Chapter 34

"All in all... things are never going to be the same, never again..." Kairi said sadly as she sat at the bedside of her sleeping companion, absentmindedly stroking the boy's hair. "Riku's arm is paralyzed- Yen Sid says he'll never fight again. And yet, through it all, his biggest fear is how you'll react when you find out. Sora, do you know? Even after all he's been through, you're still the first thing on his mind. He doesn't want you to be hurt!"

Though the boy had been making a marked recovery with each passing day, Sora still had not woken up. Many speculated that it was because the events of the war had broken his Heart, but Yen Sid had looked him over and assured them that his Heart was intact and unharmed. Nobody could venture a guess as to when or if he would ever wake. Kairi was beginning to become depressed, and it was showing in her work so much that Yen Sid had ordered her to take the remainder of that day's shift and the entire next day off to collect herself. So she spent most of her remaining time at the bedsides of her two closest friends.

Sora looked much better than he did when she found him clinging to life on the battlefield. Most of the color had returned to his face, and he looked peaceful, like he was not in any pain. Though they were still covered in bandages, many of the wounds in his chest and belly were almost completely healed.

He stirred slightly and rolled over in his sleep so that he now faced Kairi where she sat. His face contorted into a slight grimace and quickly relaxed again. Kairi took one of his hands in her own, and he quickly tightened his grip around it, very much aware of her presence.

"Kai...ri..." he cried out softly.

"I'm here, I'm right here..." she answered as she kissed the top of the boy's hand. His eyes fluttered slightly and opened. He looked blearily at the girl as he struggled to get his bearings.

"Where am I?" He whispered.

Kairi gasped in response.

"Sora! Oh gods, you're awake! My Sora!" She stammered as she lifted the half-asleep boy into a tight hug. Sora was quickly jolted to full awareness, looking around the room to see that others had rushed in to investigate the sudden commotion. The first ones in the room were Yen Sid and Mickey, followed closely by Donald and Goofy, and then Leon, Cloud, and Aerith- who had also taken part in the final clash and were now volunteering in the field hospital.

However, as he looked around the room, he was disheartened to learn that some of the faces he most desperately wanted to see were not in there. There was no sign of Riku, and Lea and Roxas had not shown up, nor did Ven or Aqua. He wondered how many of them had perished in the clash. His head fell in grief.

"Where is everyone else?" He asked quietly.

XXXXXXXX

Waves crashed quietly against the shore, washing away the footprints left by the lone wanderer. Lea surveyed the area with slow deliberation, wanting to find an ideal spot. He clutched the small wooden box tightly in his hands as he searched, until he saw it- a small clearing slightly obscured by palm trees. A place only he had to know about.

He sank to his knees as he found that ideal location, dropping the box and digging desperately into the soft sand, forming a hole that was roughly 6 inches into the ground. Then he just sat there, looking down into the hole, knowing what had to be done next but not wanting to. He felt that going through with this next part would separate him from Roxas forever.

"Lea!"

Lea looked up, startled by the familiar voice, and his hopes rose briefly as he thought he saw Roxas standing before him again, clear as day. Then he remembered there was another who wore his best friend's face.

"What is it Ven? Didn't Aqua tell you not to leave the hospital?" He asked despondently as he gathered up the box lying at his knees. The boy sank to his knees beside him and struggled to catch his breath- he had just run a fair distance to get to him.

"She let me go, just for now... Lea, everyone's been looking for you... they've been worried."

"Tell them I'm all right. I just had some unfinished business to take care of." Lea clutched the box tighter as he spoke, and Ven noticed.

"What's that?" He asked as curiosity got the better of him.

"This?" Lea motioned to the box he was holding. "It's... well..." He gave up trying to explain and simply opened it, revealing it's contents for Ven to see. Inside were what appeared to be common, everyday items, but their meaning was not lost on Ven, who had seen the X-shaped necklace and checkerboard-patterned wristband donned by Roxas regularly.

"Roxas always talked about wanting to go to the beach while he lived..." Lea said softly as he closed the box. "But our lives or... other things would interfere. Shortly after he died, I told myself that I would at least grant him that wish and let him rest here, but that presented it's own obstacle. He didn't leave a body behind to bury, so I took a few of his things instead, and now that I'm actually here, I don't think I can go through with it!" He drove his fist into the sand as he exclaimed those last words, losing his grip on the box, which toppled out of his hands and broke open, scattering it's contents.

Ven quickly gathered up the objects and returned them to the box, which he placed in Lea's shaking hands. He looked at Lea with a piercing gaze, concern very evident in his eyes.

"He meant a lot to you, didn't he?" Ven asked timidly, gently urging Lea's hands toward the hole in the ground. Lea put up no fight, and soon he had placed the box in the hole with utmost care.

"He made me feel complete, even when I was not... I loved him like a brother, sometimes like he was my own son. I think that year I spent alongside him in the Organization was the most memorable one." He began to cover the box with the sand that had piled up alongside the hole while he was digging. It left a small mound over the area where the box was buried, but Lea wanted to make sure he never lost this spot, so he hefted a large, flat stone over the area, into which he inscribed a symbol much like the shape of Roxas' necklace using Fire magic.

"He loved you too, you know..." Ven said quietly. "You could see it in the way he acted towards you. He never treated any of us that way, so you obviously meant something to him too..."

"He was like a son to me... tell me Ven... if you knew there was a chance you'd have to bury your child, would you ever become a father?"

XXXXXXXX

"No, no... why did he do it?" Sora exclaimed, tears openly running down his face. He had just learned the news about Roxas. "He already sacrificed so much to get his own identity... why would he throw all that away for me? First Riku, and now Roxas too? How many more do I have to lose? How many more did Xehanort take away from me?"

Mickey and Yen Sid exchanged dark looks. Kairi looked conflicted and a little hurt. There was a thick note of tension in the air that made Sora question his feelings.

"What's going on?" He asked hesitantly. Mickey and Yen Sid looked at the boy with solemn expressions. Kairi looked at them both questioningly, afraid that giving Sora this news while he was still not well would excite him more than he needed to be. Both gave her a soft, approving nod, and Kairi carefully approached the bedside, taking both Sora's hands in hers and looking him directly in the eyes as she spoke.

"Sora, Riku is still here, he survived..."

End of Chapter 34.