The Tides Go Out

by Regiss

Four months later, the war between Maleficent's Heartless and Braig's Nobodies threatens to consume all worlds. In the middle of the conflict, Sora, Xion, and their friends continue the search for Riku while also dealing with Vanitas, who will stop at nothing to get Ven's heart. Sequel to Remember the Tides.

71. All the Lights in the Sky are Stars

Chapter 71: All the Lights in the Sky are Stars

Xion looked down at the χ-blade heavy in her hands, its metal surface somehow seeming more polished in her hands than it had in Xehanort's. It reflected the stars above and all around them and had an almost ethereal, shimmering quality about it. Xion gulped, but she kept a straight face. Determination and fear were fighting for control of her emotions and just about ready to tear her heart in two.

Her attention turned to Sora, who stood with an expression of pure bliss on his face as he laughed and cheered at Xehanort's defeat, talking about how it was finally all over without even realizing that she wasn't joining in. Xion didn't speak up, she didn't want to take that smile from him. Didn't want him to worry about her. And Donald, Goofy, Naminé, Lea, and everyone else…she didn't want any of them to.

How far she had come, huh? When this had all started, Xion couldn't ever have fathomed standing here, at this moment. She had been content to just eat ice cream with Roxas and Axel every day, and even as things had gone south back then she still made a promise to watch the sunset every evening, whether with her friends or not. Even losing her memories hadn't stopped her determination, and she, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had fought tooth and nail to get them back. Fighting against Maleficent, against the Organization, against Braig and Vanitas, against Xehanort… And battling against herself.

The revelation about Ventus's heart had thrown Xion's world, her perception of what was and wasn't real, upside down. And while she had no doubt anymore of who she was—Xion, the Keybearer, the girl, the person—the fact remained that out there was a broken boy who was missing the heart that rightfully belonged to him. Xion brushed her fingers against her cheeks as her eyes began to water, but she kept her face as stoic as she could. She'd had a lot of ups and downs in her life and all of it had led her here. Xion knew what she had to do now. Tightening her grip on the hilt of the χ-blade, she raised it up.

"Xion, come on! Isn't this great?!" Sora seemed to have noticed, finally, that Xion hadn't been joining in his jubilation. He turned to face her with a smile and arms held wide, but both faltered when he saw her holding the χ-blade. "Xion?"

Xion couldn't look him in the eye. She wanted her last memory of him to be his smile. "Sora, I…" And she didn't want him to remember her crying, either.

"…Xion, what are you—" Sora cut himself off with a gasp of realization when Xion flipped the χ-blade around so she held it by its silver-green blade and the tip was pointed at her.

"Xion, what are you doing?!"

Xion flashed Sora a smile.

"No, wait!" Already he was running forward, his arm outstretched.

But it was too late, and a brilliant light erupted out from both Xion's chest and the χ-blade. Xion fell back as the χ-blade dissolved, giving way to light that rose up and joined the stars in the sky. There was a distantly familiar sensation as warmth flooded her body, as if she had done this very thing a lifetime ago. The fear of Nobodies fading into darkness here was nonexistent, despite what she had been raised to believe, for she was no Nobody.

With one final pulse of light, a pink orb escaped from Xion's chest and rose up among the stars. Xion herself slowly fell backward but barely felt the sensation, and she was dimly aware of the desperate hands catching her before she hit the floor.

x-x-x

"You…know Kairi?" Xion asked.

"Wait, you know Kairi?"

Xion nodded slowly, taking in just what she was looking at. The duck and man had narrowed their eyes, while the dog had covered his mouth in surprise. "I met her on an island not too long ago. Are you the boy she talked about?"

"Um, I guess so. My name is Sora, and you?" Sora's mouth moved into an 'O' shape as what Xion had said hit him. "Wait, she talked about me? What did she say? Was she mad I haven't come home?"

"Meega Stitch!" Stitched stood up on Xion's shoulder proudly, but lost his balance and tumbled to the ground. Xion giggled and helped him back up.

"I'm Xion, and uh… No, she wasn't mad." She seemed surprised, though, which confused Xion. Oh well, it was none of her business. "Kairi didn't say much, we didn't really talk for long. She told me about the Keyblade."

"Why would Kairi tell you that?" the brown-haired man asked, crossing his arms. "It's not the kind of thing she should go telling just anyone."

Xion hesitated, flexing her fingers. She felt Cissnei nudge her. "Go on, these are friends," she said when Xion looked over her shoulder. With a nod, Xion held out her hand and focused. Black lightning manifested around her hands, and in a flash of light the familiar black and white blade formed in her hands. Sora and the three behind him jumped back in surprise.

"A Keyblade?!" the duck cried, pointing his feathered finger at it.

"Gawrsh, I thought only Sora and the King had those!"

"Cool!" Sora exclaimed, and Xion blinked in surprise. In his hand was another Keyblade, with a golden hand guard and silver blade. He held it up to compare the two. "This is the first one I've seen that isn't, well, key-shaped. Where'd you get it?"

"Um… I just, woke up with it. I don't remember where it came from."

The dog cleared his throat, and Sora and Xion looked up at him. "Where are our manners? We haven't introduced ourselves! Name's Goofy!"

"Donald Duck!" He held out a feathered hand, and Xion shook it with a smile. Already she was feeling close to them.

x-x-x

"I just remembered—did you guys know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?"

Roxas and Xion looked to their left, where Axel was speaking to them while holding his half-eaten stick of sea-salt ice cream in their direction. They both leaned in, eager to learn something new; Axel was a surprisingly entertaining teacher. "Really?" Xion asked

Axel nodded and turned to the melting treat in his hand. "Once you finish your ice cream, see if the stick says WINNER." He took a large bite out of it, chewing and swallowing slowly to avoid the brain freeze Xion had just gotten herself. Then, examining the stick closely, Axel sighed. "Not that I've ever seen one myself," he admitted while holding it out to the side.

"Huh." Roxas stared off into space and his brow furrowed slightly. He always got that look when he was remembering something. He stared down at his own bar, not nearly as finished as Axel's own. "Wait a second..."

At Roxas's gasp, Axel spoke up. "What is it?"

Roxas looked back to their older friend and shook his head. "Uhh...it's n-nothing. So then, what happens when you win?" Xion, who had been watching the two of them with a smile as she ate her own ice cream, now nodded and leaned in once more.

Axel grinned and waved his ice cream in front of their face. "I'll tell ya..." He hesitated for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "That's a good question."

"What, you don't know?"

"Well, it's gotta be something nifty, if you're a WINNER, right?"

"Cool..."

Xion couldn't help but smile at Roxas's awed tone, and the smile quickly turned into a light giggle. She stared out at the horizon and took in the brilliant display of natural art, the way the sun painted the clouds. "Wow. The sun's beautiful. I know we've seen a lot of sunsets, but today's puts them all to shame.

"If only things could stay like this forever..."

x-x-x

Xion started to stand up, but much to her surprise Riku sat down. He crossed his arms and propped his back against one of the pillars, with one foot dangling over the city below and his other knee propped up. Turning his head, he looked out over the horizon. Xion raised an eyebrow at Riku's strange behavior but said nothing. Instead of climbing to her feet she turned around and moved her legs out from beneath her, so she was sitting on the edge as well.

The view definitely wasn't like watching the sunset in Twilight Town with her friends, but this London place had a beauty of its own. Xion watched the stars twinkle in the sky, counting all the worlds out there. Which one of them was Twilight Town, she wondered? Were Roxas and Axel there now? No, they were probably in the World That Never Was. Where was that? Xion looked to see if she could make out any familiar constellations to those she had seen at her night-time missions to Twilight Town, hoping to get a sense of direction, but none jumped out at her. They were in a completely different part of the universe, and not to mention in the Realm of Light instead of the Realm Between. Though did that matter? She wasn't sure if it did.

Xion spared a glance to Riku beside her. His head was tilted upward but with his eyes hidden she had no idea what star he was looking at. Destiny Islands? Hollow Bastion? Or somewhere else?

Turning her attention downward, Xion opted not to look at the sky but the city instead. Her first thought was to compare it to the Dark City in the World That Never Was, being that it was a city at night and viewed from above, but on closer inspection Xion realized that really wasn't apt. Where the Dark City was cold and uninviting, with metal buildings, constant rain, and a dread atmosphere caused by its absolute emptiness, London seemed warm and inviting even at night. Twilight Town would be more appropriate. Leaning as far forward as she could without falling over, Xion watched people in the streets below move about, active even at night.

Riku shifted beside her, reaching around the back of the pillar. Xion watched him with curiosity. Turning back around, Riku now held two small paper plates with a slice of some kind of food Xion had never seen before. It looked vaguely like some kind of bread, she guessed? With something white and creamy spread on top of it and a plastic fork beside it.

Riku held out one of them to Xion. "I know it's not ice cream, but I hope it will do." Warily, Xion took the plate and treat from Riku. Well, it certainly smelled good. But…

"What is it?"

Riku stared at her, and for once Xion was pretty sure she knew what his expression behind his blindfold must have been. But his face softened and he smiled softly, and he took a bite of his own pastry. "It's called a cake, Xion. Try it, it's good."

"Cake, huh?" Following Riku's lead, she cut a small piece off with the fork and brought it up to her mouth. As soon as the taste reached her she reacted in surprise, having expected it to be salty-sweet like ice cream. But no, this was just sweet; and it was good. Wiping some of the frosting off of her lips, Xion looked over at Riku again. "Where did you get this?"

Riku nodded toward the city. "A bakery down there. I bought it earlier today."

Was that right? "Well thanks, Riku. It's delicious," she said with a genuine smile. Her fingers went up to her lips in slight surprise—she had almost forgotten how to smile these last few weeks.

It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Riku's face seemed to grow a shade redder. "Don't mention it."

x-x-x

Sunset had long since passed on the Destiny Islands. The sky was a deep black between the shimmering stars, and the dark blue waters lapped gently at the shoreline. The gulls had gone to bed, and the rest of the island's citizens weren't far behind, with several lights along the street beginning to go out. Some houses were still lit, though, including the one Xion stood in front of.

Xion shifted nervously as she stood pressed up against the front door of the humble home with her hands behind her back. Xemnas had been defeated only hours ago, and Sora, Xion, and Kairi had returned to the islands even more recently. Kairi had gone home to see her family, which had left Xion and Sora with his own, his fisherman father and homemaker mother. She had caught a glance through the window as they all embraced each other. Seeing it had caused a painful twitch in her chest. She knew them like Sora did—exactly like Sora did—and yet they had never once known her.

Xion could hear Sora and his parents talking through the door, though their voices were muffled. After their tearful, heartfelt reunion, she had heard as Sora explained that he had someone for them to meet. Nervousness turned Xion's stomach inside-out and she shifted uncomfortably as she listened to what they were saying.

"…related to Kairi?..."

"…Replica…"

"…no home…"

"…don't say that…"

Footsteps. Xion stiffened up as she heard them all approaching the front door. She moved away and turned around, ready to face them no matter what. If they turned her away, well—well, she could contact the King, maybe. O-Or move in with Kairi, if her parents would have her. It's not like it would be Sora's fault, he had tried, and—oh no, her eyes were watering and the knob was turning, quick, don't let them see—

Light flooded the front porch and Xion looked up to see Sora standing behind and between two adults she had an entire lifetime's worth of memories of. The man was the spitting image of Sora, with his spiky brown hair and bright blue eyes, and Xion had the feeling that twenty or thirty years ago the resemblance would have been even more uncanny. The woman, on the other hand, had brown eyes, but Xion was more drawn to her long, black hair. Absently, Xion found herself tugging on her own raven locks.

"U-Um…" She tried to speak, but her voice had left her. She swallowed and looked at Sora behind his parents, who smiled at her. Swallowing, Xion worked up what courage she could muster. "My name is Xion, a-and..."

Before she could finish, two pairs of arms embraced her tightly. "Welcome home."

x-x-x

Resting his hands in his lap, Sora turned to Pooh. "So, what were you doing here?"

"I was thinking: perhaps there's a way to make it so you won't go away."

"You mean a way to make us stay?"

"Yes." Pooh didn't seem to catch to the slight wavering in Sora's voice. "Would there be such a way to make it so you don't go away again?"

Sora grew silent at that, and stared down at his hands. As Xion watched him, she felt a frown growing on her face. Her eyes shifted to Kairi's charm hanging on his belt, and she watched as he unhooked it to hold it tightly between his fingers. Pooh watched Sora as well, but rather than question anything he turned back to the sky with a blissful smile on his face.

With neither of them saying anything, Xion took it upon herself. "Don't worry." She leaned forward so Sora could see her on the other side of Pooh and smiled. "We promise we'll come back and visit you now and then."

Pooh kicked his legs lightly as he spoke. "Could you make it 'now and now' instead? That seems a bit better to me." Pooh smiled at them at Xion returned it, but Sora only looked at them silently, just slightly loosening his grip on the Wayfinder. "Sora, Xion, if I go looking for you, will I find you?"

Xion exhaled, watching her breath form a mist in front of her. She pulled down her hood despite the cold and smiled at Pooh beside her, rubbing his head. Then she glanced up at Sora, keeping her smile steady. When she spoke, it was directed as much to him as to Pooh.

"We'll always be with you—right here." She poked Pooh in the chest, and he brought a paw up over his heart. "You don't have to go anywhere. Just stay here, and you can see us anytime you want."

"You mean I just have to stay right here?"

Xion rubbed Pooh's head again. "Yep, that's all." Across the log, Sora stared down at Kairi's charm again and then hooked it to his belt.

"Would you promise?" Pooh asked.

"Promise." It was Sora who spoke, before Xion had a chance. Xion looked up at him and Pooh turned around. Sora placed his hand over the paw on Pooh's chest. "If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep us in your heart, we'll stay there forever."

x-x-x

It was a simple mission, according to Saïx. There was a something-or-other called a Darkside—one of those black creatures, she figured—and she was to go with XIII to deal with it in Twilight Town.

Simple.

As they made their way up the mountainside the town was built on, stalking through the back alleys and out of sight of the locals as the Organization had taught them, Xion watched Roxas out of the corner of her eye. He moved with a bit of determination, but something told Xion that it was more for show than anything. He was her senior by a week, and he was trying to come off as cool because of it. Xion's lips quirked at the thought, but faded quickly. She had only smiled once before—when she had first seen Roxas in the Round Room, in fact. Saïx hadn't liked that.

But she couldn't help it. She just felt safe around Roxas. And he looked so familiar to her. Comforting.

She came to a stop, but he kept moving. Slowly, with an unfamiliar sensation like butterflies in her stomach—but that didn't make any sense, how would they have gotten in there?—she parted her lips and spoke for the first time. "Roxas."

Xion stopped for a moment as she heard her own voice for the first time. She hadn't known what to expect, nor had she known to expect anything in the first place. It was…gentle, almost; at least compared to Larxene's, the only other female voice she had heard. Then, was she gentle? What was 'gentle'? Up ahead, Roxas halted and looked back over her shoulder with curiosity, apparently as unsure as Xion herself whether he had heard right. Realizing he was staring, Xion raised her hands up.

But as her fingers brushed the rim of the black leather, Xion hesitated. Saïx had always told her never to remove her hood. Not only was it conduct for the Organization to stay hidden and unrecognizable in worlds, but he was strict about this for her especially. She was never, under any circumstances, to show how she looked to someone—to get close to someone. Still, she could trust Roxas. Right? He was like her, a part of the Organization. He got to keep his hood down.

Allowing her bangs to fall down over her forehead, Xion looked up at Roxas with a gentle smile. "Best of luck today."

x-x-x

The sun was setting over Twilight Town, the golden clouds darkening and shadows falling on the buildings and forest. The crowds began to lessen as people started heading home for the evening, and as the last train of the day pulled into the station atop the mountain it let out one final whistle. The clock tower rang out, and atop it, a girl in a black leather coat looked out over the city with a content smile on her face.

"You awake?"

Xion turned to Roxas, who sat beside her with a matching expression and matching clothes. He sat with one leg propped up, his arm resting on his knee. While Roxas was looking out at the sunset and not at Xion, she could tell the almost sad smile on his own face was directed at her.

"I'm not sure, really," Xion said after a moment. She rubbed her eyes with her gloves hands. "I feel kind of…sleepy. Like I can't tell if I'm waking up from a dream, or about to have one."

"Well, maybe that's what it feels like, huh?"

Xion looked down at her hands. "You mean, when you go back to where you belong?"

Roxas shook his head. "Don't say it like that. You don't belong with Sora, Xion, you've more than proven that you're more than just a copy."

"That right…" Xion sighed. She brought her fingers up to her chest and nervously fiddled with the chain of her coat. "Roxas, do you think…that we have hearts? Besides Ventus's, I mean?"

Roxas was quiet for a long moment. He lowered his leg and rested his hands in his lap, just staring out at the orange and yellow sky for a while. "I dunno," he admitted quietly, at last. "I mean, it's not like I can just look inside, right? But I think so, anyway. I mean, at least for you."

"Me?"

Roxas shrugged helplessly. "I can't speak for myself, Xion, but it's clear there's a spark in you that's all your own. You wouldn't even be able to be here if it was just Ventus keeping you whole."

Xion shoved him in the shoulder and giggled. "Then that goes double for you!"

Roxas laughed alongside her, but for both of them the laughter rang hollow. After it trailed off, he held his hand up in front of his face. "Maybe. Though soon we may not be able to talk like this anymore."

"Again, huh?"

"I don't make the rules. I'm not sure anyone does, really." He turned to his side, facing away from Xion for a moment, and then turned to face her again with a bright blue bar of ice cream, freshly opened.

"Thanks." Xion took a lick of her ice cream and slowly swung her legs out over the open space before the clock tower. "You ever think about the old days, Roxas?"

"All the time." Roxas bit down on his ice cream and waited a moment for it to melt in his mouth before answering. "The day I met Axel, the day I got my new name…the day I met you." Xion blushed lightly at that, and Roxas continued. "The three of us would sit up here and watch the sunset."

"Yeah…it's home, for sure." Xion's ice cream was forgotten now as she looked out over the city rather than on the horizon. Home twice over: memories of the virtual Twilight Town were returning, of spending afternoons at the usual spot and listening to Hayner and Olette bickering while Pence fiddled with his phone. "I don't know if I'm ready to leave it behind, or any of my friends."

"They'll be alright, you know they will."

And Xion did know. "Yeah. They've got each other, after all."

Roxas and Xion continued to sit on the clock tower in silence, staring out at Twilight Town until the sun finished traveling beneath the horizon and evening finally gave way to night. Beneath the shimmering stars, Roxas set down his cleaned ice cream stick and let out a breath. "Well… I gotta go. Sora's waiting for me."

Xion looked over at him as she finished her own desert. "Oh, that sounds about right. I hadn't even considered…"

Roxas shook his head. He was already beginning to glow and fade away, ribbons of soft golden light trailing off of his body. He smiled his radiant smile at her, though sadness was just faintly visible in his eyes. "Take care…okay?"

Xion had to take a shaky breath to stop herself from latching on to him. "Y-Yeah…" She blinked away tears and met his smile with one of her own. "See you again, Roxas."

x-x-x

"Xion! Xion!"

On his knees, Sora shook Xion's body helplessly and frantically, but she wouldn't respond to him. Her body was already almost completely gone, just a barely translucent figure in his grasp, though she felt as real as ever as he held her in his arms. Tears were streaming down his face, a far cry from the gentle smile on Xion's own. 'Xion, you're one of my best friends! Please, I can't lose you!"

"You're not," she said weakly.

Sora gasped as Xion spoke those words, the first she had said since Xehanort's defeat. Hope welled inside of him. "Xion, hey, come on! Pull yourself together!

Xion weakly shook her head. "A little late…for that…" Sora stopped shaking her and just stared down at her in horrified silence. "I made my choice, Sora… This is what I decided for myself. I was holding Ven's heart prisoner…and I had to set him free."

"Xion…"

"Do me a favor, Sora." Xion slowly brought her hand up to brush against his cheek. "For the…both of us. You're going…to live for the both of us." Her hand fell back to her side. She no longer had the strength to keep it up.

"Xion! Xion!"

And as Xion looked up at the beautiful lights sparkling above the two of them, with tears in her eyes and her body resting in Sora's arms, a voice rang out from her memory. It felt like lifetimes ago when a fragile blonde girl had said them to her, but they echoed in her mind with a startling clarity.

"No one will remember you when you're gone. There won't be any 'you' to remember."

Xion closed her eyes, but even if her eyes were open she wouldn't be able to see him anymore. Sora continued to beg her not to go, but she could no longer hear his words. She could no longer feel his tears hitting her face, or his arms trembling as he held her close.

"I can't save you, Xion—even a memory of you."

Xion smiled as a tear slid down her cheek.

That's…okay.

x-x-x

The orange-gold dome surrounding the tallest peak of the Keyblade Graveyard vanished, the chains of light fading away as if they had never been. On the battle-scarred plateau, the Lingering Will watched as the final few hearts released by the Heartless faded into the empty night sky. And of course, the greatest heart of all began to fade away as well. As it had witnessed over a decade prior, the Lingering Will watched as the light gifted to the Keyblade Graveyard slowly but surely began to fade away, the clouds up above swirling back into their old positions to hide Kingdom Hearts from the world once more. The empty armor stood still as the blue beam of light shrank down, with him in the center.

When the hole in the clouds, and thus the pillar of light, was only just barely larger than the Lingering Will itself, it reacted with slight surprise at a glow that stood out against the brilliant blue of Kingdom Hearts. A flash of orange. Just before the clouds closed completely, the glow gently drifted down within the beam of light, and as it neared the Lingering Will held its gauntleted hand out to greet it. The object, obscured by the orange glow, settled in the Lingering Will's palm and, as Kingdom Hearts finally disappeared up above, the glow faded away to reveal an orange star formed of stained glass.

The Lingering Will stood in darkness beneath the black sky, utterly motionless except for the light flapping of its cape in the gentle breeze. It stared silently at the charm as if not knowing what it was, but slowly, surely…a sensation began to fill the empty armor. It had known nothing but the darkness hate and rage for so long that it was unfamiliar, but it was pleasant. As warmth began to spread through the Lingering Will's chest, it slowly wrapped its fingers around the lucky charm.

"…Terra?"

The Lingering Will turned to look back over its shoulder, once more seeing a long-forgotten sight. Another armored figure stood on the edge of the mountain, hesitant to move, unsure if what she was seeing was real. She was soon joined by others, all climbing to the peak, and several of them familiar sights in the Lingering Will's distant, foggy memory.

"Terra…" The armored one's voice was breaking beneath her helmet. "Please tell me, is that really…" She took a step forward, but before the Lingering Will could reciprocate there was a sudden burst of light nearly as bright as Kingdom Hearts had been. As one, all heads turned to the horizon.

The light was a brilliant blue-white pulse that extended out from the horizon for a brief moment, followed by an explosion of radiance. At once, thousands of lights began to streak high into the now cloudless sky, like a meteor shower but in reverse. They streaked through the night all around them, weaving this way and that, never colliding but sometimes getting close, and constantly flowing out of the great, warm light on the horizon. Wherever one of the shooting stars came to a halt there was a brief flash and then, in its place was a twinkling star. Thousands lit up the night, a brilliant, beautiful display visible across the universe.

x-x-x

Gone.

Sora was alone in the vast emptiness, the stars around him cold and distant. He still remained on his knees, and his hands were still out as if holding Xion close, but there was only empty air there now. His shoulders shook as he continued to cry over his missing friend.

She was gone.

Sora didn't know how long he had stayed there, in that same position, but eventually his tears gave out. He continued to stare at the empty space where Xion had been before, envisioning the smile she went out with in his mind's eye. This isn't…

"Chin up."

It was a new voice who spoke to Sora, but a familiar one. The instant the words came to him, Sora felt a spark of something in his chest. Slowly tilting his head upward, Sora found himself looking up at a boy about his age with spiky blond hair and a hand on his hip.

"You're…Roxas?" Slowly, climbing up to his feet, Sora took in the boy's appearance. He had never seen the real deal before, or this close, but this was definitely Xion's friend. His Nobody. But how? "Am I dreaming?"

Roxas shook his head. "I'm real—as real as I can get, anyway." Hand still resting on one hip, Roxas tilted his head slightly and smiled. "And I want to thank you, Sora."

"Thank me?"

"For watching over Xion."

Sora's heart fell and his shoulders slumped. "Yeah, a lot of good I did. Roxas, Xion is gone." But Roxas was already shaking his head before Sora had finished his sentence.

"I told you to chin up, didn't I? Xion isn't gone, Sora." He tapped his finger against Sora's chest, and Sora held his hand up against his shirt. "Not literally, I mean. Not like me now, but…" Roxas shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I thought you had learned this already? You're supposed to be the heart expert, Sora. You tell me."

Sora sighed and clutched at his shirt. The spark he had felt had grown as Roxas was talking, a warmth filling his heart "Right. I get what you mean."

"Good! You're a sharp guy, Sora. I'm glad for it."

Sora lowered his hand. "But what about you, then? Where are you going to go? You got a place to go back to?"

Roxas raised his hands up behind his head and grinned. "There's a place I'd like go; you know, if they'll have me." He turned around, and as the warmth in Sora's chest spread out over his entire body, Roxas looked back at him over his shoulder. "You make a good other."