Hey everyone, sorry for the long update…I don't really have a good excuse for it except that cursed thing called writer's block! I hope you like it, I'll update faster next time.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own a thing....All characters belong to Square Enix and Disney....

Chapter 6

Sora sat on a roof overlooking the town. He tapped his foot continuously, trying to get his nerves in check. He should be more relaxed than this. He was older now, more experienced and it wasn't like before. He wasn't a 14-year-old boy separated from his friends and thrown into a conflict he had little understanding of. He was 17 years old now, and had been briefed and informed about what was going on. He was working with the Restoration Committee. Leon and Yuffie included Sora as an important part of their team. They trusted and counted on him and they didn't treat him like a child. So… why was he acting like one?

He remembered having more faith last time. He believed in himself and his friends and almost never questioned it. He never gave a thought to the possibility of a tragic ending. His faith had given him an attitude that seemed to lift anyone's spirits, especially his own. But now, negative thoughts weighted in on him.

How could this happen?! He thought to himself, as he held his forehead in frustration. Organization members he had killed were back, there was no denying this fact; he had seen two of them with his own eyes. Sure, Demyx and Axel were turning a new leaf, but he'd be more than crazy to believe that any of the other members would do the same. Sora didn't have to wonder, he knew they'd be out for revenge, and just thinking about all the possible ways they could try to get him, made him feel even more hopeless.

Sora, you have to stop thinking like this!

Sora shook his head, ignoring his nobody. It wasn't that easy to turn off your thoughts.

I don't care if its not easy, you have to stop this!

"And you have to stop listening to my thoughts!" Sora snapped.

Like I have a choice.

Sora knew this. He knew that Roxas couldn't just tune out his thoughts, especially when they were screaming so loud in his head.

You have a job to do now.

Yes, Sora had a job to do…again. They had discussed everything in the meeting. Him and his friends were informed that the Organization was back, and a woman named Dexea was now calling the shots. He, Riku, and Kairi had explained what happened during their last night on Destiny Islands, how the Heartless attacked, and how the heart of their world had been covered in Darkness. At that point, King Mickey had shown up. "Its just as I feared, the Heartless are hiding within the hearts of the worlds."

Everyone in the room had been shocked to hear the king's conclusion. However, no one questioned it, except Yuffie. "But that doesn't make sense! If they're inside the heart of worlds, why aren't they devouring them?" Sora remembered her saying it with wide eyes, thoughts of world destruction surely running through her mind.

"Because they don't want to be discovered." The king had replied. "It's just as Axel said, Dexea and the Organization are out to find their hearts. The Heartless contain hearts that they believe need to be searched through. But those Nobodies don't understand the heart and what it means to have one…They're on a chase for something they will never find…"

Sora and Riku along with Donald and Goofy had been given their mission. They were to travel to different worlds to stop the Heartless from further infecting the hearts of worlds. This had to be done before destroying the main threat, because if Dexea and the Organization were to be removed first, the heartless would have no more reason to hide, and they would consume the hearts that were once their refuge.

It was a seriously messed up situation, and Sora couldn't help but think about everything that could go wrong. But what made this predicament any different from the others he faced? Why wasn't he as confident as before? Riku had always been the one with doubts, and Sora had always been the one to assure him that everything would turn out okay. Maybe he wasn't being childish, maybe this was part of growing up. Maybe that's why he couldn't ignore the possible consequences as easy as before.

If this is growing up, then start growing down! Thinking like this isn't helping anyone, trust me, I know from experience, it's really just a waste of thought…

"Then what should I do Roxas?" Sora began, inwardly yelling at his other self. "Am I supposed to just carry on as if I have nothing to worry about, taking care of the Heartless from world to world, completely ignoring the fact that there are nobodies out there who I know want revenge for what I've done to them?"

It's not like you haven't done it before. There's always something out there trying to get you…you're the Keyblade master.

Sora ignored his answer. "…And now Kairi's involved. She's going to want to come with us, but she's not ready for this type of thing…"

That's not going to go well with her. Roxas said disapprovingly.

"Oh don't give me that. I told her I couldn't keep that promise. It's not like I left her behind on Destiny Islands …What if they go after her again Roxas? What if she gets hurt?"

If you keep sitting here moping then any of those 'what ifs' could very well come true.

Sora sighed. "Everything's going to be fine." He said aloud, trying to find the confidence that lacked in his tone of voice.

"Sora! There you are." Goofy's voice broke the silence. He took a spot beside the Keyblade master. "Me and Donald came to investigate what was making that tapping noise on the roof."

"We were sitting down wondering where you were, and Cid was going crazy over what that noise was." Donald added, climbing up onto the roof.

"A-hyuck! He reckoned it was some Heartless, but Yuffie said she knew the difference between a Heartless and a tree branch smacking against the rooftop…"

Sora pictured Cid and Yuffie yelling at each other, and he laughed lightly.

"Why are you wasting your time up here anyway?" Donald quacked. "We've got to get going!"

Sora nodded. "Alright, let's go say our goodbyes." He said regretfully.

Sora hopped off the roof and landed smoothly atop the stony ground. Conveniently enough, he dropped right in front of the very person he had been trying to avoid all day.

"There you are!" Kairi beamed after the surprise wore off.

Sora couldn't help act a little hesitant when he saw her. He presented her a false smile, but she saw right through it.

"What's wrong?" She asked concerned

"Oh, nothing." Sora lied.

"We don't have to leave right away." Kairi said, and Sora winced at her choice of pronoun. He cursed inwardly. She really thought she was coming.

She smiled. "So relax, okay? Come on," She grabbed his hand and pulled him along "Aerith and Cid are preparing a full course dinner for everyone. Everyone's gathered at Merlin's house, we should go join them. Everyone's there, well everyone except—"

Kairi stopped short as Donald and Goofy landed beside them. She laughed. "Great! Now we can all join the party."

Kairi was giddy, and she couldn't help herself. She had been so upset the day before, but now she felt happy. She was happy that she was with all her friends, enjoying their company and she felt included. It was different than the other times; she wasn't waiting for something to happen and she wasn't being held captive by some psychopath. She felt she had a keyblade for a reason, and this time she was going to help her friends.

She continued to pull Sora along as they entered Merlin's house with Donald and Goofy following. Sora felt a rush of warmth as soon as they entered. He never would have thought it was possible, but enough room had been made in the quaint little house for all of them. The furniture had been pushed aside to make way for a kitchen table big enough for 15 people.

He heard Selphie laugh, and saw her talking to Tifa and Axel. Axel said something back, and Tifa smacked him across the head in response. Moving his eyes around the crowd, he then saw Demyx, who was talking to Riku. The look on his friend's face told him that he was finding talking to Demyx just as weird as Sora found watching the two of them try to be friends. Leon sat on one of the couches leaned up against the wall next Cloud. Their expressions were more serious than most, but still somewhat relaxed, considering the two men were both known for never loosing sight of battle.

"There ya are Sora!" Yuffie grinned at him from across the room. "Where've you been?"

Donald answered for him. "He was on the roof watching for Heartless."

"Oh yeah? Did you see any?" She asked, a little too eager.

Sora shook his head.

Yuffie seemed satisfied by his answer. "Oh. Will you excuse me for a second?" She turned toward the kitchen. "Cid, old man! I told you it wasn't a Heartless!" She chided. "You owe me 20 munny!

"I never agreed to that!!" Cid's sounded from the kitchen.

Yuffie bit her lip and shook her head. Sora managed to catch the beginning of her sentence before turning towards Riku. "Always a sore loser…"

Sora sat down next to him and sighed as the topic of their conversation came to his ears.

"—but seriously, how many people can say their weapon helps you as a fighter and a musician?!" Demyx was moving his hands enthusiastically as he spoke to Riku. "When I first joined the Organization they all thought my weapon was a joke, but once they saw me in action, they never gave me grief about it again. My Sitar is awesome!" He finally noticed that Sora had sat down next to them and looked over. "Isn't that right, Sora? I mean, I know I lost that fight and all, but I'm sure it was no easy win."

Sora furrowed his eyebrow as questions of how he was able to have this conversation clouded his mind. "Uh…"

Riku chuckled and turned to Sora. "Relax," He whispered to his friend, "this is probably the last night for a while where we can chill like this…and probably the only time you'll find Organization members this friendly."

"Hey! That's former Organization member!" Demyx corrected, budding in. "So…? What about my sitar? Sora, you still haven't answered the question."

"Well…" Sora began hesitantly, trying the find the right words. "Now that I think about it, your sitar was like nothing I've ever come across before." Sora let himself laugh lightly.

"Hah! Damn right!" Demyx yelled. He stood up and walked toward the other former-Organization member in the room. "See, Axel? The keyblade master thinks my weapon is bad-ass!"

"That doesn't change my opinion of it…"

The brunette shook his head as the two argued but turned his head when Riku tapped his shoulder. Sora followed his pointed finger to see Kairi, who was walking toward them.

"We're going to have to tell her later, but for now, let's just enjoy this night." Riku whispered to him before Kairi got too close.

Sora nodded, and quickly switched his expression to a smile as Kairi sat down next to Riku. He let out a mental sigh of relief when her topic of conversation had nothing to do what Riku had said. "So," She began, "you find talking to Demyx and Axel just as weird as I do?"

"Yes!" Riku and Sora exclaimed in unison.

Kairi giggled. "I gotta admit though, it is kinda funny how things have turned out this way." Sora added. The three friends laughed.

Leon passed by the three keyblade wielders as they laughed about something Sora said. His mind was telling him that this happy celebration was only really prolonging the inevitable separation that would take place later that night…but, he also knew better than to break it up. I suppose they need this…

"—you know, this is probably the strangest group of people I've ever seen together in one place." Leon's head turned around to the familiar voice he had been trying to avoid all night. Among the many voices sounding in the room, Selphie's voice stood out above them all, giving Leon a deeper feeling of déjà vu with every syllable she spoke. Suddenly, he was sent on trip back into his memories, back to the life that was taken from him.

He was standing in the entrance of the Balamb garden cafeteria. Selphie was talking excitedly to a girl with dark raven hair, dressed in a soothing sky blue. The girl's hair swayed to the side as she turned her head and spotted Leon. She smiled, and her smile lit up the room. She raised her hand, and waved him to come over… "Squall, over here!"

As Selphie got to the punchline of her joke, she saw something at the corner of her eyes. While Tifa and Axel laughed, she noticed that it was the man with the scar.

"Hey Tifa…why's that Leon guy staring at us?" Selphie asked, making a point not stare back at the man who now seemed to be in trance.

"Huh?" Stopping her laughter, Tifa turned her head, and spotted Leon, staring just as Selphie had said. She smiled and waved her hand for him to come over. "Hey Leon!"

But instead of smiling back, Leon blinked slowly and lowered his head, bringing a hand to his forehead. He shook his head as if he was disappointed about something and walked off to sit back on the couch next to Cloud.

Tifa cocked her head to the side, but not terribly surprised by his behaviour. "Okay… what's his problem?"

There was a commotion coming from the kitchen and the conversations began to die down as the smell of food wafted into the room. "Hey everyone! Sit yourself around the table. Dinner's ready!" Aerith piped sweetly, while placing a platter of food on the table. Cid and Yuffie followed with glasses and beverages.

There was more chatter and laughter as everyone enjoyed the delicious meal. But toward the end, the room began to quiet down, because most people in the room knew the battle ahead was coming closer and closer.

Selphie sighed at the dwindling silence, as the last dish was handed out. "Talk about a buzz kill! Is the party over already?"

"We can't ignore the task at hand for any longer." Leon said. Tifa and Cid nodded as they stood up and began clearing the table. Quiet chatter began to pick up again as everyone worked together to get the place cleaned up.

After putting his share of dishes away, Leon walked over to the three keyblade wielders, who were usually never too far away from the other. He looked at Riku and Sora as he spoke. "You two ready to go?" He asked them.

Riku and Sora looked at each other and the immediately looked toward Kairi, with expressions of concern plastered on their faces. This was it. This was going to be the moment when they had to say it.

Leon was taken a back by their reaction. "So you're not—wait a minute, you've told her right?" He said, referring to Kairi.

"Told me what?" The red head asked in a suspicious tone as she neared them. She frowned at Sora's and Riku's guilty faces.

"WHAT?! No! I'm not staying here!" Kairi had her hands firmly placed on her hips as she yelled angrily at Sora and Riku.

Apparently Roxas had been right. Sora and Riku had taken Kairi aside somewhere quiet, so that they could explain their decision to have her remain on Radiant Garden. Both knew that she would be upset, but they never predicted just how upset she would be.

"No way! You can't! Its not fair, you're not leaving me behind again!" Kairi shouted.

"Come on Kai, don't be like that. It's too dangerous and you know it!"

"That didn't stop you when you were fourteen years old and half the size of your enemies. But it's different for me? Why Sora? Because I'm a girl? Huh? Just leave the dumb girl behind, is that it?!"

"You're not dumb! And its not like we're leaving you back on the island, you're—"

"—What about back on the island, huh?" Kairi interrupted. "I helped you two! You need me!"

Riku stood his ground and maintained a stern expression. "You need to stay safe."

Kairi turned toward him. "I don't care about being safe. You two are supposed to be my best friends…we're supposed to help each other."

"Then help us by staying here. We'll be fine." Riku said and his tone was becoming harsher now.

"You gave me this Riku!" She summoned her keyblade. "Remember?! I thought it was because you believed in me. I thought it meant that I could finally help you guys instead of waiting for you. Do you know what it's like to have to wait? To just wait, and be helpless to do anything? The constant worry about whether things are going work out or if…if…" The intensity in Kairi's eyes cooled down for a moment as she contemplated if. "…Look, I won't do it again, I just can't!"

Sora put a comforting hand on Kairi's shoulder. He was beginning to understand the source of her anger and frustration. "It's not like that this time." He said. "Your going to be with the Restoration Committee, you can help them, and they will keep you updated."

Kairi looked up at Sora, and her expression faltered. She couldn't stop her features from softening, but she shrugged off his hand anyway. "I want to help you Sora, you're always helping me…why can't I help you for once? Please, let me come with you…Each of us has a Keyblade…We're a team, aren't we?"

"We'll be fine without you. You need to stay out of our way."

Sora looked at Riku disbelievingly, and quickly turned to Kairi to see tears beginning to well up in her beautiful eyes. His mouth worked fast, stuttering out better words. "N—No Kairi! It's not like that! We just don't want you to get hurt!"

Kairi looked toward Riku, not hearing Sora's explanation, and saw that he was avoiding eye contact. That anger welled up inside her again at Riku's words but it softened as she saw Sora's sad eyes, with his mouth hung open as if he didn't know what to say.

"Fine." She said plainly, after a few seconds of silence. "Fine. If that's how you both feel, then I'll stay out of your way." She turned her back on them, and began to walk away. As much as she felt hurt by Riku's words, she couldn't make herself angry enough not to care about them.

She turned her head without stopping her pace. "Take of yourselves."

Sora's insides felt cold and hot at the same time. He wanted to run after her, to comfort her, to hold her, to make sure she was okay, but he thought better of it. It was better not to drag the argument. He took whatever comfort he could in knowing that she wouldn't be alone.

"Come on, let's go." Riku said, already turning to leave Merlin's house.

Sora was reminded of his friend's presence, and he rounded on him. "You didn't have say it like that, you know!"

"She'll get over it. It's better this way." Riku mumbled with his head cast down.

"That's not the point! You didn't have to tell her that way!" Sora yelled at his friend.

"We both know she wouldn't of let it go, unless we gave her reason not to come, I—"

"—But you didn't—!"

"—It's done with Sora. Don't make me feel worse about it than I already do."

The two friends, having ended the argument on a bitter note, walked the rest of the way to the Gummi ship in silence.

If you read this far, review!! It's my birthday tomorrow, reviews are great gifts tee hee…..

Thankyous! ^^