Sora: Day 8 (continued)

Sora felt like he'd fought a hundred Heartless just after that fight with the two Rikus. And it wasn't just the fight with them. It was what one of them – the real one, Sora thought – had said.

K̴̡͍͕̺̱̲̈́̒͊͆͑̈́̒̉͒̈̉̒͜͜͝a̸̧̡̢̝̭̹͙̮͚͒̌͆͑͐̽̉̈́̐̽̐͘͘͝i̶̡͙̖̬̫̪͑̃͊̀̃̈́͘͝r̸̨̟̙̞̣͎̺̹̘͍̺̋̎ḯ̷̯͖̱̰̘͈̲̺̦͔̆͋̉͐̓͌̇͝͠͠

Just trying to think of what Riku had said brought a sharp pain to his head.

He couldn't even think about it.

What was going on?

Sora brought his hands to his head and massaged his temples, trying to get this most recent headache to go away.

After what felt like forever, Sora felt the pain recede. He was back in his room. The Superior must have dropped him off here and left. Namine wasn't here, either.

With how exhausted he was, Sora contemplated calling it a night and going to sleep. But he was too antsy. He needed to train some more.

He returned to the thirteenth floor. Sora wasn't quite sure why, but the Superior told him he needed to stay on this one. Something to do with his memories, most likely.

The thirteenth floor of Castle Oblivion was special. One didn't need a world card to be able to traverse it. And that was when Sora realized it: he couldn't form world cards. Likely because he couldn't remember any of the worlds he'd been told he visited.

And even then, he wasn't sure what any of the other worlds were like. Namine hadn't really told him much about them. As Sora encountered some Heartless, he had to wonder: What were other worlds like? Were they like this castle, large, empty, and so blindingly white? Were they like Namine's drawings, colorful?

Sora wasn't sure how long he'd spent like that: pondering and slaying Heartless. He fell into a rhythm, which allowed him to think more. He took down the last Darkball in the room. That was when he noticed Namine on the other side of the room.

"I heard about your fight with the Rikus," she said. "How did that feel?"

How did it feel? Sora wasn't expecting that. During the fight, he hadn't thought about how he felt. He just wanted to protect Namine. But that was a want. He focused again on the fight. What did he feel?

Hurt.

"I felt hurt," Sora replied. "But I'm not sure why. You told me that me and Riku used to be best friends. What happened?"

Namine looked down and brought her fingers together. "There's a lot that happened. And I'm not sure how much I can tell you."

"Oh," Sora said. He felt disappointment rise within him. There may be something else she could talk about, though it would definitely give him a headache. "There was something else Riku talked about, and it really makes my head hurt to even think about it. Namine, who's K̴̛̛̼̫͇͈̮̮̖͊̽͆̂̍͋͋͆̿͐̅̄͒̿̅̉̀̈̈̅̈́̑͆̍̈́͑̚͘̚̚̕͠à̶̢̡̢̛̹̝͖̤̘̩̹͈̤̪̠̩̻̊͆̓͋̈̐͗̃̽̉̈͒̑̒̀̓̓̈́͑͑̏́͋̽̽̏͑̌̕̕̚͘͠͠͠͝i̸̧̡̧̨̨̢̛̝͖̥̮̙̰̺͍͇̜̠͔̲̟̱̣̟͕͍̞̣̝̼̼̻̞̩̦̭̭̤̪̤͈̳͕̳͓̤̹̱͕̱͓͍̲͖̔̌̅̐͂͋̇̐͂̈́̏͆͛̐͛̈́͜͜ͅr̷̢̹̰͉͓͙̜͉̱̫̳̼͕̣̩̗̩̮̩̦͔̰̪͎̤͉̩̳̪̞̈́̑͜ͅi̵̡̢̧͓̺̦̫̮̩̹̮̫̤̥̭̬̩̪̰̺͉͎͉̝̦̻̙̟̎͒̔̉̓̔͋̓͒͒̏͊͊̈́̇̆̏̄̀͌̀͌͗͐̀͘͝ͅͅ?"

As expected, Sora's head exploded with pain. He put his hands to his head and hunched over. He felt like he was going to be sick. But it was worth it. He had to know why this name made his head hurt so much.

Eventually, Sora realized he was seated on the ground, Namine next to him. There was worry in those indigo eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Sora nodded. That headache was worse. Why? What was it about that name that was so painful?

But still, he had to know. Something piqued his curiosity, and Sora wasn't entirely sure why.

"Who is that person?" he tried instead. No headache this time.

Namine sighed and looked away. She took a few moments before she answered. "She was… another close friend. Kind of like Riku." Her words were slow, like she was trying to say the right thing.

"And you?" Sora added.

Namine grimaced. "Yeah, and me."

"But, why don't I get a headache when I hear Riku's name?"

"You lost your memories of her in a… different way. And now, I can't even access those memories."

Sora folded his arms. "I'm probably gonna forget about this, aren't I?" Over the last couple of days, he'd been iffy on how much he remembered. He could never remember what meals he'd had, or even if he'd eaten. His only way of judging that for the moment was asking Namine and taking stock of how hungry he was. He couldn't even remember what Heartless he'd fought.

"It's possible," Namine replied. "Your memory's been improving, though, so you might remember it."

Sora laid down, his arms above his head. "I wish I could remember visiting those other worlds. They can't all be like the Castle, right?"

"They're not. They're all so different from here and even each other."

"Have you been to any of them?"

Namine shook her head. "All I know is Castle Oblivion." She turned her gaze away. "I've never been outside of the walls."

Sora considered this for a moment before he grabbed Namine's hand. "One day, we'll go and see all the worlds! You, me, Riku, and – and her!"

"Sora…" Namine trailed off. She smiled. "That sounds wonderful!"

Sora held out a gloved pinkie. "Promise?" There weren't many things (if anything, really) that felt familiar. This, though… this felt right.

Namine hesitated. "Aren't you worried you'll forget?"

Sora shook his head. "I don't forget promises."

Namine smiled and entwined her pinkie with his. "Promise."

Sora was going to have to write this down. Or get Namine to draw it. He never wanted to forget a promise.

Roxas: Day 53

Zexion had returned from Castle Oblivion. His report was mixed. They had lost several members, though Zexion didn't seem to know who exactly. He had also said that their mission was successful… whatever that mission was.

Roxas didn't care. There wasn't any news about Axel. Was he among the… deceased?

Roxas didn't like to think about that. It made his chest hurt in a way he couldn't describe.

After the meeting, Roxas wandered the halls. But this, he found, only seemed to make his chest pound and his hands twitch. He couldn't even find Xion to talk to her.

Then he thought of the girl that helped cheered him up when he was Sora.

Kairi.

The name, though, didn't seem to bring an image to mind.

He had to go and visit her, though, to let him know he was okay.

Well, relatively. He wasn't Sora anymore. Hadn't been for a while.

But still, he should go talk to her.

His mind made up he opened a portal to Destiny Islands.

The sea breeze ruffled his hair as he stepped through. Roxas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then something new gripped his chest.

Nostalgia.

Roxas observed the beach around him. There, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie had played together, himself and Riku would playfight nearby. Kairi would often watch and would occasionally (rarely) join in.

However, there was no one here. They must be on the main island.

He figured that it wouldn't hurt to spend some time here, though. It was the first time he was seeing his home with these eyes.

Roxas saw the paopu tree, the one Sora, Riku, and Kairi used to hang out on. He approached it, and took his, Sora's, familiar spot.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there watching the ocean until he heard footsteps behind him.

Behind him stood a girl about his age (or Sora's age) with short auburn hair. Her indigo eyes sparkled with curiosity and a little bit of… suspicion?

That didn't matter. It was Kairi.

"Kairi…" Roxas whispered.

"Who are you?" she replied.

Roxas dropped his gaze, another new feeling in his chest erupted. Disappointment. "I guess you don't recognize me, huh?"

Kairi narrowed her eyes, like she was contemplating him. "You're familiar… yet not."

"I look a little different, but… I'm still him."

Kairi's eyes suddenly widened. "Sora?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Well, I go by Roxas now, but I have all my memories from before. I'm his Nobody."

"His what?"

"Whenever I – he – released your heart in Hollow Bastion, that's how I was created. I'm sorry I took so long to come back to you."

Kairi shook her head. "That can't be right! I brought Sora back when he was a Heartless!"

Roxas looked away. She was right. That was definitely strange. Roxas thought back to a couple months ago. He remembered plunging the Keyblade into his chest and how cold he'd felt.

And then…

Waking up in Twilight Town.

But then Kairi's arms around him.

Completing his first mission with Axel and ice cream after.

Making his way through fragments of worlds with Donald and Goofy at his side.

Roxas didn't realize how much his head was aching until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes. When did he end up on the ground?

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked. There was concern in her eyes.

Roxas was eventually able to get himself to nod. "I don't understand," he eventually said. He sat up. "I have memories of being myself. But then I also remember being Sora after I released your heart. Everything's mixed up." He wished Axel were around. Maybe he would know something.

Kairi's eyes widened again, her face pale. "If you have all of his memories, even the ones after he came back, something must've happened to him."

Roxas searched Sora's memories. It was hard at first to tell which were his own and which were his Somebody's. He then realized he needed to search for the memories that included Donald and Goofy. Then, it was much easier.

"We – they – defeated Ansem. I remember seeing you after, then we got separated. Donald, Goofy, and I wandered what was left of the End of the World for a while, then we ended up in this really grassy world. We found Pluto and followed him for a while but lost sight of him. Then-" Roxas gasped. "There was a man in a black coat, one just like mine!"

"Do you know him?" Kairi asked.

Roxas observed the memory as closely as he could. He wasn't able to focus on it as well as he would like, but the man's figure was familiar. This only made Roxas more confused. "Yeah," he eventually said. "I work with him in the Organization. His name is Marluxia."

"Who's this Organization? What do they want with Sora? What-"

"Hold on, let me think!" Roxas cut her off. He turned away and started to pace.

He was Sora's Nobody, but Sora's heart wasn't lost. He was returned to his body and was still independent of Roxas. They were coexisting, which Roxas didn't think could happen. Then there was the appearance of Marluxia, who was on the C.O. team.

"The C.O. team…" Roxas realized.

"What's that?"

"Castle Oblivion. Some of our number were sent there for a mission. They didn't say in the gathering what it was. But Marluxia was there in Sora's memory. Maybe that was their mission? To get him there?"

"Do you have any of Sora's memories of it?"

Roxas closed his eyes. He tried to come up with anything post-Marluxia, though it was more difficult. These memories were less clear, though he had an impression that he was in a very pristinely white area. He relayed this to Kairi, who looked away in disappointment.

"I got all of Sora's memories a couple of days ago. It was all jumbled up and scattered, like a far-off dream. The pieces have been lining up, though, and I'm sure these will, too."

Kairi nodded. "When will you come back?"

"Probably in a couple of days, and I'll let you know if I hear anything else of the C.O. team."

Kairi smiled. "Thank you."

A/N: I accidentally started turning the dialogue at one point to the opening lines of Kingdom Hearts II, so I just went all in!