The Other

"Tell me what, Kairi?" Riku repeated, glowering between the two of them. "Tell me that you're finally going to start dating? I know you've been sneaking around to see each other behind my back. You don't have to keep it a secret you know."

Sora felt his face heat up. Riku thought he was dating Kairi? "Riku, that's not it at all! Trust me, I don't even LIKE Kairi like that!"

"Yeah, Riku," Kairi burst in, finally overcoming her shock. "Sora likes someone else. That's all we've been talking about, trust me!"

Riku looked between them - Sora's face was still red, and he wasn't quite meeting Riku's eyes. Kairi was staring up at him beseechingly. "So tell me what the big secret is, then," he said gruffly, sitting down next to them.

"Well... Sora, should you tell him?" Kairi asked. Sora was staring intently down at his feet, his face impossibly dark.

"Could you... please?" he mumbled into his knees. Kairi thwapped him on the back of the head, much to Riku's puzzled amusement.

"Riku, have you noticed anything... different about Sora lately?" Kairi asked. Riku stared hard at his best friend, taking in his spiked brown hair and blue and yellow island clothes.

"He's... taller?" Riku ventured, not sure what they were asking. Sora sighed, burying his face in his arms. "His hair is shorter? I don't know, what?" He was starting to feel annoyed all over again - it was bad enough when he thought they were sneaking around behind his back, but now to not even be able to come right out and say whatever was bothering them-

"Kairi, I'm going home," Sora muttered, and gathered his shoes and socks. "Bye Riku." Riku scowled even harder. Sora sounded so dejected, and with his shoulders slumped and his head bowed, he looked ... defeated.

It wasn't a look he'd ever thought he'd see on his rambunctious best friend. "Kairi, please tell me what's going on."

She sighed, looking up at the starry night. "Alright. He came to me yesterday and told me he's been ... losing time."

"He's been what?" Riku bristled, instantly angry on his friend's behalf but unsure of who to be angry AT.

"I don't know. He said he'll be doing one thing, in one place, and the next thing he's aware of, he's somewhere else, and several hours have passed by. The only thing I've been able to find at the library was that maybe he's developing some sort of multiple personalities. But he also said that it started the day the door appeared in that cave, remember?"

Riku nodded, thinking back. "That was... two weeks ago. Almost three. You mean he's been 'losing time' for almost a month, and he didn't confide in either of us? When does it happen?"

Kairi scowled at him. "It happened earlier today!" She snapped at him. "When he 'passed out' earlier in the shack. I told him to tell me if he felt himself starting to lose his time, and he said he'd fall."

Riku was thunderstruck. "You mean that... the whole day, that wasn't really Sora? And the other day, we were talking about the struggle match tomorrow. Halfway through the conversation, he started acting like he didn't know what we were talking about!"

"He probably didn't!" Kairi said firmly.

Riku turned to look at her, his eyes wide. "Kairi, we've got to do something to help him."

"I know," she said soothingly. "That's what we were going to tell you. We're going to Radiant Garden, and we're going to ask Master Ansem to - to check him out or something. We can stay at my cousin Leon's house while we're there, he won't mind."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go tonight! I'll get my carisak, you get Sora - make sure he has a change of clothes, you know he'll forget." Riku jumped to his feet. Kairi was stumbling after him, trying to keep him from rushing off before they were ready.

"KAIRI! RIKU!" Sora's voice echoed out from the play island behind them, and his two friends whipped around, staring as a brilliant white light poured from the cave.

"SORA!" They both took off at a run for the cave, hoping Sora hadn't done something insane. Kairi made it to the cave first; Riku was faster but she was smaller and lighter on her feet. The light was almost blinding at first, and it died away so suddenly that it left dancing spots in front of her eyes.

"Sora!?" She couldn't remember when the entrance to the cave had gotten so long. It seemed to take an eternity to reach the end. When she did, she gasped. The door had been flung open and Sora was standing in front of it.

"Kairi?" He turned towards her, just as the light started again. "In here," he whispered, and she lunged for him as he started to step forward. Riku was right behind her - together they fell through the door into the light.

Kairi was aware of falling, of nearly losing her grip on Sora, and then Riku reaching around her to hold onto their friend tighter. She wondered if they would fall forever, and then they burst out into the morning sky of a familiar setting.

"We're in Radiant Garden!" She shouted, but then it was no longer thrilling, it was terrifying, because they were hundreds of feet up in the air and they were still falling. Sora was dead weight in front of her, and Riku's arm around her waist was beginning to get uncomfortable. She'd just started to breath in to scream in terror when a man standing on the groudn and wearing blue raised his arms and slowed their descent.

They settled onto the ground easily, almost lightly. Sora was still unconscious, and Riku huddled protectively over him. "Sir?" Kairi asked, peering up at the man who'd saved them. "It can't be... Merlin?"

"And you are, my dear? Great scott, Kairi!? What are you doing here?" The wizened old wizard fretted with his glasses, tugging thoughtfully on his beard. "How did you get here? And why were you falling from the sky, dear girl?"

"There was a door that opened up on Destiny Islands," Kairi explained, motioning to Riku to join her. She heard him grunt, and glanced back at him, only to see him hefting Sora in his arms. To her own surprise, the only thing she could think was that they were safe in Radiant Garden, and that it would be okay to leave him on the ground, when she realized that Riku had never been off his Islands before. "Sora fell through it, and we... followed him."

"Lucky lad, to have friends such as you. Well, come on, we'd better be getting you inside. I'll alert Leon and Master Ansem, and you can tell me why you were poking around in strange doors."

--

Sora's eyes fluttered open slowly, looking around as soon as he could focus clearly. At first, he thought he should know where he was, but as he thought about it, he realized that he'd never been off the islands before.

He knew from the scent in the air that he was nowhere near the ocean; the familiar salty tang was missing, and he found that he missed it distinctly. Briefly, he wondered if he'd lost time again, but realized that he felt like he'd been asleep.

"Riku? Kairi?" He called out for his friends, hoping they hadn't disappeared like last time.

Like last time? They've never disappeared. He didn't have a chance to pursue that thought, however, as a cool hand settled on his forehead.

"Hush, Sora," came a quiet voice. "They're sleeping right now. You've all had a hard journey." It was a girl, he realized, a pretty girl with luminous green eyes and brown hair.

"You know my name?" Sora asked, sitting up. She settled back and let him, smiling gently.

"Yes. Riku and Kairi told me. My name is Aeris. Welcome to Radiant Garden."

Sora looked around excitedly. "You mean we really made it? How'd we get here, anyway?"

She smiled benevolently. "Leon's coming over in the morning to discuss it. For now, just rest, okay?" She pushed gently at his shoulder, and he allowed himself to be managed, laying back down obediently.

"I'm not really all that... tired," he murmured, and was asleep within seconds.

--

The next time he awoke it was to Kairi jumping onto his stomach, shouting, "WAKE UP, SORA!" and giggling. Sora doubled over in mock pain, groaning.

"Kairi! The last time you did that you were seven! You're too heavy now!"

"Heavy!" Kairi snapped, holding him down. "Did you hear that Riku? He called me fat! Get him!" Her good mood was infectious, and the normally reserved Riku eagerly threw himself into the fray, tickling Sora mercilessly while Kairi pinned him to the bed. The helpless Sora laughed and struggled futilely against the double-attack.

"It's so nice to hear the laughter of children again," came a quiet, masculine voice from the door. The antics stopped immediately, and they treated him to three identical guilty looks. Kairi was the first to recover.

"UNCLE LEON!" She shouted, and threw herself at the man in the doorway. Sora heard words being exchanged but they were drowned out by the overwhelming radiance of the man in the door. He had long hair that feathered out at the ends, and three belts slung low on his hips. He wore a short jacket with a white ruffle at the collar that should have looked silly but only served to enhance his looks.

He was almost mesmerized by the lion's head pendent hanging from a chain around Leon's neck. Leon seemed to notice the attention, but instead of bringing it embarrassingly to call, he simply smiled at the younger brunet.

"Hey. You must be Sora. I'm Leon." He dropped Kairi to the floor, not-so-subtly returning Sora's perusal.

To his left, Riku watched the two exchange furtive glances with something akin to jealousy, if he'd dared put a name to it. Pushing it aside, he scowled.

"Weren't we going to see Master Ansem?" he demanded. Sora and Leon broke apart as though they'd been caught doing something dirty. Leon coughed as he turned his attention to the wall.

"I'm sorry, Riku," the older man said contritely. "Let's get something to eat, and you can explain how you got here and why."

-

Breakfast for Sora passed in a daze of snatches of conversation and trying not to stare at Leon too obviously. Kairi chattered amiably with Aeris and a few other girls, while Riku glowered down at his plate silently. Leon was discussing something technical with a man named Cid, and Sora listened attentively.

"I've never known the gummi ship to behave like that," Cid was saying. "It's just the strangest thing. One day it was working just fine, and the next it won't even get off the ground."

Leon nodded in agreement. "I haven't a clue what it could be," he said. "Maybe after we've been to see Master Ansem, we can go take another look at it. Sometimes all a problem needs is a fresh pair of eyes."

Sora was speaking before he'd realized he was even thinking it. "May I come with you?"

Riku's eyes snapped onto his best friend, an indiscernible look in their depths. Leon looked surprised as well, but Cid nodded.

"Ya may as well. Never can have too many hands in the hangar," he muttered. Leon was giving him an appraising look, and Sora felt himself flushing with delight at a chance to spend more time in the older man's company.

"Is it alright if I go too?" Riku almost demanded of them, scowling. Sora blinked at him; that was Riku's 'unhappy' face, but he wasn't sure what could be troubling his friend. Maybe it was Kairi. Sora had long suspected Riku of liking her, and maybe he was irritated by her lack of attention.

"Of course it is," Leon said politely. Sora resolved to find Kairi some time to spend with Riku so that he didn't look so grumpy while they were there. It wasn't quite a vacaction - not with the threat of Sora's losing time hanging over them - but it was as near to a vacation as any of them had ever had.

--
TBC

Poor Riku. Jealous as hell and doesn't even realize it. Things will get a lot more fun before they get better.

And by fun I mean complicated and difficult. ♥
Peace kiddies~