Sora awoke in the cool comfort of solitude. Surrounded on all sides by linen drapes and tucked comfortably in a soft white blanket, he rubbed away the gathering wetness in the corner of his eyes with his left hand, and found that he could not move his right. He looked down and found his arm held in place by a splint.

For a moment he could not remember what had happened and terror gripped him. Then it all came rushing back. The request, the confrontation, his humiliating loss of control. Sora shut his eyes, wishing for it all to be just a bad dream. He opened them and found he was still there, amongst the living.

There was a rustling and a shadow materialized behind the curtains, growing larger as it approached. The school nurse stuck her head in, saw he was awake, and came to his bedside.

"I thought I heard you moving around," she said, pulling out a clipboard and jotting things down with a pen.

"What happened to me?" Sora asked weakly. His voice was shaky and he cleared his throat.

"Broke your arm. You should be fine, provided you don't use it for a while."

"Oh…" There wasn't much in the way of pain, but there was a hollow aching in his arm.

"You have a visitor, should I send her in?"

Sora gave a short nod, too distracted by his own pained recollections to pay her much mind. The nurse nodded and retreated back under the curtains. The quick and forceful footsteps that approached his bed informed him that he was in trouble.

Kairi entered, and he took in the fullness of her appearance. She looked troubled, tired, stress lines creasing her forehead. Despite it all, Sora observed that it didn't really matter. Her youthful vibrancy was undiminished.

"Sora," she breathed, taking hold of the handles on his bedside, "we've really gotta stop meeting like this."

"Well…" he smiled sheepishly at her, but truly he was afraid. Afraid that he had screwed up one too many times. She didn't need him. If there was ever a time to drop their friendship, now would be it.

Kairi sat down on the chair beside his bed and he could see that she was tense. She looked down at his broken arm and reached out to it, she turned her eyes to him.

"Can I?"

Sora nodded, unable to speak. She placed her hand on the splint, gently tracing it down the length of his arm, stopping just before she reached naked skin. Sora shivered.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him.

Sora shrugged.

Her eyes met his, and after a beat she asked softly, "Why?"

Sora turned away, knowing full well what she meant and feeling the sting in his eyes. "I don't know…I don't-" He swallowed, holding back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Sora?" she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me."

"I don't know why I did it. I'm sorry I did. I know it was stupid, I don't know what I was thinking," he admitted.

Kairi took a breath and leaned back in her seat. "It's bad, Sora."

"I know," he nodded. If she was trying to make him feel better, she wasn't doing a very good job of it. "Go ahead and say it."

"Say what?" Kairi asked.

"That you don't wanna be my friend anymore. It's okay, I get it," he said, the regret burrowing deeper into his heart. Kairi looked at him, surprised by his frank request.

"Sora…"

"What are you waiting for? Go ahead."

"I don't want to," she said, folding her hands in her lap and turning towards the floor morosely.

"Why not?" Sora questioned, his tone becoming forceful. He glared at her, wishing only to dispense with the nonsense that surrounded them. "Why not?"

"Because I like you."

Her answer stopped him in his tracks. The words were simple, but they hung in the air, suspended in space, and they pressed on him. Before he could respond, she spoke again.

"Because I can trust you."

She was shaking, her hands clasped in a tight neat ball. She looked into his eyes and he saw the tears welling up in hers.

"Because you're my friend."

Kairi stood, wiping the tears from her eyes, and she looked down at him.

"You should stop feeling so sorry for yourself."

She left, melting away behind the curtains and Sora stared after her, dumbfounded.

Sora returned home after a rather raucous meeting with the principal, in which he was excoriated for what was deemed "abhorrent behavior" and slapped with a one-week suspension. He entered his apartment, feeling dazed and unsure of himself all the same.

Roxas was on him like a hawk. "Are you out your mind?!"

"Not in the mood," Sora said, bending around his livid brother. Roxas stepped in front of him.

"Could you please - please, just walk me through your thought process here?! We just got out of trouble with him and you decide it's a good idea to attack him?! In the middle of the cafeteria?!"

"I said I'm not in the mood," Sora repeated. Roxas didn't budge and Sora let out a tired breath. "I don't know, Roxas. What do you want me to say?"

"I want you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you, that'd be a good start. Do you need to like – talk to someone or something?"

"I'm fine," Sora stated. "I'm fine."

"Fine people don't go assaulting other people in front of the entire school-"

"It wasn't the entire school, first of all."

"-fine people don't go running off after school and come back late at night-"

"You're exaggerating."

"-fine people actually have something positive to say every once in a while."

"You know what, Roxas?" Sora pushed his brother out of the way. "Maybe you're my problem, you ever think of that?"

"Oh," Roxas laughed, "I'm your problem?"

"Yeah," Sora turned on him and quickly closed the distance between them, "if it weren't for-" He stopped and realized just how close he was to letting loose. Just how close he was to unloading all of his emotions. He didn't want another breakdown; he didn't want a mess.

Sora fell back onto the couch. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

Roxas appeared taken aback at his sudden reversal. "I-It's okay," he stuttered. Roxas took a seat next to him. "I'm just…you're my brother, Sora. I just wanna help."

"I know," Sora said. "I know."

A week was good, Sora thought. A week to decompress and reflect on what had happened. He wouldn't have to face everyone at school. Who knows what they thought of him now. Probably took him for a nut case, with some justification, Sora figured. He looked at his new flip phone, he hadn't added any of his old contacts, not that he had possessed his older one for very long, but he remembered numbers, and one number flashed in his head like a glowing neon sign on the interstate.

Lying on his mattress and with the boredom beginning to take hold, he dialed it and listened to the ringing in anxious anticipation. He licked his lips, hoping his vocal chords would actually work as intended.

"Hello?" her smooth, sweet voice filled his ear and he smiled in spite of himself.

"Hey, it's Sora," he announced. There was a pause.

"Oh," she said, "I didn't recognize the number."

"Yeah, I got a new phone. Kind of lost my old one," he chuckled.

"Lost? You mean stolen, or broken, or whatever it was that actually happened," she said cheekily.

"Yeah…" he trailed off. "Listen, Kairi…I'm sorry about earlier."

"I actually wanted to apologize to you," she said, "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's fine. I get it, what you meant. I've been acting like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," she argued, "you're a good person, Sora."

"You say that like you're certain."

"I am certain."

"How can you be so sure?" he questioned.

"Because you have a good heart. My grandmother used to tell me this story…"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. She said that a long time ago, everyone was happy, and they lived in peace because they lived in the light…"

"Uh huh."

"She said that people couldn't handle the light, they wanted so much of it that they fought over it and lost it to darkness. But the light survived, hidden away in the hearts of children."

"That's some story."

"You've got light in your heart, Sora. Because you don't take. You don't want and want and want, you're not like those people. I know you don't take all of this for granted."

Sora felt something stir in his chest as he listened to her speak. An influx of giddiness ran through him and he discovered that he did want something. He wanted her. He wanted to see her. He wanted to be near her.

"Hey Kairi?"

"Yeah Sora?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but he hesitated.

"Sora?"

Nothing to fear but fear itself.

"Wanna go somewhere?"

This time would be different.

They sat together at the edge of an old skating park. It was closed for the night, but it was never particularly difficult to slip inside, not with the aging rotund security guard dozing off at his post. The moon bathed them in its blue glow and the heavens twinkled like flickering candles. Miraculously, the weather was mild and the malaise had not followed. It was just them, leaning back, shoulders pressed together, neither could say they minded.

"We're probably gonna have to ask for an extension on our project," Kairi said, looking up at the stars.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, we're really good at doing nothing, huh?"

"If you weren't such a lazy bum we wouldn't have to," she jested. Her smile was infectious, her perfectly white teeth and rosy colored cheeks dazzling. Sora couldn't stop staring.

"What?" she asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

Sora shook his head. "No, you look good just the way you are."

The rosy hue on Kairi's cheeks became the color of her hair and she looked away, smiling bashfully. A horn blasted in the distance. To Sora it sounded like a note on a piano. The city was playing them their very own melody.

He felt calm. Soothed. Not a thing in the world could tear them from this precious moment. He could ask and she would answer.

"Can I ask you something?" he prompted. Kairi turned to him and nodded.

"Do you remember when we first met?"

"You mean when you knocked me down?" she reminded him cleverly. He smirked. "Yeah, when I knocked you down."

"I do," she affirmed.

Sora took the time to consider his words. "You were going into Aerith's office…"

Kairi's shoulders slumped and the jovial atmosphere seemed to deflate just a little. "Yeah…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Sora said quickly, "I guess I was just wondering…why?"

Kairi chewed on her lip, as if deliberating whether to speak at all. "She's helpful, that's all. Sometimes it's just – I mean – I try to go later in the day, so nobody will know."

Sora nodded. He was interested in hearing what they discussed, but he kept his mouth respectfully shut. He waited for her to continue, but she stopped, staring across the park, her eyes following a firefly as it crested over them and above a fence.

Sora looked at her, messy wisps of ruby-red hair falling in front of her face, her eyes shining in the light of the moon, and he felt bold. He took her hand in his, and her far-off gaze snapped to him.

"I'm glad you're here," he smiled. "I'm glad we're friends."

Kairi's lip twitched, wavering somewhere between a repressed smile and the trembling of someone about to cry.

"I am too," she whispered.

They sat on the edge of the skate ramp, one hand held tightly in the other, and let the music of the night lull them into peaceful serenity.

The passing of a car broke the moment, its headlights lighting up the park. Sora turned, thinking perhaps that the old guard had awakened after all, but the car soon drifted down the road and they were alone once again.

"I should get going," Kairi said, removing her hand from his and standing up. "Don't want my parents to find out I'm gone."

"Yeah," Sora agreed, "you want me to walk you back?"

Kairi shook her head. "You just get home in one piece, okay?" she simpered.

"Can do," he grinned.

Sora busied himself over the days that followed. A renewed determination had taken root, as if a switch deep inside him had been flipped on. He bounced around the apartment, finding spots to clean, curtains to straighten, bedrooms to sweep. He frequently journeyed out to Pete's Deli, bringing home more food than was needed. He stopped only after Roxas questioned his wherewithal to purchase it all.

He thought about getting a job, but they had kept some of the profits from their previous munny making venture. There was enough to keep them afloat in the mid-term.

"Gee, maybe you should become a housemaid, I hardly recognize the place," Roxas remarked one day.

Sora simply shrugged and smiled.

The week passed and the weekend arrived. Sora searched the apartment for an anomaly, something out of place, something that needed to be fixed. When he found nothing, he straightened out and looked around the empty living room, Roxas' early morning snoring emanated from behind his closed door. He heard a clattering sound coming from down below, and peeked out his curtain to take a gander at the source of the noise.

There were stands and tables being laid out all across the street, stretching down the road in both directions and branching off into different avenues. He saw a big yellow tent being inflated a little ways away. Sora scratched his head, intrigued by the spectacle playing out just below his apartment.

"What are you staring at?" Roxas questioned, yawning as he entered the room.

"What's going on down there?" Sora asked.

"Huh?" Roxas walked over and peered out at the street below. "Oh, that's just the festival."

"Festival?"

"Yeah, the street festival. I guess they're setting it up now."

"I didn't know there was a street festival," Sora said, still watching the set up.

"Well, now you know. I was gonna go with Naminé…you should come too, if you want."

"Yeah…" An idea occurred to him suddenly, and he walked to his room, shutting the door and pulling his phone from his pocket. He flipped it open and went into his contacts, his fingers hovering over Kairi's name. So easy. It would be so easy to invite her, all he had to do was press the button and call her. Surely she would accept his generous offer. She had, after all, left the comfort of her riverside loft to sit with him in a skating park.

Sora felt a nervous tingle in his chest. She was probably busy, entertaining or being entertained by one or some or all of her multitude of friends. Prudent it was not, to call her on a Saturday and invite her to a street festival in Brownsville.

He sighed and closed his phone.

The streets filled up almost as soon as the preliminary construction was completed. Sora was almost surprised at how busy it was. He was hard pressed to recall a time when he had seen so many people in one location. The crowd shifted and jostled, some people moving energetically to the beat of the booming music playing from the variety of stereos strategically placed around the neighborhood. Again, the weather was mild. El Nino, something. Sora sure didn't mind.

Roxas had left to get Naminé, leaving Sora to navigate the swelling mass of people by himself. It is no small comfort, left to one's own devices in the midst of an individuality destroying sea of bodies. This was something else compared to the tension that came with the halls of Brooklyn High, to the rows of students filling its cafeteria, to the silence of the classrooms. This was authenticity. This was liberty.

A bead of sweat trickled down Sora's temple, and he laughed merrily. Here was something real, something tangible.

Through the joyous compression he saw a stand advertising deep fried funnel cakes (coney island original!). His stomach demanded he push forward and he obliged, pressing through the local patrons and reaching the stand.

"I'll take one funnel cake please," he said, digging into his pocket for some spare munny.

"That's alright," a hand reached over and stopped him, "it's on the house."

Sora looked up and found himself gaping at the vendor before him. Tidus, dressed shamelessly in a checkered shirt and a cap that declared his name in black and gold lettering.

Sora stared, unsure of what to say.

"Surprised?" Tidus queried cheekily.

"I, uh…yeah, I guess," Sora spit out, "didn't expect to see you here is all."

"I help the people who run this joint, it's not a bad gig, y'know? I like to do my part."

"Right…" Sora began to back away.

"Listen," Tidus spoke, "about what happened in school…"

"Forget about it. I feel stupid enough as it is."

"Actually, I think you've got serious balls."

Sora stared at him. "What?"

"Yeah," Tidus nodded, "going after Riku like that...pretty crazy…but crazy isn't so bad."

"What are you saying?" Sora asked.

"I'm saying," Tidus' tone dropped, "that you and I should talk sometime."

Sora wasn't sure what to make of that. It was clear that he was insinuating something. Sora opened his mouth to respond.

"Hey!" the lady behind him shouted, "Are you going to buy something or what?!"

"Sorry," Sora mumbled, stepping off of the line. He shot Tidus a questioning glance, but he had seemingly devoted himself entirely to servicing the woman. He remained where he was, waffling between waiting and leaving. When Tidus refused to meet his gaze, he turned and left the stand.

He wandered through the festival, jubilant festivities ringing hollow in his ears.

You and I should talk sometime

Sora barely had time to consider the words when he collided into someone's back. He stumbled backwards and saw a head of wavy black hair whip around.

"What the hell?!" an angry voice exclaimed, fierce eyes turning to glare at him.

Sora's face broke out into a smile and those hard eyes softened in recognition.

"Sora?"

"Hi, Xion."

"What happened to your arm?" Xion asked, pointing at the splint on his arm. Sora deliberated whether or not to lie.

"Broken. Riku," he answered shortly.

Xion reached out and squeezed his uninjured arm affectionately. "What happened to you? You never came back to work, we thought-"

Yuffie broke in, pushing Xion aside and leaning into Sora's face to get a good look at him, she grinned. "Hey, Sora!"

"Yuffie," he acknowledged with a chuckle. The three of them stood in a semi-circle, taking in the others' appearance. He hadn't known them for that long, nor had it been long since he'd last seen them, but he was happy they were here. Their presence exuded the kind of familiarity he could find enjoyment in.

"Is it true? What they're saying?" Yuffie asked excitedly. Xion glared at her.

"Is what who's saying true?" Sora asked.

"That you blew up Seifer's gang," she stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I-" Sora felt his heart stop and tasted the dryness in his mouth. He didn't know what to say. Effectively tied at the tongue.

Xion seemed to sense his discomfort. "Leave him alone, Yuff."

Yuffie ignored her. "Is that why you left? What happened?"

"Riku took me off the job," Sora said, not liking how the words sounded at all. "I'm done with all that."

"Oh…" Yuffie said, gazing off down the street pensively. "That makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Sora asked quickly. Surely, it was the most nonsensical thing one could ever hope to hear.

"It's pretty obvious," she said matter-of-factly, "Riku made you quit cause he was scared of you."

"What? Riku…scared of me?"

"Uh huh," Yuffie nodded. "I mean…you did blow them up, didn't you?"

Sora stared at his feet. That was enough.

"So he was afraid, cause you did something he couldn't do."

"It was an accident," Sora protested, "I wasn't supposed to be there."

Yuffie said nothing, continuing to appear as if she were in deep contemplation. Xion looked at them in annoyance. "Alright, alright," she said, "do we have to talk shop?"

"I'm just saying, Sora did something Riku'd been trying to get done for a while. Don't you think it's strange how he makes Sora quit right after?" Yuffie prompted.

"Sure, I guess," Xion shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

Yuffie looked away irritably. "Whatever," she grumbled, "I'm starving." She took off at high speed towards a pizza stand, leaving Sora and Xion to stare after her.

"Well…"

"I'll see you around, Sora," Xion said, giving him a wave and walking off to catch up with Yuffie. Sora watched her go, unsure of what to make of the scene he had just been presented with.

Their words stuck with him. If what Yuffie had said was true, if Riku had really taken him off the streets because he was afraid, then that would-

That would what?

Nothing changes, he reminded himself. Nothing changes. He looked down at his broken arm. Nothing changes.

Sora stood there, staring at the ground and allowing the conversation to play over and over his head when he spotted two heads of golden hair out of the corner of his eye. Most likely his brother and Naminé, he thought. Sora followed and the crowd grew thicker. He struggled to carve a path through the lingering people, breaking out and finding that he had lost sight of them.

He was about to turn back when he heard laughter. His head snapped towards the source of the noise, convinced that the distinct velvety laugh he heard sounded oh so familiar.

It was. Kairi and Naminé stood off to the side, chatting animatedly about something. Roxas stood with them, hands stuck in his pockets and a bored expression gracing his face. Sora was about to call to them when he saw the muscular boy that approached Kairi from behind.

Riku. He placed his hand on Kairi's shoulder and she turned to him, perhaps surprised by the sudden interruption. He smiled down at her and she reciprocated, and suddenly they were speaking to each other. Roxas looked uncomfortable and Naminé smiled and took his hand reassuringly.

Sora watched them and he felt a strange sinking feeling. His broken arm began to ache and his throat constricted wretchedly. He felt uneasy and distressed, watching the girl who had given him so much to hope for speaking enthusiastically with the boy who had caused him so much trouble.

He wanted to look away but he couldn't. Someone gripped his shoulder.

Sora looked up and was greeted with the sight of thick spiky red hair that stuck out in all directions, much like his own. It was a man looking down at him with emerald eyes, odd teardrop shaped markings under each eye; his face was stunningly symmetrical, chiseled like that of an ancient Greek statue, broad shoulders that filled the length of his black coat, sleeves pulled up tightly around his arms. In his other hand he held a lighter.

"Hello," he grinned.

"Um, do I know you?" Sora asked. He tried to look back at Kairi but his view was obstructed by the crowd and he moved to get away, but the man tightened his grip.

The red haired man smiled wider, if that were possible. "Not yet you don't. Why don't we take a walk?"

He was led away deeper into the masses and a feeling of remembrance swept him.

"What do you want?" Sora demanded, pulling his shoulder from the man's grasp. The man looked at him, thoroughly amused.

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "I just wanna talk, that's all."

"So talk," Sora said.

"Okay," the man gave an exaggerated nod. "Somewhere a bit more private though."

He pointed to an alley and Sora shrugged. Risky, perhaps. Sora followed him anyway.

"So," the man said once they had traversed a sizable distance from the festival, "I'm here to offer you an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Sora asked. "Who are you?"

The man grinned some more. "Call me Axel."

"Okay, Axel…what do you want?"

"Well Sora, to be blunt about it, I represent some people who have been looking at you very closely and we're interested in seeing what you could do for us."

"How do you know my name?" Sora asked. There was something very wrong occurring here, that much he knew.

The man named Axel laughed. "Everyone knows your name. You did quite a number down at Sunset Park."

Sora narrowed his eyes at him. "Who are you, really?"

"You ever hear that song, 'Winds of Change'? Well, the winds are changing," Axel smirked, "old people go out, new people come in. We think you'd be a great candidate for newness, you know what I'm saying?"

Sora shook his head.

Axel waved him off. "That's alright. Maybe you speak a different language," he reached into his coat and pulled out a pouch of munny. He held it out to Sora.

"Take it," he encouraged. Sora reached for it, convinced it was a trick, when Axel didn't pull it away, he tentatively took it.

"There's more where that came from. A lot more."

Sora looked at him. "I don't get it."

Axel pointed at his injured arm. "How'd you get that?"

"Accident," Sora muttered.

"I'm sure you did," Axel hummed. "How about you forget everything that came before. This is the first day of the rest of your life and-"

"Organization," Sora said, "you're with the Organization."

"Well," Axel smiled, "didn't take you that long."

"So this," Sora held up the munny pouch, "is so that I'll work for you?"

"Think of it as an investment," Axel said. "I want you to want to work for us…directly. Forget Riku. Kid's on his way out and you're gonna help us with that."

"What do you mean, on his way out?"

"I mean what I mean," Axel shrugged. "Take from it what you will. But what do you say? Can I count on you to swing by…say, Wednesday?"

Sora stared at the man with fiery hair and images passed furiously through his mind. Roxas and Naminé on the couch, her face red as a tomato as she leapt off him. Him and Kairi, sitting down at the edge of the skate park, watching a lonely firefly flicker on and off in the night as he held her hand tightly in his own. Riku, placing his hand on her shoulder and smiling down at her. His arm snapping. His mother screaming. Goofy murmuring.

He thought of bees, of that single wingless creature, sifting through the grass as a house disintegrated behind him.

"Okay."