This is my first ever Kingdom Hearts oneshot, and I hope it's good. I've made many oneshot before, so this may be like the other depressing ones. :3

Forgiveness fans, I know I'm late, but I currently have a small case of writers block for that story right now. I should be updated before Novembers up.

Kingdom Hearts
Windows
SoraxRikuxKairi friendship

Full of fear,
Ever clear.
I'll be here,
Fighting forever.
Curious,
Venomous,
You'll find me
Climbing to heaven.
Never mind,
Turn back time.
You'll be fine - I will get left behind.
 Unknown Soldier by Breaking Benjamin

"Have you ever thought about death?"

They were outside, the sun just lowering into the ocean as the day stretched into night. All three of them, just as they always had been, sat on the three tire swings nearby their homes, and just as they always had, they talked about anything and everything, laughing and snickering long after the sun had disappeared into the ocean.

But never before had the subject of death came up.

Sora was the first one to respond in any way. He lifted his head up from the ground, the smile from the previous joke erased from his face. His blue eyes, bright in the setting sun, blinked in confusion, and his eyes traveled to Riku, sitting next to him, gently swinging back and forth in the tire swing. His eyes were on the ground, as if sheepish he had asked the question in the first place. Sora cocked his head to the side, his brunette hair shifting slightly on his head.

"Not really," Sora replied, turning his gaze to the ocean. He kicked at the sand beneath his feet, rocking back at forth on the tire swing. His eyes flashed as he narrowed them thoughtfully. "Death happens to everyone eventually, but why spend your entire life worrying about it?" He paused. "If you do that, what's worth living?" Silence settled over them, and Sora turned to Kairi, who sat beside Riku, her eyes staring thoughtfully at the ocean. Her red hair blew gently in the breeze, her swing motionless.

"What about you, Kairi?" Riku said, breaking the silence and looking at her. "Do you ever think about death?" She didn't reply immediatly. Her eyes broke away from the ocean, and looked at the sand.

"Sometimes," she replied quietly, shifting the sand under her feet. She lifted her eyes, looking out at the ocean again, at the sun dipping into the water. "Death is sometimes a scary thing, something no one wants to face." She paused and looked toward Riku and Sora, her eyes shining so brightly in the sunlight it took Sora's breath away. "I sometimes wonder how I will die, or how I would make it through if someone I loved died." She grew quiet, looking down at the sand again. "But it's all the same, in the end. We all die. Simple as that."

Sora watched her for a few more moments before he looked away, his eyes focused on the sun beginning to disappear into the waters. He felt the melancholy mood settle around him, and he looked at Riku out of the corner of his eyes, focusing on him for a moment. "Why...did you bring that up, Riku?" he asked, trying to see into his best friends soul, to see why such a question was brung up. After a moment, Riku shrugged, crossing his arms and looking out at the ocean.

"Death...is a funny thing," he said simply. "Eventually, it happens to all of us...But when it happens to you, it's different than when it happens to them." He paused a moment. "Most people would rather themselves die than to have to go through the death of a loved one." He grew quiet, looking down at the sand. Sora watched his best friend, wondering what exactly wass going through his mind, why he was speaking of death. "And when you die...is there a window in heaven? Where you can see your family and friends? Can you still watch over them, and make sure they're all right?" Sora tore his eyes away from his friend, and he suddenly wondered what he would do without his friends, without his family. His heart twisted slightly, painfully. He wasn't sure if he could survive it.

"Who knows?" Sora said quietly, shrugging gently. He turned his large blue eyes back to Riku. "I don't think we'll ever know until we die ourselves."

Riku was quiet for a moment, but he closed his eyes, crossing his arms. "I hope there is though. I couldn't bear the thought of not getting to see my family and friends after I die." He looked up at Sora, giving him a small grin. "After all, I need to check up on you two time after time, right? Don't want you getting into trouble." Sora searched the eyes of his best friends, grinning slightly and rolling his eyes away from him. The silence swelled between them, awkwardly making the air feel strange.

After a moment of silence, Kairi cleared her throat, leaping off the tire swing. Sora's eyes flew to her, and his heart skipped a beat. She always had that effect on him, making his heart speed up and slow down at the same time. She smiled at both him and Riku, placing her hands behind her back.

"Enough talk about depressing stuff," she said, her grin widening. "Who wants to race?" With a large grin spreading across his face, Sora leaped to his feet, racing across the sand toward Kairi, who immediatly giggled loudly and burst into a jog to get away from him. Grinning mischieviously, Sora looked over his shoulder, preparing to shout at Riku for his assistance, but stopped short when he saw the gray headed teenager still staring at the ocean, still in the same spot he had been in a moment ago. Sora stopped running, immediatly forgetting about the came of tag he was going to play with Kairi, and turned toward his best friend, stepping next to him. His blue eyes searched Riku's, and he could see into his best friends soul. But he couldn't see what was bothering him.

"Hey," Sora said quietly, nudging him gently. "You okay?" He watched his friend for another moment, and Riku shook himself, as if coming out of a trance, before looking over at Sora, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving it off with his hand. "I'm fine." Even when he said the words, Sora knew he was lying. His eyes proved it, but Sora simply narrowed his own, not one to push Riku into telling him anything. Riku rubbed the back of his neck a moment before looking past Sora and at Kairi, who was coming up behind Sora, annoyed by the fact no one was playing the game with her.

"Hello?" she said, waving her hands in front of Sora and Riku's faces. "I was playing a game here." She put her hands on her hips in a mocked stubborn act, turning away from them with an upturned nose. "Fine. I'll just go find some other boys to play with." Both boys looked at each other, grinning slightly, and at the same moment, lunged at Kairi, who shrieked happily and barely escaped. Laughing, the sky turning a midnight black above them, the three teenagers shot down the sandy beach after one another, their laughter echoing through the island.

-x-x-x-

Sora collasped onto his bed with a loud sigh.

The laughter they finished not 15 minutes earlier was still ringing in his ears as he stared at the ceiling, hands behind his head, a soft smile drawn on his lips. He did this every night, recalled the events - even the ever-so-small ones - that happened that day, always storing them where he could remember them forever. They had days like that every day, and now, something that Sora once took for granted was special to him, simple times they laughed and played.

But one recollection wasn't very joyful.

Remembering Riku's question on death, Sora's smile dropped from his lips. He had forgotten about the question when they had begun playing tag, but now it was back, ringing in his ears. Why had Riku's talked about death, and what was that mysterious thing Sora had seen glittering inside his best friends soul? Sora squinted, as if narrowing his eyes could help him recall the emotions dancing in his eyes. But it didn't help. Sora sighed, deciding to drop it. It was probably just a question, anyway.

Instead, he focused on Kairi. A smile flickered almost immediatly on his lips.

Kairi, the only girl that had ever been his best friend. Kairi, who he would go to the ends of the earth to search for. Kairi, the one person he was in love with, the one person who could make so many emotions explode inside his head with just one smile. He sighed, thinking of her bright eyes and beautiful face, loving every moment he spent with her. Sora closed his eyes, the smile still plastered on his face. He fell asleep with those thoughts buzzing in his head.

But his dreams that night were all but peaceful as his thoughts were.

His dreams were plagued with dark shadows, angry voices, and sobbing, and Sora found himself right in the middle, unable to escape the shadows and yelling that surrounded him. The dream continued far into the night, when finally, Sora awoke with a start, drenched in sweat, sitting the same way he had the night before. He sat up, gasping for breath, his heart pounding, and looked at the clock. 4:29am. He blinked gently in the darkness, wondering what the dreams meant, and why he was facing them. He shook his head, wiping the sweat from his face, and layed back down, staring at the dark ceiling. He fell this time into a dreamless sleep.

-x-x-x-

"Sora! Sora, wake up! Wake up!"

The loud pouding and yelling outside his door awoke Sora with a start. He leaped out of bed and toward the door, his feet thudding on the wooden floor. He swung the door open, hair ruffled and eyes wide, hardly awake. When he opened the door, something shot at him, and wrapped it's arms around him. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Sora watched as the image of Kairi, grasping onto him tightly, came into view. Bewildered, Sora simply grasped her into a hug as well, but after a moment, soft sobs reached his ears. He patted Kairi on the back, his heart thumping in his chest, his stomach churning nervously.

"Kairi...Kairi, whats the matter?" he asked desperatly, stroking her hair, trying to get her to calm down. "What happened?" Kairi breathed deeply, wrapping her arms tighter around Sora's waist.

"Sora...Sora, Riku..." At his best friends name, Sora's stomach dropped to his feet, and he pulled Kairi away from him, panic slowly beginning to flood over his body.

"Riku? What about Riku?" he demanded, gently shaking Kairi as the tears fell down her face. She dropped her head in her hands, shaking her head back and forth, saying something Sora couldn't point out, couldn't hear until he leaned closer.

"...gone, he's gone..."

Sora watched as his mind went blank and the world around him began to sway. But he got ahold of himself, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "W-what are you talking about, Kairi?" he said, his voice shaking slightly. "What do you mean?" After a moment, Kairi removed her head from her hands, her tearstained face facing his, and her grief-stricken eyes caused his heart to stop altogether.

"He's gone, Sora," she whispered, tears sliding down her face. "He's gone."

Sora suddenly felt sick, his stomach churning dangeriously, his mind spinning like an out-of-control carousal. He was...gone? Gone? He closed his eyes, swaying back and forth.

"No...no," he whispered, shaking his head. "Kairi, no..." His voice caught, and he nearly collasped, shuffling over to his bed and sitting down, staring straight ahead. Kairi shuffled over to him, sitting down next to him and lying on his shoulder, sobbing against him. But Sora felt numb, suddenly so emotionless, unfeeling. Kairi sobbed loudly against his shoulder, and he closed his eyes. He was gone. Riku was gone...

"Kairi," he whispered, his voice whispered and hoarse. "Kairi, what happened to him? What happened? What...?" His voice trailed off, and Kairi lifted her head from his shoulder, attempting to wipe the tears from her eyes. She sniffed gently, shaking her head.

"He never came home," she explained in a broken voice. "He never came home last night, Sora. So his parents went looking for him this morning... His boat never left the dock. He was still in his boat, Sora. He was dead...gone..." She broke into sobs once more, and Sora could suddenly feel. The emotions hit him like a brick wall, so painful he nearly passed out. He placed an arm on Kairi's shoulder, his his head on hers, and sobbed with her, sobbed for the best friend he lost.

-x-x-x-

That night, Sora and Kairi still cried, their eyes swollen and puffy, holding each other at his funeral.

They both watched as Riku's parents placed his body into his boat, watched as they sobbed over his body for a moment. Sora's heart was ripped in several pieces, all of them with Riku's soul. Holding Kairi as she sobbed into his shoulder once more, Sora watched as they pushed Riku's boat into the sea, and watched as it disappeared on the horizon, sinking away with the sunset as it disappeared underneath the waves.

All day, Sora had wondered if this was why Riku wanted to talk about death. Had he had some idea he was going to die before the next morning? Or had it been conciendental, something randomly chosen, just as random as his death? Either way, as Sora sat on the sand with Kairi at his side, he wished he had listened, listened to his friends words, wished he would have pressured him into telling him what was wrong.

Sora looked down at Kairi, lying against his shoulder, and wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her tightly against him, showing her he was there. She sniffed in reply, snuggling closer to him. It was only then that Sora understood what Riku had been trying to say. Only now did he feel that emotion Riku was speaking of. He did wish he was dead instead of Riku. The pain was too much to bare. Time healed all wounds, but some wounds were deeper than others, and some were so deep they left painful and permenant scars. He winced gently, tears sliding down his face as he looked out at the sea.

"Do you think there really is a window in heaven?" Kairi's small voice whimpered from under his arm. Sora looked at the sky, watching the clouds roll by gently. He closed his eyes, the pain in his heart like a hot knife. He squeezed her tightly, tears falling down his face.

"I think, Kairi," he said, his voice breaking. Kairi sobbed quietly beneath his arms. "And I believe he's looking at us right now."