Chapter Text
Sora had never had the chance to explore Yen Sid’s tower the few times he was there before, as matters were usually much too serious to allow for something so playful. But now that Sora was returning to the tower more often for Keyblade training, he came to be more familiar with its layout and the strange rooms it held within. Sora was convinced the sense of scale on the inside didn’t actually fit his first perceptions of the tower from the outside, but who was he to question things when a wizard did them?
One such room was the size of a small gym with a single viewing balcony on the east side. He remembered Yen Sid introducing the room to them as a place to train more complex Keyblade maneuvers and, as he later put it, “to remove oneself from frustrations–after all, this tower is quite capable of repairing itself.”
Here is where Sora found himself now, embroiled in the most grueling task he’s convinced he’s ever had to perform.
For what he was sure was the five hundredth time, he lost his footing and fell. This time it was on his left elbow, which brought forth a yelp Sora wasn’t sure he had ever heard come out of his own mouth before. He gingerly moved to sit on the floor, careful not to move his arm lest it send more shockwaves of pain to his brain.
“Riku–”
“No.”
“Awww come on, I never even said anything!” Sora forced himself up, still mindful of his arm, and slowly walked towards Riku.
“Still no.”
Sora could hear Kairi laughing quietly from the balcony and shot her a quick glance, which only increased the volume. Which then got Riku to start doing something Sora could only call “giggling”; to his benefit, he managed to (mostly) stop as soon as Sora looked back in his direction.
Now in front of Riku, Sora tried to cross his arms…but stopped when his arm felt like a five ton bronze bell sounded, and left his arms hanging at his side. "Is this really necessary?“
Riku shifted his weight, right hand on his hip. "Sora, you have the worst balance I have ever seen. It’s a wonder you’ve managed to last this long. When I so much as tap you with a pencil you’re liable to fall over."
"So?” Sora protested. "That doesn’t mean–“
Riku lightly bopped Sora on the head. "Being in control of your body while you have extra weight like the Keyblade is important. One wrong move and you could be taken advantage of.” He sighed and shifted his weight again, this time letting his own arms hang to mirror Sora. "You still…haven’t gotten used to it. To being without–“
"Yeah, yeah, I know.” Sora had a rather difficult look to him, eyebrows scrunched up and a small pout on his lips, his eyes refusing to linger at any one point for too long.
“Come on Sora, you have to listen to Master Riku. Master Riku knows best, after all.”
Riku’s strangled cry to Kairi’s proclamation near physically jerked his head up to Kairi’s direction, and watching her barely-contained laughter lifted a small weight. But it was turning around to look at Riku himself that helped clear his head completely.
Sora didn’t like missing out on Riku accidentally peaking out of this shell he had built for himself. Neither Sora nor Kairi knew why so much of it still existed, but they made a small promise in secret in one of the tower’s many rooms that they would do what they could to make him miserable today so he would be happy outside that cage tomorrow.
And spotting the red on Riku’s ears, it’s clear he nearly missed it. So he just looked at Riku’s face, a small smile growing into a full-blown grin.
“Ahhh yes, of course, Kairi. I should heed Master Riku’s words. You are entirely correct about Master Riku’s wisdom. I’m sorry, Master Riku. I will never doubt you again.”
As Sora continued his not-at-all-apologetic tirade, Riku’s face completed the transition from mildly put off to full-blown embarrassment. He very slowly and shakily brought his hands to his face as his body sagged, letting out something between a sob and strangled laughter. All he could manage was a very quiet “Y-you idiots…” before he was lost entirely in a sea of blush-red.
Sora was doubled over in laughter, attempting a peak at Riku’s face all the while. (Riku, for his part, was equally trying to do everything in his power to make sure Sora would never be able to get a good look). On the balcony, Kairi could barely stand; she fell to her knees, one hand still on the balcony bar while another clutched at her chest as if trying to prevent all the air she had in her body from escaping through the laughter (and, by the look of her, she wasn’t exactly succeeding).
“Kairi! You gotta get down here! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Riku this r….ah.” Sora stopped, his eyes darting in barely noticeable arcs around no fixed point as his right hand slowly rose to grab the cloth above his heart.
Kairi slowly stood up, poising herself as if ready to jump. Riku immediately came out from under his hands, staring at Sora as if he was about to break.
When Sora became Sora again, when the ties were finally broken…neither Riku nor Kairi wanted a repeat of what happened those few months previous.
After shaking his head, Sora took in a measured breath and let it out slowly. He brought his right hand up to scratch at the back of his head and laughed quietly. "Sorry about that. I guess you haven’t seen me do that before.“
"Before…?” Riku closed the distance between himself and Sora and placed a hand over Sora’s heart.
“Yeah. Though I know why, so you guys don’t need to worry about it.”
“Hmm. You feel okay. So,” Riku pulled his hand back and crossed his arms. "Explain.“
"I don’t think he has to.” Kairi, leaned over the window by the balcony entrance, suddenly replied in Sora’s stead. She made sure she had gotten Sora and Riku’s attention before continuing. "Sora…Roxas and Xion just arrived. But I get the feeling…“
"You knew that already.” Riku completed Kairi’s thoughts and looked back to Sora. Meanwhile, Sora was rather determined to avoid their gazes. "You’re still connected to them, then?“
Sora scratched his head in thought. "I’m not actually sure. I guess that’s the best way to put it, though.”
“Ah! Aaaah, finally!”
“…Kairi?”
“Lea’s here.”
Sora’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he stared at Kairi. They managed to get even narrower when he heard Riku laughing beside him.
“You’re really hurting for a rematch, huh?”
“A rematch?”
Kairi marched away from the window towards the edge of the balcony and summoned her Keyblade, aiming it at Riku and Sora as if she was giving a lecture.
“He beat me last time using a dirty trick!” she proclaimed, emphasizing dirty trick with a couple of well-placed Keyblade swings. "There’s no way I’m gonna lose to him this time!“
She turned to the window, took in as much air as her lungs would allow, and doubled over as she shouted, "LEA! I’M COMING FOR YOU, SO YOU BETTER BE READY,” and ran out the balcony exit.
The boys were already amused, but finally let out their laughter when they heard a muffled “Are you five?!” from outside the window.
“So, Ma–ummm, just Riku. I’m probably gonna head out as well.”
The look Riku gave Sora wasn’t dissimilar to the kinds he got way back when on the island when Sora would sleep through building the raft.
“Hey now, what’s that look for!” Again, Sora went to cross his arms, but instead hissed in pain when the forgotten bruise forced his entire body to jump.
Looking at Sora, Riku grabbed his own arm in reflex. "Yeah, we should probably take a break.“
Sora grinned, starting his run towards the door backwards. "Who said I was taking a break? I’m gonna go work on my balance!”