Disclaimer: KH is the property of Square-Enix and Disney.

I have an unhealthy obsession with weird dreams XP

For my fanfic100 challenge. Word 51 – Water.

When you sleepwalk into the sea you know your life's about to change...

Saltwater

He fell. Falling. Fall through the sky.

For a second he breathed in. Then the sun blinded him but it was only for a second. After that there was no more light, no more warmth, no more air.

It was all right.

The door was still shut.

But he was still drifting downwards, the water bubbling past him.

"Sora!"

He kept his eyes squeezed shut, yanking his blanket up over his head to ward out the morning light. Maybe he didn't want to dream any more but that did not mean he was ready to get up.

"If you aren't up in the next minute you are going to seriously regret it young man!"

Uh oh. That was the threat usually accompanied by a bucket of cold water. With a groan Sora threw his blanket off. It landed at the other end of his bed. He yawned and ineffectually tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. Another bad dream had left him wearied. He forced himself to his feet, wishing only that he could curl up under his sheets and sleep until he felt refreshed.

"Sora!"

"I'm awake Mom!"

Yawning and shuffling drowsily Sora began throwing off his pyjamas and tugging on his school uniform. Grabbing his bag he left his untidy room behind and plodded down the stairs. Glancing at the clock in the lounge he realised that, as usual, his mother was living fifteen minutes ahead of the rest of the world. Her idea of late was, to everyone else, early. Sora grumbled inwardly, wishing for a mother who could keep time well enough for him to get all the sleep he wanted.

"Morning," he mumbled around another yawn.

His mother was in a rush, knocking back the last of her morning juice before grabbing her bag and heading for the door. She was on the early shift at the local shop and had to get going. "Breakfast is on the table. I'll be home late tonight but I want to find you here doing homework, understood?"

"Yeah…"

"And I don't want your teachers coming and telling me that you've been given extra work because you fell asleep in class again."

"They won't. I won't."

A few times he had nodded off in class, only for his dreams to rise up and try to drown him in the sea. At first his drowsing had been a cause for concern among the school staff. After one too many disturbances caused by him jerking awake none too quietly the school had ceased to be so accepting and had started heaping on extra work for him to catch up on.

Before Sora could grab something to eat his mother pulled him into a hug. "I do worry about you."

"I'm fine Mom."

"Are you really?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah, of course I am."

She looked at him a moment longer. "You can tell me anything."

He blinked in surprise. "Y-yeah I know…"

"If something's wrong I want to help you."

"But I'm fine, I promise."

The grim mood broke. "Okay honey." She opened the front door. "You have a good day at school."

"I will. See you later. Have a nice day."

After his mom left Sora ate a slice of toast and drank a glass of fresh orange juice. Five minutes later he and his school bag were out the door and on the way to a not-so-fun-packed day of education. Still, at least the summer holidays were only a week away now. That was when he, Riku and Kairi were finally going to set sail for another world. With that prospect in mind Sora knew he could make it through a few more lessons.

And yet…

Sora looked uneasily out to sea, the crystal clear waters perfectly calm under the mostly blue sky and wonderfully warm morning sun. He watched as grey rain clouds began to pull in. A few minutes later the first splatters of rain began to fall. Closing his eyes Sora turned his face to the sky. He didn't care that he would soon be as wet as though he'd jumped in the sea rather than dreamt it. And there he was, pulling his thoughts back to his most recent concern. His mind lingered on that strange dream where the water was less than welcoming, where it had pulled him down and not let him go. A little part of him quailed at the idea of setting sail across a sea that could turn from placid to wrathful in the space of an hour, sometimes even faster than that. There was a chance those dreams really would come true and no one would be able to help them.

Sora sat on one of the beach's benches, letting his schoolbag slip off his shoulder. He didn't know why he kept having different dreams with the same theme – dark water intent on pulling him down and a voice he heard but didn't hear, as though he read the words and they took on a voice inside his head. Just sitting there he could remember the feel of the water tugging on his body, pulling him ways he didn't want it to go, removing the control he had over himself. He'd always loved the water, spent as much time as he could swimming and fishing. But since the dreams had started...

He had told himself over and over, since the first time he had awoken from such a dream, that it was exactly that: a dream. But he never managed to hold true to that belief. The dreams had started the night before he had turned fourteen and since then they had only gotten worse and more frequent. They meant something. They had to.

He laughed at himself. "I guess I think I'm pretty clever."

Stretching until his bones cracked Sora hopped off the bench and lifted his bag up.

He didn't walk to school.

So much to do, so little time.

His school bag fell to the sand. He walked forwards. He felt it pull.

The waves were turning grey under the rain clouds. He didn't notice. His school shoes and trousers were soaked as the ocean washed past him. He kept going forward, standing against the water when it tried to push him under the surface. The water was getting colder. Normally he would've stayed in the shallows. Not today. He continued to walk against the current, his mind elsewhere.

…blinding sunlight, if only for a second…

The rain danced on the sea, hissing as it touched down. It was all he could hear. His hands brushed over the bobbing waters, the ocean now creeping up to his shoulders. He stood still. One more step and he wouldn't be able to keep his head above the water.

He opened his eyes. Below there was only darkness. He rolled over, his eyes going wide when he saw it.

Light.

If you reach for it…

"What are you doing!"

"I'm – " Blank blue eyes grew wide. "Having a weird thought."

"Again?"

"Mm again."

…hold on tight and never…

"Snap out of it!"

"Riku what are you waiting for? We're all gonna be late!"

Lateness won't do.

End of us all you see.

No light there, at the bitter end.

He could feel himself being pulled free of the water, the weight of it ceasing to press against his body.

"Sora?"

He blinked and found himself bedraggled on the beach, sand sticking mercilessly to his school uniform. It was still raining but Kairi was holding two umbrellas, hers and Riku's, over him.

"What's going on?" He asked them, not knowing if he should be laughing or panicking.

"Taking an early morning stroll in the sea Sora?" Riku asked, looking almost as soggy as his younger friend.

"Taking a what in the where?"

Kairi leaned in a little closer. "Are you feeling all right Sora?"

"Yeah…" And to prove it he stood up. "Huh, that's weird. I don't remember how I got here." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, hoping he appeared sheepish rather than uneasy. He spied his bag and stooped to pick the wet pack up. "I'm cold…"

"No kidding." That was Riku, helpful as ever.

Sora shivered, water raining from his body. He bowed his head. He listened to the sea, heard it sweep in and then wash out once again.

Riku stood in front of a massive wave, holding out a hand.

Hurry and help him. He'll be lost!

"What is it?" Riku asked.

Sora blinked, startled to find himself staring at his friend. "N-nothing. Sorry."

Riku was looking at him strangely. It was an odd mix of concern and curiosity lingering in those green eyes. Sora regarded them for a moment longer. Was Riku…jealous? But the look flickered away and Sora decided he must have imagined it.

"It would be you who'd go for a swim before school in his uniform," Riku commented.

"Huh?"

Riku threw his hands up in the air. "Why Kairi? Why do I bother?"

Brushing his hair out his eyes Sora looked at his friends expectantly. "Come on, I wanna get to school so I can dry out."

"Don't you think you should go home?" Kairi pointed out.

"Why? 'Cause I got wet in the rain?"

"No, because you were sleepwalking in the sea!"

"I was?" Sora sounded amazed. "Oops."

Riku gave a long-suffering sigh and pushed Sora in the general direction of the school. "You're hopeless."

As long as there is light there will always be hope.

"There was so much water, pushing me down all the way."

"Is that what you dreamt?" Kairi asked as she kept the umbrella angled over his head.

"Was that it? A dream?"

Riku nudged Kairi. "Don't set him off again."

"What?" Sora asked confusedly. "What? Did I say something?"

Riku groaned. "What did I say? Hopeless!"

They made it to school without further incident, Riku leaving Sora in Kairi's care so he could make it to his form room before the bell went. Kairi dragged Sora down the hallway, his feet squelching with every time he took a step. He was leaving a remarkable trail too, the water shining like the trail of a snail.

"Really Sora, why were you in the sea?"

"I dunno. I guess I was sleepwalking. That's kinda weird huh?"

Kairi's hand reached for their form room's door handle. "Sleepwalking isn't kinda weird. It's totally weird."

Sora grinned. "Cool."

"No, not cool! Sora if Riku and I hadn't spotted you, you could've…" Her hand stilled. "You might've…"

"I – I'm sorry Kairi. I didn't mean to upset you. And see, I'm fine. Kinda turning the school into a paddling pool but otherwise I'm completely and utterly normal."

"I never said you were normal to begin with," Kairi pointed out as she turned the handle.

They stepped into the classroom and everyone looked up. The teacher, Mr. Ito, noted Sora's state and merely rolled his eyes, expecting nothing less from the boy who had been among the strangest pupils he'd taught in his entire career.

As the pair took their desks Mr. Ito marked them as present in the register. "Sora perhaps you would like to see if there are any gym kits for you to change into."

There was no response. Mr. Ito looked up. All the students looked as well.

In a pool of saltwater Sora stared obliviously out the window, hand resting on his chin as he contemplated something only he could be concerned with. The teacher gave an emphatic throat clearing to no avail. Kairi leaned over and gave Sora several sharp prods.

"Huh? What?"

Kairi nodded towards Mr. Ito who regarded his student with something not quite approximating patience. "Sora please take yourself to the gym office and change your clothes before you flood the classroom."

Amidst the giggling of his classmates Sora pushed himself out his chair and squelched out the room. He glanced out the windows as he went to the gym, watching the water rush down. He tried hard to remember what had happened that morning but it was as though nothing had happened at all. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, splattering himself with more water from his clothes as he did so.

There seemed to be water running around inside his ears too, blocking his hearing. He stood still and poked around with a finger, trying to clear his ears.

Never forget.

He pulled his fingers out his blocked ears, listening to the water.

You wield the…

"You're still dripping."

"Wha!" Sora jerked around and found Kairi grinning behind him. "Don't do that!" he gasped. "I think I almost had a heart attack."

"Riku's right," Kairi commented, grabbing his arm and tugging him onwards, "You are hopeless."

"I was just…"

He sighed and trailed off. There was just no explaining the things that went on inside his mind.

Shaking his head, Sora smiled. "Never mind."

Kairi glanced at him. "Are you sure?"

"Eh?"

Kairi stood still and turned to him. "You know you can always talk to me about things, right?"

Sora could feel his skin burning, the blush rushing to his face as he looked into Kairi's caring but concerned eyes. "I…"

The bell interrupted them. Classroom doors opened and other students poured out, chattering loudly as they headed to their lessons. Sora's words were lost behind everyone else's. Kairi never got her answer.

End