Chapter 112: You've Got This

The run back home was a blur, outside of a few remembered moments of glancing at Tifa to make sure she wasn't going to drop Riku. (Leon had faith in her and her strength, of course, but he still worried.) In what simultaneously seemed like seconds and an eternity, they were back.

Leon shouldered open the door for Tifa, pausing as he held it open to take stock of who was here and who was not. It looked like neither Yuffie nor Cid had made it back yet. Namine watched anxiously from one of the couches, looking significantly better than she had earlier, and the boys—Joseph and Toby—were sitting on the ground in front of the bookshelf. Aerith wasn't in the front room at the moment.

"Leon, where do I put him?" Tifa asked.

"Floor's fine," Leon answered, after only a moment of consideration. The floor would be easiest to clean, mainly. "Aerith?" he called.

"Coming!"

Tifa dropped Riku on the ground with perhaps less caution than should have been taken. But, that was fine. Leon gauged where Riku was real quick, to see if he needed to be moved—it was fine, Leon decided. This space between the couch Namine was sitting on and the wall to the right of the front door was the probably the most open, as well as being far enough away from the door to not completely clog up traffic.

Kairi joined Namine on the couch, both of them watching anxiously over the back of it. Joseph came up next to the couch, hovering.

"Oh, geeze, he doesn't look too great," Joseph said.

"Is he alright?" Namine asked.

"He'll be fine," Leon told them both.

Aerith slid into the area, then, taking a spot on the opposite side of Riku. Leon did not take the time to ask what she'd been doing. He watched her carefully, though, noting the way her eyes widened and the way she seemed to hesitate.

Leon did not blame her. He knew exactly what she must have been seeing in her mind's eye, as she took in the sight of Riku—covered in fresh blood, darkness radiating from every inch of his skin.

(If Leon could take over, he would. But while he knew basic healing, he knew nothing like the magic that Aerith had taught herself, to banish darkness so that it could fester in a wound no longer.)

He tried to catch her eyes, so he could send her a look of reassurance. She had gotten through last night, healing Sora. She could get through this, too.

Aerith dropped to her knees, beside Riku. She did not put her hands on Riku, but she held them over him, bowing her head. There was a moment of silence, of bated breath.

Then light rained down from the sky, bathing Riku in its glow. The familiar green spark of curative magic danced across Riku, and, Leon thought it was working. It was hard to tell, though, when that dark suit of Riku's clung to him like a second skin, covering whatever wounds he had taken.

If Leon did not fear distracting her, he'd move to go put a hand on Aerith's shoulder, to support her.

Aerith held this for a few moments, then she pulled her hands back, and the light faded. The air caught in Leon's throat at the sight of what was still left.

Darkness.

There was still darkness.

Aerith realized that too, and she went rigid, her eyes wide, trembling. She put her hands out, leaning away from Riku, shaking her head. Something unintelligible bubbled on her lips.

Leon moved without thinking, stepping around Riku, grabbing Aerith's hands and pulling her up, pulling her away. There was not time to do anything else.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," she repeated softly. She did not look at him, but she let herself be lead to the dining room, where she could sit and be out of the immediate area. Leon shook his head, hoping she would understand she did not need to be sorry. He could not find the exact words to comfort her.

"It's alright," Leon said. "I'll take it from here."

"Leon—"

"I don't know as much as you, but Mom taught me enough," he assured her. "I'll be fine."

He wished he could spare a few more moments with her, but Riku's condition was… not great, and he needed healing, one way or another. Leon moved back toward the front room, grabbing an elixir from the cabinet by the stairs on his way, seeing as he'd need it.

"...she gonna be ok?" Leon could hear Joseph asking, now that he was closer.

"She'll be fine," Tifa replied. "And don't worry about Riku. Leon's a healer too."

Leon set his jaw. A healer he was, though not a very experienced one. (This was not the first time he wished he'd had more interest in their mother's teachings when he was younger.)

"Tifa?" he said, as he knelt down beside Riku, summoning all his confidence to him.

"Yup?"

"Blats him with light, try and dispel what darkness is left so we can get a cure in there," Leon instructed. It seemed like the best thing to do.

As Tifa knelt down on the other side of Riku and prepared to do that, Leon set the elixir aside and pulled off his gloves, then his jacket. It was always a pain to get blood out of leather, so better to just avoid it.

Tifa removed her gloves as well, then pressed her hands into Riku's chest. Light flooded out from her fingertips and into Riku. After a moment his back arched as if in pain, though his face remained blank. A small wonder, when this much darkness was confronted with light so pure.

It did… something, Leon thought. He could not tell if the darkness felt weaker or anything, but judging by Tifa's face as she pulled her hand back, it could have gone a lot worse.

To be safe, Leon uncorked the elixir and poured it into Riku's mouth now. "That should help," he said, for the benefit of everyone watching. He wasn't sure how much it would help, but, hopefully enough to keep Riku alive while they dealt with this darkness.

"Tifa, blast him again," Leon said. "I'll cure him at the same time. Maybe it'll punch through."

Tifa nodded, and put her hands to Riku's chest again. Leon held his above and focused his energy. Curative magic was something he could do, at least, and it was a good thing you could do a lot with a powerful Curaga.

They both cast their magic, holding it for a few moments.

It was doing something this time, Leon was sure of it. His Curaga did not quite feel like it was taking effect, but the darkness was receding, and that was a good start.

Leon looked up to meet Tifa's eyes. "One more time," he said. "I think that should do it."

"Got it!"

So they did it again.

Yes, it was definitely doing something! The darkness was receding and—his Curaga took. He could feel it, feel the way it moved through Riku, trying to heal him. He stayed silent a few extra seconds, so as not to startle Tifa out of what she was doing, and then:

"There!" he said, feeling a little giddy.

He had to stop the Curaga now so that he could redirect it towards a specific wound instead of having it try and heal all of them at once. Tifa took the hint, and stopped pouring light into Riku too.

All the darkness around him had faded—all but some wisps here and there—and that dark suit that acted like a second skin vanished not long after Tifa and Leon pulled their hands away.

This meant they could get a better look at Riku's wounds.

Leon grimaced. Tifa paled a few shades. Though Leon could not see the reaction of those behind him, he heard Namine let out something between a gasp and a whimper. He heard Kairi make a disgusted noise. He heard Joseph yelp "EEUGHH TOBY DON'T LOOK."

It definitely wasn't a pleasant sight. It seemed like Riku'd be stabbed with something (A Keyblade, Leon couldn't help but think, though he tried to push that thought away), leaving his chest a bloody mess.

Leon swallowed. He could do this. He could.

"Tifa, bandages," he said. Then he rethought. "Actually, a wet towel so we can get him cleaned up. Namine, do you remember where the bandages are?"

"I'll get 'em!" Joseph declared, before Namine could respond.

Leon let Namine relay their location to Joseph, and held his hands over Riku again, casting another Curaga, this one stronger and more focused.

A lot of this was out of his depth, but letting the magic do its work was a large part of the art.

There wasn't much else he could do other than cast and hope.

He kept at that for a few moments, but then the overwhelming weight of all that needed to be done and how little he knew about actually doing it started settling in on him. He knew how to cast magic, how to clean wounds, how to bandage them. But some of the stuff Riku needed done to him—

(Useless, worthless, no one can rely on you. Sora's words—but it wasn't him—played on repeat in his head. What kind of idiot thinks changing his name is enough to make up for all the ways he's failed? But that wasn't—)

"Here."

Leon looked up in surprise, hearing Aerith's voice, seeing her hands fall into place beside his over Riku's body. His mouth worked for words, but, he didn't want to distract her. Her face was set in determination, eyes fixed on Riku.

Leon let his own spell dwindle after a moment, not able to hold it any longer, as well as not wanting to interfere with Aerith's.

"You… didn't have to," he whispered, as she stopped her spell, likely to get a breather.

"No it… it seemed silly to sit by and not do anything," she replied, her voice just as quiet. "And I'm not… I can't lose anyone else."

Leon hesitated a moment, and then nodded, understanding. Aerith took a deep breath and pressed her hands to Riku chest, and before long they were both bathed in a faint green glow.

Knowing she had it covered, Leon moved to field Joseph and Tifa—the bandages were set somewhere within reach, for later, as was the towel. Leon'd wanted the towel immediately, so he could clean Riku up and get a better look at what he was dealing with, but Aerith didn't need that. She could feel the injuries with her magic.

They all waited anxiously while Aerith worked, none of them daring to even breathe.

Leon himself knew she could handle this, though he still worried. He'd gotten a sense of how bad that injury was, and, well… It wasn't Aerith's abilities he feared.

Finally though, the glow around Aerith and Riku vanished, and she pulled her hands away.

Leon motioned for everyone to keep quiet, knowing that someone was going to ask if Riku was okay. Aerith would answer, in a moment, and she clearly needed the space to think. (He tried not to think about what all this hesitation meant.)

"He's…" Aerith began, then stopped, rethought. "He'll live," she said, to clarify that, and then hesitated some more. She exchanged a look with Leon that confirmed what Leon himself had thought—it was a miracle Riku was still alive.

Aerith cleared her throat, and then continued: "I managed to heal most of the worst damage, but, I'm not sure how long it's going to be before he recovers completely. Still. He'll live, and that's what matters."

Namine let out a large sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness," Kairi muttered, letting out an equally large sigh.

"Tell me about it," Joseph said, crossing his arms. "Dunno what we would've done without him. Dunno what I would've done without him!" He seemed mortified—more in the way kids got than anything else—at the thought.

"Anyway," Aerith said. "Riku's going to need a change of clothes, and while we can provide him some temporarily, I'm positive we don't have anything that's going to be a perfect fit…"

"Don't worry about it, we'll go get him some of his own," Kairi said, waving her hand. She looked to Namine. "He could use some extra changes of clothes anyway, huh? I bet you could too."

"I mean…" Namine began.

The two of them left just moments later, through one of Namine's dark corridors.

"Tifa?" Aerith said. "Another towel would be great."

"You got it."

"Let's get him out of this," Leon muttered, as Tifa headed off.

Together they peeled Riku's shirt off of him, tearing it when they had to, since it was easier. There was no point saving the shirt. Even if it wasn't soaked in blood, there were already too many rips in it for it to be any good.

Once that was done, they toweled him off. Tifa took his shirt to discard of, and judging by how she headed to the laundry room straight after, was probably going to get started on treating her own clothes.

"Sorry about…. earlier…" Aerith whispered, as Leon held Riku upright so they could bandage him. The wound had mostly closed, but, better safe than sorry. "I guess what Sora's Shadow said got to me a little more than I thought it had."

There was a wistful, almost bitter note in her voice, in the pinch of her eyes.

"It's alright," Leon assured her.

"It just… The spell didn't take, and it was like four years ago all over again…."

She shook her head to herself, fingers faltering a little as she wrapped the bandages.

"I understand," Leon whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear. "I think… his words got to me more than I thought they did too."

"Maybe you should write Rinoa a letter…"

Leon jolted, then flushed red. He ducked his head down, embarrassed.

"N-no, I meant…. The other thing."

"Oh…!" Aerith looked up at him, eyes wide, blushing herself. After a moment, she smiled encouragingly at him. "You did great."

Leon smiled back, nervously. He shouldn't feel so flustered by the compliment, but, well…

"Maybe… A letter to Rinoa would be a good idea," he admitted. Aerith finished tying off the bandage, so he set Riku back down. "I doubt she's forgotten about us, but…"

"Two years is a very long time," Aerith finished, nodding her head thoughtfully. "I know she promised Edea—"

"One letter won't hurt," Leon said. He was sure of it. "I'll let her know how we've been, make sure she's doing okay, leave out anything that would make her want to drop her training again and come check on us…"

"So, everything that happened today?" Aerith asked, a smile on her lips.

Leon laughed.

"More like everything that's happened in the past month," he countered.

Aerith laughed as well.

"I think that'd be a great idea," she said.