Chapter Text
For the first week after his return, Sora felt like he was walking on clouds. He was surrounded by his friends, celebrating, and spending much-needed downtime together. That week had been absolute bliss. Unfortunately, life isn’t all about fun and games.
Sora stared absently out the library window. When had the islands gotten so… boring? Had they always been this way? He let his gaze fall to the coursework in front of him and frowned. He hadn’t expected to get rushed into an alternative secondary school program, nor had he thought he’d be going through it alone. As it turned out, the others had completed their own world’s school program during his absence, aside from Riku.
Sora wasn’t sure if the silverette had gotten the better or worse deal of them all. Having traveled with King Mickey, his majesty had prioritized Riku’s coursework, making him work through it all over the course of their journey together. Sora chuckled lightly as he remembered calling Riku from the Gummi Ship on his way to Twilight Town, only for Mickey to answer and inform him that his best friend was busy taking a math exam. He wasn’t sure which was worse: taking exams while trying to save the worlds from impending darkness or being in his current situation.
Sora’s brow furrowed. His absence… He knew it didn’t make sense for the others to just completely put their lives on hold during that time, but he couldn’t help but feel slighted. Leaning back in his chair, he sighed, knowing he was being too harsh towards his friends. They had all worked too hard to get him home, it was only fair that they also allowed themselves the time for other things. However, he just couldn’t help but feel he had been left behind. It was a horrible sensation.
A hand holding out a can of soda caught his attention, snapping him from his thoughts. Looking up, he was met with Kairi’s warm smile. A grin formed on Sora’s face, and in an instant, had locked the redhead into a tight hug.
“Well, I’m happy to see you too,” Kairi laughed, allowing herself to be crushed by the hug, “I thought you could use a little pick-me-up, so I brought you a snack. How are things going?”
Sora released Kairi from her hug-prison, beaming. “It’s like you have a sixth sense for these kinds of things, thank you.” The brunet glanced back down to the coursework, a frown returning to his face. “Honestly, I thought was going to die of boredom before you showed up, is that bad?”
Kairi let out a giggle. “No, coursework is very boring. That’s exactly why I came to be your knight in shining armor to save you from such a demise.” The redhead grinned at Sora, who rolled his eyes but failed to contain his amusement.
“It’s just…” Sora started, his voice sobering, “I thought when everything was said and done, we’d all be together, having adventures, exploring worlds. I never thought we’d have to actually go back to the way things were before.”
Kairi gently ran her hand through Sora’s hair. “I know it’s hard to grasp, but there may actually come a day where we can lay our keyblades down for good. We need to be ready to shift back into a normal life when that day comes,” the redhead spoke softly, “For now though, let’s focus on the present. Once this coursework is done, you can be back out in the field with us on missions.”
Feeling sullen, Sora just nodded in response. He wasn’t sure he wanted normalcy again, the thought of it was scarier than any heartless he had ever faced. Grabbing his pen, he set back to work on his paper. Glancing over, he noticed Kairi settle down next to him in a chair, starting to read the novel she had brought with her. He let a gentle smile form on his face; maybe mundanity wasn’t so bad with the right company. That would be his focus for now.
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With the sun slowly approaching the horizon to the west, the pair made their way out of the library and into the slow bustle of the island’s business street. Sora’s stomach let out a growl, grabbing both of their attention with its loud complaint.
“How about we grab some food?” Kairi suggested, “You worked really hard today, so it’ll be my treat!”
Sora grinned. “That’s a perfect idea! Let’s see if Riku wants to come too.” Sora started off towards the resident district, only to have Kairi grab ahold of his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.
“Riku isn’t expected to be back home for another day or two,” the redhead said softly, eyes empathetic.
Saddened, Sora let his arm go slack to his side and hung his head. “Of course he is,” he said bitterly. Riku never seemed to be home on the islands much anymore, making Sora feel all the worse about his situation. If the silverette was actually here every once in awhile, maybe he wouldn’t feel as bad as often as he did. He missed his best friend. Didn’t Riku miss him at all?
Seeing the change in Sora’s demeanor, Kairi cupped Sora’s hand with both of her own, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I know it’s not the same, but you know you can always call or message him at any time. He may not be able to answer right away, but he’s pretty good about doing so when he can.”
Sora lifted his head to meet Kairi’s bright blue eyes, filled with worry. He closed his eyes for a moment to regain composure, and let a sad smile cross his face. “Yeah… maybe we can give him a call after dinner.”
The two set off down the street hand-in-hand. Things had really changed, and Sora wasn’t sure it was for the better.