Forgotten Hearts

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did it wouldn't be the same story.

Warnings: This is yaoi, and I take full responsibility for all the dirty little fantasies in your head. If you don't like boys doing naughty things to one another, find something else to read.

Pairings: Axel:x:Sora/Roxas, Riku:x:Sora, slight Roxas:x:Sora

Plot: Kingdom Hearts isn't a reality; it is a figment of imagination, created in the comatose mind of a boy named Sora. Years later, after Sora recovers from his coma, the things from his alter world start coming to a reality on Earth, but things are much different than in his memories…

((Searching through some old files on my computer, I stumbled across Forgotten Hearts. This was the first Kingdom Hearts fanfic I'd ever written, the dates on the original files date back to 2007 (I was sixteen). I have decided to re-post. The writing style isn't nearly as eloquent as my more current fics. Hope you enjoy anyway. *winks* Happy Reading! :x:Myou:x: ))

Chapter One: Fire and Ice

Heat. All Sora could feel was heat. He struggled against it, trying to flex his lithe body away from the flames burning against his tanned skin. His azure irises moved rapidly behind closed eyelids, groaning softly as he mentally fought against the sun engulfing him. Darkness, there was nothing in his mind but the darkness, and heat. A face, half shadowed, crossed his mind. Sharp canines accented the boy's grin, cat-green eyes emphasizing the black teardrops tattooed on his cheeks. His flaming red hair fell in layers of spikes down his neck and shoulders. He looked at Sora for a long moment, an intense, heated gaze, a smile twisting his lips. Sora rolled over, fighting his sheets in semi-consciousness. He knew him…he knew the boy in his dreams. He had fought beside him against the darkness.

"I want you." The red-head purred without speaking, his words reverberating in Sora's mind, echoing in his ears. "I want you, Roxas…"

The heat against Sora's skin grew hotter, as if the figure in his dreams were coming closer to him, reaching for him… It was too much for the small brunette to take. He gasped softly in his sleep, fighting with himself for awareness, willing his eyes to open so he could escape that fiery darkness. The boy touched Sora's cheek gently, almost lovingly, and leaned towards him slowly. Sora watched, helpless, waiting for something to happen. He was trembling slightly, fear coursing through him.

"I want you…I need you…but I'll wait for you, Roxas." His cat-green irises shone with a hint of tears, sadness in his tone. "I'll wait for you…" The heat died down, the boy disappearing into the darkness of Sora's mind. Something inside of the younger boy throbbed with silent mourning, and as Sora awoke he found himself crying.

"But why? I can't even remember who he is." He fought with his tangled sheets, releasing his sweaty limbs from the knots. "And who is Roxas? He called me Roxas…" Sora sat up slowly, nausea churning his stomach. He was so hot; he was always hot after seeing that boy in his dreams. Standing up slowly he made his way across the room and opened the glass door leading out to the balcony of his apartment. A cool breeze stirred the white curtains, fanning them out in waves of ivory, soothing Sora's lingering thoughts of his nightmare. Glancing at the digital clock on his dresser he sighed and walked out onto the terrace, the smooth concrete cold against his bare feet. It was only a little past midnight, he'd only slept for a few hours. Looking out over the city stretching out beyond his second-story balcony, Sora reached out to touch the short wrought iron fence at his waist, the cool of the metal bringing him further back to reality. Why did he keep having those dreams? Why could he remember the boy's face but not his name? Who was Roxas? Was there something important he'd forgotten again?

Sora reached up to touch the back of his head, feeling along the scar hidden underneath his unruly, russet hair. That had happened so long ago…was it beginning to affect him again? His thoughts drifted back to the realization he experienced when he'd been dreaming. He had fought with that boy against the darkness, against the Heartless, the creatures of his alternate world. The world where he was a Keyblade Master, the world where he wasn't alone…

There were others like the red-headed fiery boy in his dreams, but lately he had been the most insistent on getting through to Sora. Ever since an accident in his childhood, which had broken open his skull and caused severe brain hemorrhaging, Sora had experienced blackouts and severe nightmares. During these blackouts or nightmares he had lapses of an alternate world in place of his lost time. These lapses would sometimes last an hour, other times a year. The worst series of blackouts had happened to Sora almost three years ago, when he had been fifteen. He had gone into a coma for two years, which he had spent with friends and allies saving different worlds and a place called Kingdom Hearts from the darkness known as Heartless and Nobody. Of course, it had all been in his alternate realm, the one that only existed in his mind. During those two years Sora had come to think of his alter world as reality. Once he and his friends had finally saved the worlds, celebrated, and he had fallen asleep for the first time not thinking about being a warrior but simply a kid, Sora had woken up in a hospital room, alone.

Since that day, almost a year and a half ago, Sora had been by himself. He couldn't remember his name, the names of anyone close to him, or anything about his life before his accident. The only reason he called himself Sora was because that had been his name in the other world, the world where he had belonged.

The wind picked up, blowing Sora's long spiky bangs around his face, the sky-blue boxers he was wearing doing nothing to keep the bite of cold out of the night air. Finally feeling a bit more at ease, the boy retreated back inside, closed the balcony door partially behind him and returning to his bed. He lay down, facing the window, watching the curtains sway in the breeze gently. It was hypnotic, the gentle swaying slowly coaxing him back into slumber. Maybe the boy with cat-green eyes would let him sleep the rest of the night, and no one else would disturb him. Thoughts of his other world drifted through his mind languidly, thoughts of happiness and hugs and laughter. A small smile tugged at his lips and he let out a long sigh, wondering who would come to him next. Falling asleep, Sora didn't notice the moon outside blur, the top beginning to dip towards its center, the sides pressing inwards; forming a heart. He slept soundly the rest of the night, waking only when the bustle of the city began to echo in through the balcony doors.

-x-x-x-

Walking downtown without being in a hurry, Sora realized how big New York really was. Cars were screeching their horns at one another in traffic, people were flooding the sidewalks, large television screens shouted down into the crowds the latest news and events. Sora looked up to see an astronomer was currently on the news, talking about a shift in the lunar cycle. His British accent could be heard above the noise of the streets as he told the news reporter about the current situation. "The reflection of the sun's light against the moon's surface is what makes the moon appear to have a certain shape to us here on Earth. When that light changes its position the moon takes on a different form, going through phases of the lunar cycle." He pointed to a moon diagram on the screen, depicting the various different moon phases. "As you can see, at this time of the month we should be seeing a full moon, one visible even in daylight. However, as of last night the moon's shadow has begun to take over the edges of the sun's light, making it look to us like the moon is taking a new shape, one that has never been seen before..."

Sora looked away from the large screen on the side of the adjacent building, trying to tune the astronomer's annoyingly distinct accent out. He made his way down the crowded street, stopping to cross an intersection after a brief pause in traffic.

"So what do you think would have caused this shift in the moon? Is it anything dangerous?" The female news reporter asked. Sora looked up in time to see her fluffing her long golden hair.

The older boy shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "We do not yet know the cause, but it looks like there may be a partial eclipse. We will let the viewers know more as we find out the causes for this change in our moon."

Sora looked back at the mass of people engulfing him as he sprinted across the boulevard, narrowly avoiding a bicycle messenger and then a taxi. The brunette shook his head, unruly hair shifting slightly with the movement. People these days…why couldn't it be more like Twilight Town, or Radiant Garden? At least there people were friendly when they… Sora caught himself, nearly stopping in front of a moving hotdog vendor, who cursed at him angrily before walking past the stunned boy. He had remembered their names! The names of two of the cities he had visited as the Keyblade Master. But, why? He shrugged off his uneasy feeling and took a back alley between a comic book store and a shoe shop. Pulling the hood of his gray hoodie up over his head and thrusting his hands into the pockets of his dark-blue jeans, Sora tried not to think of what his memories might mean. Could last night and today mean he was going to have another blackout soon? Was something about to happen? He stepped in a shallow puddle while lost in his thoughts, black and white sneakers getting a bit muddy, and then walked on. Would he go back to his other world?

Sora was almost hopeful at the thought.

He rounded the corner, not looking, bumping into someone slightly as they came around the corner at the same time. He stumbled a bit, looking up to see who was there, and his heart caught in his throat. The figure was dressed in all black; black jacket, black shirt with a hot pink skull across the front, black combat boots, black shades. Her magenta hair was up in pigtails, a red sucker sticking partially out of her mouth. He gaped in recognition, but the girl walked on after giving him a look, hands in her back pockets in a punk-ish style. She never looked back at him though he watched her go. She entered the main flow of people a few moments later and disappeared out of sight.

"I knew her, didn't I? …that was…" Still the name escaped him. An image of that same girl passed through his mind, her teal eyes smiling at him, magenta hair waving in the breeze, white and blue school uniform framing her small form. "Why can't I remember?"

He turned away from where the girl had disappeared, continuing around the corner and walking down the next alley in silence, contemplating how he remembered the school-girl version of her. She was standing on a hill, looking at a small island off the shore of the mainland, a place where they would go just to be together with their friends. It was a place with star-fruit; a place with hopes and dreams. She was standing here, listening to the wind, smiling as she remembered something she had forgotten. "Isn't that right, So-ra?" Then there was a memory tied to that scene, a bottle with something inside of it…a letter…for him? He was sitting on a dark beach, looking at the black water, contemplating darkness and light, life and death, and love. He was with someone, someone who meant everything to him, even more so than that girl. His best friend. The bottle washed up at their feet, the bottle with the letter she had written to him. Then there was the door to the light…

Sora kept walking, turning in different directions, letting his feet take him where they would. He ended up walking towards Central Park, which seemed to be completely void of anyone at all. No joggers, vendors, homeless, not even the pigeons were cooing as they usually did when someone approached. The park, though the afternoon sun was shining in through the bright green foliage, seemed dark and sinister. Confused, Sora began down the jogging trail, thoughts of darkness filling his head. His right hand twitched unconsciously, reaching for a Keyblade that wasn't there, though Sora didn't realize it. His pulse quickened, adrenaline beginning to rush. His sneakers began carrying him faster and faster, towards the center of the park, where it was becoming increasingly darker. "It's like Wonderland, when the Heartless were infesting the woods…"

Without thinking about it, Sora summoned all the strength he could with his heart, calling for power, courage, and life. It came so naturally to him, to call on the Keyblade, that Sora reached out his arm as he began to run, willing the blade to manifest itself so that he could fight. Warmth crept through his fingertips, light beginning to shine in the darkness, radiating from his palm. Sora could feel it, the outline of the hilt; the weight of the blade that was as much a part of him as he was a part of it. He curled his fist to grasp the weapon in his hand but found he touched nothing but air. The light faded, and he was left alone in darkness. Heart still racing he balled his fists, coming to a halt near the small lake in the middle of Central Park. Someone was there, standing on the water, long platinum hair cascading down his shoulders and back. A blindfold covered his eyes, the excess falling through his hair and against his cheek, long black buckle-covered cloak hiding his body from view. Noticing Sora's presence the boy turned towards the brunette, the surface of the water rippling at his feet from the movement. Sora narrowed his eyes, trying to evaluate the current situation.

"Who are you?" he finally asked, stepping closer to the water's edge. "Why are you here?"

The figure looked to his side, lost in thought, and then replied, "It doesn't concern you."

Sora, strangely angered by this, thrust out his arms and shouted, "The hell is doesn't! I want to know why you're here, and what you're bringing with you! I can feel it! Something's happening; something's wrong!"

The blindfolded figure seemed surprised at Sora's outburst and walked towards him, black gloved hands reaching up towards Sora as he neared. "You can feel it? You can sense what's coming?"

Sora watched the boy's hand edge a few inches closer to his chest and withdrew a bit, trying to look into his eyes through the blindfold. "I can. Tell me what it is, and why it's coming."

"It's coming because, where I am from, we are losing our light." He replied, "Someone was taken from us, someone with purity and serenity that once was lost allowed darkness back into our world. Because our world was the one that protected all the others, now they are once again infected with the dark as we are…and it's spreading."

Sora's heart was a lump in his throat, every beat throbbing in his head. "You mean, the Heartless, they're coming here?"

The platinum haired boy stood still as if death had passed him by. After a long while he finally started breathing again, eyebrows raised at an angle that suggested confusion. "You asked who am I, but who are you?" He reached up and touched Sora's chest, fingertips pressing over his heart. Pain shook Sora to his core. With a yelp he flinched away, panic rising in him quicker than he had thought possible. Nausea coursed straight to his stomach, coiling up into a ball and forcing bile into Sora's throat. He had to get out of here, now.

It was the first time he remembered ever being truly scared.

Sora turned away, tuning out the other boy's rushed words, and ran. He ran and ran, not knowing if he was being followed or not, but he kept running, unwilling to let his feet stop. He ran until the darkness receded into daylight, until the light coming in through the trees was once again sunlight and not the eternal night. He ran into the street, not caring about the cars, he ran through the crowd, through the alleys, and back through downtown New York until his feet returned him to his apartment complex. Panting, he forced his legs to carry him up the stairs and down his hall before he collapsed in a weak, sweaty mass at the foot of his door. Not sure how much strength he had left in him, Sora weakly withdrew his key from his pocked and unlocked the door, getting up just long enough to stumble through the doorway, lock the deadbolt, and retreat to his bed after stripping off his hoodie and shoes by his dresser. The black tank-top he had underneath his hoodie was damp with sweat, but the door to his balcony was still open and the evening breeze had begun to drift in. Sora took long deep breaths of cool air, trying to control his nausea and calm his breathing. What had that boy done to him? Why had it hurt so much? All he had done was touch his chest but it felt like he had been burned, or frozen. Laying down on his back and reaching up a hand to touch his chest he brushed his fingertips across where the pain had been, but nothing happened.

Sora sighed deeply, letting his tension go as his adrenaline flow stopped and his heart rate returned to normal. "It almost felt like when the fire-boy touches me in my dreams…"

Dismissing the thought with the realization of how tired he was, the auburn-haired boy grabbed a pillow and rolled over to his side, holding it against his chest. Maybe if he went to bed early he would sleep better through the night. Maybe if he tried to think of something besides what had happened today his mind would be able to rest. The sound of the ocean within his mind filled his ears, a pink and orange sunset covering the backs of his eyelids. He was sitting with the magenta haired girl on a wooden boat dock, looking out at the sunset over the ocean. The small island seemed like it was all alone in the waters, like it was just the two of them in the whole world. They were talking about a raft, laughing and smiling. Teal eyes met his blue ones and the girl stood up at his side, arms held leisurely behind her back. "Sora, don't ever change."

-x-x-x-

Cool, sweet sleep engulfed Sora, nothing but the sound of the wind coming in through the open door filling the boy's ears. He lay curled around the pillow he had been holding as if it were something he wanted to protect more than anything else in the world. His breathing was deep and relaxed, and no fire played through his thoughts. Instead crystal clear water began to flow through Sora's mind, the darkness turning a lighter, blue color. Sora stirred in his sleep, letting go of the pillow and rolling over onto his back, arm stretching towards the open night. The blindfolded boy from the park stood on the balcony, long white hair being tossed by the breeze. He stepped past the white curtains dancing into Sora's room, shadows flickering against the walls and floor from the light of the moon. "Who are you?" he whispered, sitting next to Sora on the bed. "He's just a child, probably two or three years younger than me…"

Sora, hearing his voice, made an unconscious murmur through his sleep, then quieted and began to lightly snore. The figure reached out over Sora's chest and hovered over his heart, feeling for the familiarity he had sensed in the boy earlier.

"Roxas…"

Sora waded through the water filling his dream, looking around, searching for anyone who might be there to talk to him. Was this his own doing, or was it like the fire-boy, only this time of water? Sora heard someone speak, and called out in reply, playing a game of marco-polo with himself as the sound of his voice echoed off the water and into the endless blue sky.

"Roxas…"

Sora turned around quickly, meeting eyes with a boy a few years older than him, dressed in a black shirt with a white and yellow jacket over it, blue jeans, and black sneakers. Zippers and belts adorned the outfit, accenting his long white hair. Sora's heart jumped when he met eyes with the other boy, emerald shining into his mind, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen...and it was so familiar.

"Riku?" he asked, and the said boy's eyes widened, then narrowed.

"How do you know my name?" he asked coldly, the water around Sora beginning to ripple with the emotions rolling off the taller, older boy. "What have you done to Roxas?"

Sora looked at his best friend pleadingly, willing him to understand. "Riku, it's me, Sora. I'm your friend; we've fought against the Heartless and Nobodies together." Seeing Riku didn't believe him, only backed away and dropped to a fighting stance, Sora cried, "I don't know why you and the other boy don't understand, I don't know anyone named Roxas!"

Riku hesitated, then removed one of his black gloves and stepped towards Sora again. Reaching out he met eyes with the brunette, then pressed his hand over the younger's heart, pain soaring through Sora's body. He tried to pull away but found he couldn't move, Riku touching his fingertips to Sora's chest in a power-filled grasp. "You may not know Roxas," Riku replied, pulling back his hand, agony ripping Sora's chest open, "but he is inside of you."

In both reality and Sora's mind Riku continued to pull back his hand, bringing with him the transparent body of a boy other than Sora, though they looked strikingly similar. This boy, eyes closed and body not fully materialized, hovered a few inches away from Sora's yielding body. The blonde haired boy was wearing a close attire to Riku's, buckles and zippers covering his tan and gray outfit. Riku held the ghost-like figure out of Sora for a moment before he gently put him back inside Sora, then removed his hand from Sora's chest. The white haired boy withdrew from the other's mind and watched as he began to awaken, cerulean irises opening to look up at the blindfolded boy.

Sora, astounded that he wasn't dreaming Riku was there, reached up to touch one of the black ribbons concealing the older boy's eyes. The platinum haired boy paused then reached up and unwrapped the strip of cloth from his eyes, blinking them open. Once again Sora was greeted by those amazingly green pools and his heart flip-flopped. "R-Riku?"

The older boy sighed to himself and searched Sora's eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"I told you, we are allies. We grew up together in the same town; we were both friends with the same girl." Riku's eyes began to widen, listening as Sora continued on. "There was a raft, you wanted to see other worlds and we were going to go with you. But then, darkness came to the island, the Heartless. They took you…"

The light in Riku's eyes was shining in confusion and amazement. "You said your name's Sora?"

Sora, a bit hurt, nodded. "I'm the Keyblade Master, you are my best friend. We closed the door of light together, and were separated again. When we finally found one another you were in the form of one of our enemies, but we freed you again from the darkness." Riku, listening silently, nodded for Sora to continue. The younger boy sat up on his elbows, searching the other boy's eyes. "We went through the final door together, we went to defeat Xemnas. You hurt your leg, I helped carry you…"

Riku was silent for a long time, and then said, "The things you say happened did happen, but you've gotten things a bit mixed up."

Sora, confused, replied, "That's how I remember them, what did I mix up?"

"The part where all of that was you, being the Keyblade Master, being my best friend." Seeing Sora's confused expression, Riku hesitated then clarified.

"Those things did happen Sora, but it wasn't you, it was Roxas. He is the Keyblade Master."

I can't believe I wrote Forgotten Hearts in 2007. My writing style wasn't nearly as developed as it is in my current fics, and it shows in the flow of my writing style then compared to now. It's so strange re-reading fics from that many years ago… It's 2013 now. 2007 was a long, long time ago. I've moved across the country since then. I wrote this when I was starting my first year of college fresh out of high school. It almost seems like a lifetime ago…

Hope you enjoyed! More to come! :x:Myou:x: