald said. "And don't worry Sora, we'll celebrate your birthday with you."

"Thanks, guys," Sora took Donald's outstretched hand and sat up, and Jiminy nestled back into his hood. "I guess I'm fifteen now, huh? Feels a little surreal, but I'll never say no to a party. First things first though, we need to figure out where to go next."

He stood and dusted the dirt off his shorts, but the grass stains were probably here to stay. Speaking of his shorts, they were way too short and showed more of his legs than he really felt comfortable with. This was the length girls could get by with, and guys on Destiny Islands roughly twenty years ago when his parents were teenagers, going by the old photos in his parents' scrapbooks, but not teenage boys who valued their dignity.

Great, another blessing puberty had bestowed upon him. But getting new clothes seemed pretty low priority right now. All that would have to wait. He wanted to find a clue about Riku's whereabouts, and then maybe they could leave this world and—

But the thought of leaving knocked the wind out of him. He clutched his chest and gasped as his throat constricted and invisible fingers wrapped around his heart and squeezed. "Huh?"

"Sora? You okay?" Donald asked, peering up at him.

As suddenly as the feeling had hit him, it was gone. He blinked a few times and released his shirt.

"I am now. Man, that was really weird. It was like I couldn't breathe for a second."

He looked around. Something about this place felt familiar. He wasn't sure why, he just knew that the thought of leaving made him sad. Maybe he'd been here before. It didn't feel like home the way Destiny Islands felt like home, and yet… this place felt like it held a piece of his heart.

Well, that was how all the places he'd visited and made friends felt now. It was impossible to go somewhere, meet new people, experience new things, and not form some kind of connection. Was it possible he had friends here? Well, only one way to find out. He hoisted his Keyblade over his shoulder and beckoned to Donald and Goofy.

"Come on guys, let's go!"

As he jogged through the forest with the two of them at his heels, his heart hammered in his chest. Was it bigger now? It felt bigger. It felt so big it might break. Was that a normal part of growing up, or was something else going on?

Maybe both. His journey so far had opened his eyes to so many things. He'd made lots of new friends, too. A heart with so many bonds was big, strong. But that meant it could break more easily. It was worth it though. He couldn't go back to who he was before his journey began any more than he could go back to his old voice, his old size, his old body.

He'd changed, but he was still himself. He was still Sora, and it was time for his journey to continue.


A/N: A big thank you to Alja for helping me brainstorm this story! For a long time now I've wanted to write a fic set during the beginning of KH2 that explores how Sora's feeling about everything, and replaying KH2 gave me the motivation and inspiration. I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading!