Chapter 23 - Awakening
"Sora, wake up," a quiet voice urged, and Sora grumbled. He was warm, and sleepy, and he didn't want to wake up. So why should he?
"Sora, you need to wake up now. Open your eyes. Look at me."
Grumbling again, Sora felt his eyelids twitch, heavy with something he couldn't determine. They felt like they weighed a ton.
"Come on sleepy head," a voice teased gently, getting steadily closer. "You need to wake up. You've can't sleep the day away like this. You'll turn into a pumpkin."
Sora's eyebrows furrowed. Why did that sound so weird? Yet… make perfect sense?
"Sora…" another voice broke in, and Sora felt a hand gently ghost across his forehead, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Please…"
The sadness and longing of that voice tugged at Sora's heartstrings, and was the final push he needed to make himself force his eyes open. When he did, he blinked slowly.
He must still have been dreaming, because when he focused, he found Roxas standing in front of him, smiling sadly. The world around them was strange… It was split into light and dark, but it was like the darkness was draining away from Sora into Roxas, so that Sora was covered in light. As he watched, the darkness continued to drain slowly towards Roxas.
Roxas smiled. "There it is. That's the face I was looking for."
"Roxas…?" Sora asked unsurely, not sure what was going on.
"Welcome back. Leave this darkness to me, and don't worry, I'll be fine. I won't lecture you; you'll get plenty of that when you wake up properly."
"What…?" Sora asked, still not sure what was going on.
Roxas crossed over towards him, and pulled him into a hug. "Don't you ever do anything like that again. You're lucky I was here, otherwise you'd be dead you idiot."
Sora, still stumped, just stayed quiet and hugged his Nobody back.
Roxas stepped back with a nod of approval. "Go on," he urged. "You've got people waiting for you."
Sora felt a pull around his midsection, and the world around him began to break down. "Wait…Roxas!"
"Sora?"
"We'll meet again soon," Roxas promised, standing back as the darkness swirled around him, a smile on his face.
"Roxas!" The world disintegrated around him, and Sora found himself in a bed, staring up at a high stone ceiling with wide eyes, his breaths coming heavily, and he looked around as a movement caught his attention.
Riku was standing beside him, looking relieved as Sora focused on him.
"Ri?"
"Thank god," Riku breathed and let his head drop down onto Sora's shoulder. "You're awake."
"What's going on? Where am I? What happened?" Sora looked around again, deciding he'd managed to land himself in the Hospital Wing, judging by all the white beds and white curtains.
Riku let out a breathless laugh and sat down, smiling at him with unguarded aquamarine eyes. They were shimmery and over bright, like he'd been about to cry. "Welcome back."
Sora looked around again and started to sit up, pausing as Riku placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Just stay there for a minute. I need to get Madame Pomphry."
Before the brunette could protest, Riku was gone, and Sora huffed and lay down in the pillows again. What on earth had happened? What did he remember?
Brows furrowing, he thought back over his last few memories. Okay, so it was Saturday, and Riku had had his first Quidditch match. They'd been in the middle of it when a dragon had appeared – a heartless, Sora quickly corrected. They'd fought, with Leon, Cloud and the other Organization members at their side, but that was all he remembered.
Two sets of shoes, one pair clicking sharply on the stone floor like a pair of heels, and Riku and Madame Pomphry appeared around a white curtain.
"Welcome back Mr Hikari," Madame Pomphry greeted with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
Sora took a moment to assess himself before nodding. "I feel fine."
"Can you sit up?"
Doing so, he winced a little at the twinge in his ribs, but it quickly faded.
Madame Pomphry began casting some spells over him, and Sora sat still.
"What happened?" he asked Riku unsurely. "I remember the fight, but after that, nothing. Oh yeah! Did you win?"
Riku snorted and laughed to himself for a bit before shaking his head, a wide grin on his face. "We won," he assured his friend.
"That's good. I was a bit worried that you might have stopped playing. You looked like you were having fun before that Heartless appeared."
Riku shook his head again. "I kept playing, and we won. You shoved Leon out of the way after the fight finished and were hit by a Dark Plasma sphere. You're very lucky. I've seen those things kill."
Sora blinked, and a hazy memory of what Roxas had said to him drifted up. "Roxas…"
Riku blinked and nodded with a smile. "Yeah. We think Roxas helped redirect it. He saved you."
Sora felt his heart clench, and a sense of smug satisfaction swept through him. Sora blinked in surprise, looking down at himself.
Riku just gave him a puzzled look.
"Well Mr Hikari," Madame Pomphry began as she stepped back. "You're right to go. You seem fine physically. How does your head feel."
"Great. No problems," Sora replied with a smile.
"Well, I'll leave you to get dressed. Take the rest of the day off, and if you have any issues or questions, come back. Mr Valley, keep an eye on him."
"I will," Riku promised.
The medi-witch nodded and left.
"Take the rest of the day off?" Sora repeated curiously. "What day is it?"
"It's Tuesday," Riku replied.
Sora's eyes widened. "I missed Sunday? Aww, man!"
Riku laughed again, shaking his head again. "Come on, if you're quick we can get you down to have some lunch before it's all gone. You're probably hungry."
At the mention of food, Sora's stomach growled loudly, eliciting another laugh from Riku, and a grin from Sora. "A little, yeah."
Standing, Riku moved around the curtain and closed it, listening to Sora stand and get dressed, his casual clothes sitting folded on a spare chair beside the bed. Being out of sight for the moment, the older Islander allowed himself a moment of unbridled relief. His knees weakened but he stood strong.
Sora was awake.
Sora was alive.
Sora hadn't been swallowed by the darkness.
Breathing deeply through his nose, Riku fought back the onslaught of tears. When the curtain slid back, Riku was mostly in control of himself.
"Ready to go?" Sora asked with a grin.
"Yeah."
Together, the two of them made their way down to the Great Hall for lunch, Sora finding out what he'd missed on the way down, and as they ran past students, a couple of them stopped and asked Sora if he was okay.
Sora, a little perplexed, nodded and kept walking while Riku's lips kept twitching into a smile.
When they reached the Great Hall, Riku and Sora both stepped through the doors and made their way towards where their friends were sitting at the Gryffindor Table.
Yuffie was the first to spot them. "SORA!"
Her cry of delight at seeing her brown haired friend echoed around the Great Hall and all eyes turned just in time to see Sora tackled by the ninja as she threw herself at him in a hug.
"Hey, welcome back," Axel greeted as he leaned back and grinned.
"Glad to see you're up," Demyx also greeted from the other side of the table, a smile on his face.
Zexion nodded. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Sora replied as Yuffie released him, and they all sat back down again.
"Sora! Welcome back to the land of the living," James yelled from five people down the table.
Albus grinned and waved, and Scorpius nodded.
Sora laughed and began serving himself up some lunch. "Thanks guys."
"Squall's been really worried," Yuffie announced as he ate a piece of lettuce.
"Really?" Sora asked, surprised.
"Yeah. He keeps kicking himself for not noticing and throwing himself out of the way."
Riku shrugged uncomfortably. "Best case scenario I guess."
Zexion nodded in agreement.
Sora looked up at the staff table and locked gazes with Leon and Cloud.
Leon gave him a small smile and a nod, and Cloud just nodded.
Sora smiled and waved, quickly going back to his lunch as his stomach growled. "So what have I missed?"
"Not a whole lot," Albus replied as he pushed himself between Demyx and the older female student he was sitting next to. "Everything has been pretty low key."
"Yeah, I heard Slytherin won the Quidditch match? Congratulations," Sora smiled at Scorpius, who sat down beside Zexion.
"Thank you."
"Oi, Potter," the girl Albus was sitting next to suddenly interrupted as she turned from her friends. "Whose turn is it to bring the sherbet this week?"
Albus blinked before catching on. "Oh, um, Jacobi and Co. I think," he replied, looking down the table to try and spot the senior.
"Thanks." She got up and walked down the row to find him.
Scorpius blinked. "That time already?"
Albus grinned. "Yep."
Sora looked at Riku and they both shrugged.
LINEBREAK
The portrait to the common room opened that night and Sora looked up from his homework as Demyx, Axel, Scorpius and Albus all stepped through the portal.
"Hey, where's Riku?" he asked curiously.
"He's been detained," Scorpius replied as he dropped his bag on the cushion he wanted before walking around to sit in it properly.
"Detained? By who?"
"A girl," Demyx replied with a grin as he dropped into an armchair by the fire.
"Oh…. What did she want?"
"Dunno," Axel replied with a shrug and a mischievous grin as he too dropped cross-legged onto the couch. "But whatever she wanted, she looked pretty nervous about it."
Sora's brow furrowed. "Do you think Riku's in trouble?"
"If he is, I'm sure it's nothing he can't handle," Scorpius soothed as he pulled a textbook out of his bag.
Unease still swam through Sora's body as he went back to his textbook, attempting to focus.
"Just go after him," an annoyed voice whispered in his ear.
Sora blinked and his head jerked up, looking around. The others all had their heads buried in the pages, Demyx being the closest one to him sitting about a meter and a half away.
Looking up, Demyx blinked at the brunette. "What?"
"Uh, nothing." Shaking his head slightly, Sora looked down at his textbook again, picking up a quill and a piece of parchment to start writing his Divination essay.
A quiet sigh was breathed against his ear, but Sora ignored it and focused on his assignment.
About ten minutes later the portrait opened, and Sora's head shot up from the few sentences he'd managed to write as Riku appeared in the entrance, his silver hair tied up into a ponytail. The relief that filled him had him smiling widely in greeting. "Hey, you okay?"
Riku nodded as he approached. "Fine. Why?"
"What did she want?" Demyx asked as he too looked up from where he was playing with a ball of water.
"She asked me out."
"What?" Sora retorted in surprise.
"What did you say?" Axel asked with a grin. "Yes?"
"I told her I wasn't interested," Riku replied as he dropped into the single chair Sora was already sitting in, forcing the younger teen to slide sideways and end up half on his best friend's lap.
"Really? Why? She was pretty cute."
Sora must have blanked for a moment, because the next thing he knew Axel was holding his face as his nose gushed blood and his Divination textbook was sitting on Axel's lap, Riku's arms clamped around his waist.
"Ow! What the hell was that for Sora?! That hurt!"
Sora felt flabbergasted as he sunk back, double-checking to make sure that it really was his textbook collecting blood on Axel's lap.
Riku started laughing behind him, and within seconds he was howling with laughter but trying to muffle it by burying his head between the brunette's shoulder blades.
"Shut up Riku," the red head growled as he took the handkerchief that Scorpius summoned for him and used it to mop up the blood. "That hurt. I really don't think that was warranted Sora. It's not like he's yours."
Sora heard himself growl and the next thing he knew Riku's textbook was flying towards the fire mage, coming from his own hands, which he suddenly didn't seem to be in control of.
"Oi!" Ducking, Axel stared wide-eyed. "What the hell did I do to get your knickers in a twist Roxy?"
Riku quickly tightened his arms around Sora as the brunette's body shook in anger and his best friend attempted to throw himself out of his arms and at the red head. "Don't call me Roxy you dolt!"
Demyx blinked in surprise, and some amusement as Sora thrashed and Riku struggled to keep ahold of the keyblade wielder.
Axel smirked and sat back. "Why hello Roxy, so nice to finally get to talk to you. It's been a long time. The last time we talked you tried to kill me."
"Yeah, well, you were hunting me first," Roxas growled. "Not really my fault you were being an arse."
Axel flicked a hand dismissively. "Details. So how come you've only just started to show yourself now? Your Somebody almost got killed. Is that why?"
"Why is it any of your business?"
"Because I want to know."
Albus opened his mouth to ask a question before closing it again and leaning over to talk to the water mage quietly. "What's going on?"
Demyx looked at the two natives and grinned. "Long story short, Sora has two people living inside him. Himself, and Roxas, who is his Nobody. He was in the Orgy like us, but deserted to go and find Sora. He and Axel left on bad terms, and their last encounter was less than civil."
"Oh." Albus leant back, still looking confused.
Scorpius just looked perplexed.
A shout of rage and a yelp of pain had them drawing their attention back to the trio. Riku was clutching at his face while Axel laughed uproariously. Sora was standing in front of the silver haired teen looking horrified.
"I'm so sorry Riku!" he wailed as he leaned forward to tug his best friend's hands away from his face. "Are you bleeding?" The expression then changed as the red head was glared at. "Shut up Axel."
Axel just laughed harder.
"I said shut up!" Roxas yelled and stomped over to where the fire mage was almost rolling on the chair with laughter. He picked up a cushion and held it up threateningly. "I'll beat you to death!"
"With a cushion?" Demyx asked, looking amused.
"Yes, with a cushion," Roxas snapped.
The expression then changed to pleading and Sora seemed to emerge again. "Roxas, don't do that. They don't deserve it."
"Shut up Sora!"
"Don't tell me to shut up!"
"Then let me beat them to death with the cushion! Be grateful I'm using only a cushion."
"You'll be going for a very long time then."
Axel gave a disturbed looking Riku an amused yet uncomfortable look as he raised his hand to scratch at the back of his head from a standing position. "This is so weird…."
"Agreed," Riku mumbled behind his hand.
"Shut up, both of you," Roxas snapped, turning to glare at both of them.
"Hey! Don't tell Riku to be quiet! He's hurt!" Sora defended, sounding honestly offended on his friend's behalf.
"So what? He's still agreeing with fire crotch over there." Roxas gestured at Axel with a thumb.
Axel raised an amused eyebrow at his nickname. "Original," he murmured.
"So what? You're the one that hurt him, so I don't see why you have to be a douche about it."
Demyx cringed. "Ooh, now you've done it Sora."
"Douche? DOUCHE?" Roxas yelled, sounding outraged. "I am no douche. I have met far more douche's in my life than you ever have!"
"Doesn't excuse you for being one," Sora argued back.
"This is really weird," Albus murmured.
Scorpius just nodded, sitting back as he watched Sora argue with himself.
Axel snorted in laughter but finally stepped in to stop the argument. "O-kay, who wants ice-cream?"
"ME!" Demyx and Roxas yelled, the younger blond suddenly distracted.
"I want strawberry cheesecake!" Sora decided. "Riku, can you make me some strawberry cheesecake?"
"Sora its…" Riku cast a tempus charm. "It's just over two hours until dinner time. Can't you wait? Besides, you won't get it until tomorrow anyway."
"But…. But I want some now," the brunette whined, his eyes getting wide and watery.
"I sure the house elves may be able to work something out," Scorpius soothed.
"That's a good idea," Riku agreed. "Anyone know how to get down to the kitchens?"
Albus sighed and rose from his seated position. "I'll take you down. Come on." He looked back at his best friend. "You staying?"
Scorpius nodded. "I'll wait here."
"Okay. Want anything?"
"Nah. Thanks though."
"No worries. See you when we get back." Waving, Albus led the four foreigners out of the Gryffindor Common room, Sora still switching between Roxas and himself as he carried on the conversation with the five of them.
Scorpius shook his head when the portrait closed behind them.
"Oi, Malfoy, what was that all about?"
Scorpius looked up at the girl in their year with shoulder length auburn hair that was tied back and brown eyes. "I'm not sure myself."
"Bit touched in the head is he?"
The blond snorted in amusement. "Just a little, yeah. Honestly, I think they all are."
"Mmm." She turned and walked back to her group of friends, who were watching them curiously.
~tbc
How's that for an update? :D I got it up a day or so after promised, but it wasn't another six months at least; and I didn't leave it on a cliffhanger! :D Miracle!
Anyway, i'm off to NZ tomorrow for 10 days, so I won't have any internet access, but I will hopefully have time to get a lot of writing done. Knowing my family and cousins I highly doubt it, unless I manage to find a corner to hide in where no one can find me. I need an invisibility cloak...
Talk to you all when I talk to you next. :)
- Vex
