Sora drifted in and out of consciousness for the rest of the afternoon, the pain in the recently opened cut and his ribs waking him periodically. Baymax had given him a small container of pills to relieve some of his pain and help him sleep, but they didn't seem to be doing much for him so far... Kairi and Riku kept their promise, making sure at least one of them was in the room at all times.

The two of them spent most of the afternoon playing the Command Board game Kairi had found. Sora told them he didn't mind them making noise. It was comforting, and distracted him from the pain, helping him sleep. Occasionally he would speak to them, but mostly he was too tired and when he was awake just listened to them chatting quietly. They weren't sure at first if it was discomfort or dreams causing it, but when Sora did sleep it didn't seem restful. He would twist his head from side to side, an agitated look on his face, his murmurs sounding faintly distressed.

Several hours after he first woke up he began muttering to himself more loudly as his nightmares returned. He watched helplessly as Rage rained down on his friends, and cried out as he bolted upright, panicking again. Riku knew what to expect this time and dashed over to grab Sora's shoulders, trying to restrain him until he calmed down and stopped being a danger to himself.

"It's OK Sora! Just breathe."

Sora tried to twist and pull away from whatever was holding on to him, almost falling off the other side of the bed.

"Sora it's me, Riku, just look at me OK?"

Sora turned to him, looking terrified and trying to shove him back.

"You're safe, just breathe."

It took a few moments, but Sora stopped trying to push him away, and Riku's eyes once again came into focus. "Riku?"

Riku smiled at him. "Yeah, it's me."

Sora stared at him and his expression moved from panic, to joyful relief, and then to pain, as his injuries caught up with him again. He groaned faintly as he wrapped his arm around his middle, and leant forward so his forehead was resting on Riku's shoulder. He was trembling and Riku pulled him into a careful hug. He wondered what on earth could be causing him so much fear.

"You're alright now, I got you."

Sora didn't say anything and just rested against his chest. Riku waited several minutes until the shaking stopped and Sora's breathing became steady.

"You OK?"

Sora murmured indistinctly into his neck and he snickered.

"You asleep?"

"Mmmm..."

Laughing quietly again, he held on to him a little longer, and then helped a now half-asleep Sora lie back down.

Riku was reminded of all the times he had to piggyback Sora to their boats after long days on the play island when they were kids. Being that little bit younger than him, and always determined to keep up, Sora would frequently run himself into the ground by the end of the day. He'd fall asleep wherever they were and leave Riku with the task of getting him back to the mainland. He would always complain to a bashful and apologetic Sora the next day when it happened, but he rarely ever minded having to do it.

"Thanks..." Sora mumbled, looking up at him blearily. "Can you stay here... for a bit?"

Riku's stomach clenched a little, hating the faint note of fear in Sora's voice, but he smiled reassuringly at him. "Sure."

He took hold of Sora's hand and held it while he drifted off, and stayed there until he was sure he was properly asleep. Then he turned bright red as he looked around to find Kairi smirking at the two of them.

Though still bothered by dreams, Sora didn't wake up in a panic again that day, much to the others' relief. Each time he started muttering and became agitated one of them would sit with him for a few minutes, keeping their hand on his until he was calm again. Having someone there seemed to at least keep the worst of the nightmares at bay, even though it didn't stop them completely.

When he woke up in the evening, Sora noticed the sounds of the game and quiet voices had stopped. He opened his eyes and looked around, finding Kairi sitting on one of the wide windowsills, staring at her Gummi phone and tapping on the screen. Riku didn't seem to be there.

"Who won the game then?"

She jerked her head up in surprise, then grinned "We played a few times, I think I won more but we lost track after a while." She came over and sat down on the bed beside him.

"Oh yeah?" He felt bad for making them stay at the tower with him. "Sorry for being such a kid and asking you to stay, you both must be getting pretty bored just sitting around..."

"Don't apologise, we'd be here even if you didn't ask us."

He smiled. "Thanks."

"You aren't getting rid of me easily!" She put her hands on her hips, trying and failing to look stern. He laughed, and suppressed the urge to wince.

"Where's Riku?"

"You just missed him actually." She explained how Yen Sid had left a portal to her and Axel's training area open, and that Riku had headed there not too long ago. Sora was relieved to know they had somewhere else to go at least and weren't trapped in here.

"What have you been doing then?" He asked.

"I've just been playing those funny Gummi phone games"

"Oh really?" His eyes lit up a little. "I used to love those."

She laughed at how much more animated he seemed. "Me too." She took her phone back out. "I've beaten almost all of them but I've been stuck on this last one for so long..."

"What! I only ever finished half of them!"

"Well, I have been playing them quite a lot..." She grinned smugly anyway, then held the screen up to him. "Was this one of the ones you finished?"

"Yeah, it took me ages though. There's a trick to it."

"What! Show me!"

She climbed onto the bed and lay down on top of the covers next to him. With the extra pillows propping them up they lay back shoulder to shoulder, and she held the phone up so he could see.

With one hand bound up in bandages he couldn't play, but he doubted he'd manage any of the games at the moment anyway with his clouded brain and blurred vision. He just watched her instead, pointing out a couple of tricks for the game she couldn't beat. It was nice sitting together and watching her play, trying not to laugh whenever she lost and swore at her phone. Her presence was soothing, and the game was a good distraction from his aches and pains.

He'd missed her so much, it was still hard to believe she was really there, that he had a friend there beside him again. He lay his head down on her shoulder and without thinking she turned, briefly pressed her cheek into his hair, and kissed him on the forehead. He smiled and drifted off, while she returned to the game and tried not to swear out loud.

When he returned, Riku found Kairi sitting on the bed curled up next to Sora, her eyes glued to her phone. He assumed she was playing those little games she liked so much. He never got why she found them so much fun. Maybe they had been a good distraction in the times she was waiting for news about the search for Sora, unable to join in while she trained. She was so absorbed in it that she hadn't noticed the door open.

Sora was sleeping on her shoulder, her head resting on top of his. He looked much calmer than he had earlier in the day, sleeping deeply for a change. He was almost smiling.

He wondered if maybe this would be the near-death experience that finally got the two of them to admit their feelings to each other. He still didn't understand what was taking them so long. They must know that they each felt the same, everyone else knew. Maybe Sora was just too oblivious to even realise how he himself felt about Kairi, let alone how she did.

Let alone how he did.

He smiled at them though, looking so at peace together. "Am I interrupting?" he asked quietly.

Kairi looked up and stuck her tongue out at him for teasing her. "I don't want to wake him up so now I'm trapped…"

Riku barely stifled a laugh. "I guess you're stuck there till morning then."

"I guess…" She rolled her eyes in feigned exasperation. "If I'll be stuck here all night could you pass me the other blanket then?" She gestured to one on the couch and he threw it over her.

"Looks like he's actually sleeping properly now, how long's he been out?"

"Only an hour or so I think, but yeah, he seems much better now".

"Guess he just needed someones company then..." He meant it as another teasing remark, but Kairi didn't seem to notice this time. She just smiled down at Sora fondly.

He seemed calm now, but Riku was still worried that Sora might wake up violently and hurt himself again. He picked up one of the books Mickey had brought them and pulled a chair up on the other side of the bed. As it started getting late he looked up to find Kairi had fallen asleep as well, the Gummi phone lying forgotten on the bed beside her. After this long, he thought it was unlikely Sora would need help again. He didn't feel ready to leave them yet though, so went back to his book.

Kairi was the first to wake up the next morning and found Riku had fallen asleep in his chair beside the bed, sitting awkwardly upright with his arms crossed and chin on his chest. There was a book lying on the floor at his feet. He must have dropped it when he dozed off. He was probably going to have an even stiffer neck than she did when he woke up.

As she eased her shoulder out from under Sora's head he stirred but didn't wake. She shuffled forward on the bed and turned around to look at him. He still looked awful... but for the first time since arriving at the tower he had some colour in his cheeks, and she wasn't certain but the bags under his eyes did seem to have faded a little. She wondered, again, when he had last slept before they found him.

She made to stand up and her Gummi phone slid off the bed. It clattered loudly to the floor, causing Riku to jump in his seat and Sora to drag his eyes open.

"Sorry! Sorry!" She grabbed her phone off the ground and looked at them guiltily. Riku chuckled and Sora stared at her blearily, not a clue what was happening.

"It's fine," Riku told her, as she sat back down on the bed looking ashamed. Sora was peering around the room, still disorientated. His hair was a dishevelled mess, sticking out at even more odd angles than usual. As the memory of where he was slowly floated back his face broke into a goofy, bemused grin. The others both burst out laughing, much to his confusion.

"Wha... What's so funny?"

"Your face." He tried to glare at Riku but it came out as a pout, which just made them laugh even more. It was a sound Sora had missed dearly, and he couldn't help smiling again.

"How are you feeling?" Kairi asked when she eventually stopped laughing at him, and he'd had some time to wake up properly.

"Well, I'm pretty sure this isn't a dream now, so I'm great." He beamed at the two of them. "Sorry for making you guys hang around so much, thanks for doing that."

Kairi tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him. "That's good, but how are you actually feeling? How's the pain?"

"Oh, uhh..." His head was throbbing and his chest ached something awful, the pain fluctuating in time with his breath. He was glad someone had pilled so many pillows behind him. He doubted he would have the strength to sit up without them.

"I'm OK. A little sore, but OK" he tried to reassure them. "Definitely better after some sleep."

Kairi gave a small snort of amusement. "Well, you've definitely had plenty of that since we got here."

"Oh right, when did we get here?" He still had no idea how long he had been unconscious.

"About a week ago now I think," she said, counting on her fingers. "Yeah, exactly a week ago actually"

"A week?!" He stared at her incredulously. "I was asleep that long?"

"Well, sleeping is one of your talents," Riku smirked. He pouted at Riku indignantly again, but he had to admit… he had a point.

"Wow..." He stared down at the bandage across his chest and his broken arm lying on his stomach. He hadn't noticed just how many bruises he was covered in until now. "I can't believe I was out for a whole week."

"Yeah… there were a few times we thought you might not wake up…"

He looked back up at Kairi, feeling horribly guilty. "I'm really sorry for making you worry."

"Sora you idiot, would you please stop apologising!" Riku's tone was exasperated, but his expression was warm and he put a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Heh, sorry." He grinned sheepishly at Riku and Kairi laughed.

His face slowly fell though. He needed to ask a question he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to. "So I was asleep for a week, but before that... how long was I gone?"

The others' smiles faded as well.

"A little over a year," Riku said, his grip on Sora's shoulder tightening a little.

"A year..."

Another year of his life, gone.

They sat in pained silence for a while.

He had counted 303 days in that city though. That still left some time unaccounted for...

Before he could say anything though they were interrupted by an abrupt knock at the door. It opened, and Master Yen Sid came in. It was the first time Kairi and Riku had seen him in several days, and they stood up politely. "Master Yen Sid! Good morning" Riku said.

"Good morning Riku, Kairi." He nodded in acknowledgement and gave one of his rare smiles as he turned to Sora. "And Sora, it is good to see you. Baymax informed me this morning that you had awoken. I am pleased to see you are finally on the mend."

"Thank you, sir, and thanks for letting me stay here" Sora replied, hoping he was conveying his gratitude enough despite his tired voice.

"That is quite alright." Yen Sid's expression and tone abruptly turned serious. "I'm sorry to ask so soon after you have woken Sora but I am afraid I must. Can you tell me what you remember about that world you were in, and what happened while you were there?"

Kairi's eyes narrowed a little. She respected Master Yen Sid, but was it really necessary for him to ask Sora about this so soon? When he'd barely been awake for a day and was still so exhausted and unwell? Riku unconsciously shifted closer to Sora, leg pressed against the side of the bed and hand close to his arm.

"Oh." Sora's smile faded once again and he looked down, staring at Yen Sid's feet.

"Well… I don't remember much. I remember walking through that city for a while and being attacked by a man in a black coat. It looked like Organisation XIII's coats. I don't know who he was, I never saw his face, but he knew my name somehow. We fought and he knocked me out… then I remember seeing Riku and Kairi. After that things go dark again… The next thing I remember is waking up here."

"And you don't remember anything earlier than that?"

He hesitated.

"No."

There was silence for a while. Sora continued staring at the ground.

"Alright then, thank you Sora. Please tell me if you remember anything else, I will leave you to rest now." He made to leave but turned around when he reached the door. "I expect you'll be having some visitors today. The King told me Donald and Goofy are rather anxious to see you," and with that, he took his leave.

Kairi and Riku were staring at Sora, and he was resolutely avoiding their gaze. They were both certain he had been lying to Yen Sid. That meant right now he clearly didn't want to talk about what he did remember though, so they didn't ask. They were all grateful when Baymax entered the room and broke the awkward silence.

"Good morning Sora, Riku, Kairi" He waved at each of them in turn.

"Hi Baymax" Kairi grinned at him, and she and Riku shifted away from the bed to let him examine Sora.

"Now that you are awake Sora I would like to examine your arm, and also assess if you are suffering from a concussion."

Judging from the pounding in his head, Sora thought he could answer that for him.

He described the partial numbness and prickling he was still feeling in his arm and was horrified to discover that when Baymax asked him to make a fist his fingers would only twitch. His friend told him it was too soon to tell if this was cause for concern though, and he would reassess it in a few days. He was much more concerned with Sora's head wound. He shone a light in Sora's eyes a few times and ran through a list of dull questions.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Yes… Yen Sid's tower"

"Does your vision seem normal?"

"I think it's a little blurry."

"Do you have a headache?"

"Yeah"

"Do you feel nauseous?"

"Umm… a bit"

"Please follow my finger with your eyes".

The finger following test was when he really started to struggle. He couldn't seem to keep his gaze fixed on the finger, despite its size, and after several waves of Baymax's hand, he had to close his eyes. He put a hand up to his head and groaned. The room was spinning and he felt suddenly like he might be sick. "Ugh, sorry Baymax… I can't really see straight."

The others looked from Sora to Baymax, worried.

"All right. You appear to have a moderate concussion, but your mental clarity is a good sign. I prescribe more rest."

"So I can go back to sleep now?" Baymax nodded and Sora sighed with relief, closing his eyes and lowering his hand to his churning stomach. The tests and Yen Sid's questions had left him feeling unwell and drained.

"Please let me know if you need my assistance. Is there anything else I can do for you right now Sora?"

"No, thanks Baymax," he murmured, half asleep already.

"Alright." He turned to the others. "Is there anything else I can do for you right now, Kairi and Riku?"

"Well..." Riku glanced at Sora and waited a few more seconds until he appeared to be asleep. "Is there anything else you can do for the pain?"

He remembered unpleasantly clearly just how much it had hurt when Xemnas had cracked and bruised two of his ribs in their first battle with him. It had been a couple of weeks before he could breathe deeply without immediately regretting it, and that had been with magic speeding up the process as well. They all had abnormally high pain tolerances by this point, but with half of his ribs broken and bruised he doubted Sora could breathe without severe pain right now.

"No, I am sorry. Until Sora has regained more strength it will not be safe for potions or similar magic items to be used. I was also not able to bring a large amount of medical supplies from San Fransokyo. We have been struggling to keep the Heartless under control recently, and so injuries to citizens and our team have greatly depleted our supplies."

They hadn't been aware of an increase in Heartless in other worlds. Maybe that was one of the reasons Yen Sid had been questioning Sora so soon... They would leave it to the others for now though and rejoin the action later. Sora needed them more right now, and in all honesty, they needed to be close to him just as badly.

After Baymax left Kairi sat down at the table, expecting Riku to join her. When she looked round to strike up a conversation though she found him sitting on the bed next to Sora, hand on top of his and watching his face, looking as worried as ever. She turned back without saying a word. Maybe she'd just play on her phone for a little bit...

The rest of that day and the next passed in a confused blur for Sora, full of visitors, a pounding headache, and questions he couldn't fully answer.

Donald and Goofy arrived later in the morning and immediately woke him up as they burst in to see him.

"SORA!"

He jerked awake, turned to the door, and saw a white and blue blob speeding towards him. Riku grabbed Donald mid-leap as he tried to jump on Sora and hug him.

"Hey watch it! You'll knock him out again if you're not careful!"

"Let go of me Riku!" Donald wriggled and tried to pull himself out of Riku's hands. Goofy peered over Riku's shoulder.

"Gawrsh, he's got a point you know Donald."

"Let me go! Let me go!" Donald crossed his arms angrily and Sora started laughing, too happy to care about the pain.

"I missed you guys too."

Mickey had come with them as well but decided to leave them alone to spend time with Sora. He had hoped to talk with Yen Sid, Riku, or Kairi about the world Sora had been in and what had happened to him, but they didn't have much to tell. Yen Sid repeated what Sora had said, and Riku had already told Mickey what he and Kairi had seen. Mickey was clearly disappointed, but Riku and Kairi weren't going to mention to anyone that they thought Sora remembered more.

After 15 or so minutes of talking, Sora was struggling to keep his eyes open again, and Donald and Goofy reluctantly left him to rest. After they had stopped crying with relief at seeing him alive, and Donald had finished lecturing him about taking better care of himself (Sora didn't have the energy to snap back that it wasn't exactly his fault that he was so beaten up), they had asked him about what had happened in that city as well. He'd simply told them that he couldn't remember much right now.

Axel, Roxas, and Xion visited in the afternoon, thrilled to find Sora awake. With his blurry vision, he didn't recognise Xion or Roxas at first without their old black coats. He probably wouldn't have recognised Axel either if he wasn't twice everybody else's height. He was glad to see them as well and, after finding out they had helped rescue and patch him up, was happy he could thank them. His memory of their rescue was so foggy he hadn't even realised Roxas and Xion had been there.

They had brought Hayner, Pence, and Olette along, which he thought must have been quite a cramped Gummi ship ride. Having heard most of the details from Roxas and Xion they had been desperate to see Sora as well. Sora was just as pleased to see them, but with so many people around he was struggling to keep track of them all.

His head was throbbing from all the voices around him, and following a conversation was almost impossible, particularly as he frequently dozed off halfway through a sentence. The pills Baymax had given him had made him even woozier than before. As he could only stay awake for brief periods, his friends spent much of their time talking in Yen Sid's office, joining him intermittently.

The visitors departed for Disney Castle and Twilight Town in the early evening, promising they would be back soon, and Yen Sid disappeared deeper into his tower again.

Donald and Goofy had brought Sora's old Gummi phone back for him. They told him Chip and Dale had spent a few weeks fiddling with it after he left, seeing if there was any kind of data within it to suggest where he might have disappeared to. Though still too blurry-eyed and dazed to use it, he was hugely grateful to have it back. He had spent so much time wishing he had it, and the photos it stored, while he was alone.

Despite his insistence that he was now fine being on his own, Riku and Kairi parked themselves at the table again with books, the Command Board, and their phones for entertainment. They told him resolutely that they were staying there whether he liked it or not, which of course he did. When the nightmares returned they came to sit with him, Kairi curling up beside him with her phone again and Riku sitting with a book in one hand, and Sora's hand in the other.

Axel, Roxas, and Xion turned up again the next morning, with Isa joining them this time. They didn't stay for long though, expecting other people would be visiting soon and not wanting to impose. Before they left Riku and Kairi asked the three Keyblade wielders if they could visit San Fransokyo to help Baymax's friends deal with the Heartless. They agreed to go immediately, and Baymax made some quick introductions between them and Hiro over the phone.

As they headed out, Roxas promised they'd be back with ice cream after they helped Baymax's friends. Mickey, Goofy, and Donald returned in the afternoon, soon followed by Yuffie, Aerith, and Leon, along with Cid in one of his ships. Merlin even popped in for awhile. After spending a year searching everywhere for him, it seemed everyone was eager to see Sora.

While everyone visited, Riku and Kairi made sure one of them stayed by Sora's side constantly. They knew they were being overprotective, but they couldn't help it. Though they were of course well-meaning, everyone coming to see him was clearly overwhelming for Sora. The only other person who seemed to realise how exhausting this must be for him was Naminé. She had told Kairi when she called that she would wait to come until Sora had had more time to recover, mentally and physically.

But no one else seemed to notice how difficult this was for him. They all asked the same question as well.

What had happened to him?

Each time they asked Sora he gave the same reply; he couldn't remember much. He knew he woke up in that city at some point and fought a man in a black coat, but that was all.

And each time, Riku and Kairi knew he was lying.

Yen Sid and Mickey in particular were pushy with this question. The third time they tried to ask if he remembered anything yet Riku cut them off and 'suggested' that if they let Sora rest maybe he would remember something sooner. They took the hint and left him alone after that, for which Sora was extremely grateful. Donald, Goofy, and Mickey headed back to the Castle soon after.

Ventus, Aqua, and Terra arrived in the evening but, to Ven's great disappointment, didn't stay long. They were there less than 10 minutes before Aqua decided it was clear they needed to leave Sora be. They were there long enough to ask him the same question everyone else had though, and he replied with the same lie once again. As the three of them left, Kairi followed them out so she could chat with Aqua. After the door closed Riku turned to Sora and decided to ask him before he fell asleep.

"You do remember what happened, don't you?"

Sora was taken aback and hesitated to reply, but then again it wasn't surprising that Riku could tell. He looked away, feeling awkward. He wasn't going to lie to Riku as well though.

"Yeah, I do."

"Kairi and I thought so." They were silent for a few moments. "You don't have to tell us, or any of the others, but I'm here if you do want to, and so is she."

Sora nodded. "Right"

"OK then. Get some rest." He turned to leave but Sora stopped him.

"Hey Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

They smiled at each other, in quiet understanding. Riku gave him a nod, and left him to sleep.

As he left the room Kairi came bouncing back up the stairs, grinning. "I told Aqua he's been having trouble with his arm and asked if she could help. She thinks once he's got more energy she'll be able to help heal it!"

"Hmm? Oh right, that's good."

"What's wrong?" He seemed distracted.

"We were right… He didn't tell me anything about it, but he said he remembers."

"Oh…" Her face fell a little. They both suspected the reason he didn't want to talk to anyone about it had little to do with exhaustion, and much more to do with the memories themselves. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how he is tomorrow then."

"And make sure everyone else chills out and leaves him alone," Riku said with a wry smile and she gave a small sound of agreement. He decided they both needed a distraction. "Terra told me you're had gotten even better with magic since you started training with Aqua, and Yen Sid still has the door to the training world open… feel like a match and showing me what you've got?"

"What!" She gaped at him. "You've never wanted to fight with me before!"

"Well, I never thought you might actually have a chance at winning before" he smirked.

"Hey!" He was obviously right that she never would have had a chance in the past, but she put her hands on her hips and glared at him for a moment anyway. She grinned as he laughed at her though. It was exciting to think she would get to be the one competing for a change, rather than it just being the two boys as it always had been.

"What about Sora though?"

"Well, he keeps telling us we should get out of here for a bit, maybe actually doing that will get him to stop feeling so damn guilty all the time, and Baymax is here if he needs anything."

"Hmmm… Alright then, you're on!"

They returned and hour or so later, not wanting to spend too long away. They were tired, but pleased with themselves. Predictably, Riku had gone easy on Kairi, but soon discovered she was so nimble he did have to actually put in a decent effort. He'd won their best-of-three competition, but not by much. She'd managed to get past his defences and best him in their second round, much to his surprise.

Kairi was feeling smug, even though she knew he had still been holding back a little. Two years ago she never would have guessed she'd be able to hold her own against Riku. Exhausted from this and the stress of the day, they both slept soundly that night.

Sora was plagued by his usual nightmares of lonely streets and taunting whispers, as he watched his hands turning into bloody, black claws.

He woke in the early hours of the morning, jerked awake by his dreams, to find the others asleep on the couch. Riku was lying on his back with an arm around Kairi, who was cuddled up next to him with her face and hand resting on his chest. He smiled at them, immensely grateful to wake up to their presence, rather than an empty room.

He didn't know what emotion it was exactly, but something about seeing them there together triggered an uncomfortable pang in his stomach. Not understanding what it was, he tried to ignore it, focussing solely on how happy he was that they were there.