Shadow

A/N:

So, here's my third Kingdom Hearts fic. (Fourth if you don't include the crossover.) Don't worry, though! Names is still being worked on!

Well, that's enough about things unrelated to this new story! I don't want to start rambling just yet, so…

See ya at the bottom!

I always lived in his shadow.

My brother, Sora, outshined me in every possible way. I had nothing to be proud of. Even though he was so nice about it, never making fun of me…

I couldn't stand it.

Even the girl I liked was more attracted to him than to me. We had been childhood friends, and she was one of the best friends I ever had. Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with her, and at the same time, she fell in love with my brother. I didn't know for a long time, and when I found out, it crushed me. Still, I kept quiet, silently praying to whatever being may be out there to let me move on, even though I knew it wouldn't help. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is…

They started going out.

That was the last straw. Even still, I don't plan on hurting Sora, as I just can't find it in me to even want to. No, only one person will suffer here—

Myself. Then again, I've been suffering for years, slowly dying a little more on the inside with every time he's unwittingly taken something away from me.

And so, to whoever finds this letter, I ask of you one thing: tell my friends.

Tell Sora that it's not his fault, that he didn't know how I felt.

Tell Kairi that I'm sorry that I couldn't help her get together with Sora like I promised all those years ago.

Tell Xion that I'm sorry I couldn't accept her feelings.

Tell Axel that he was the best friend I'd ever had.

Tell Saix that he may piss me off sometimes, but he's still my favorite teacher.

Tell Riku not to let Sora blame himself.

Tell Ventus to hurry up and ask Aqua out already, before Terra takes her away.

Tell Terra that I'm sorry for rooting more for Ventus than for him.

Tell Aqua to stop being so dense.

But most importantly…

Tell Namine that I love her.

Well, anyone who knows me will know where I'm going to finally end it, to make the world a slightly better place. Please don't come to look for me. I'm content with my choice.

Sincerely,

Roxas

"Well, I'd say that's good enough," I said, putting the letter in an envelope and putting in on my kitchen counter.

Though I'm seventeen, I live alone… I guess that could have contributed to my depression, huh?

I walked over to my closet, getting a coat out and putting it on.

I wonder who will find the letter. Probably my landlord.

I walked out of my house, intentionally leaving the door unlocked. As I walked through the streets, I began to remember the few times I felt truly happy.

Yet still… those moments were few and far between.

When I finally reached my destination, I smiled.

I wonder why… why can I feel happy right before I'm about to do this?

I walked into the back entrance to the clock tower, steeling myself for what I was about to do.

Namine

"Roxas!" I shouted for the fifteenth time. "I'm coming in, all right?"

I tried to use the key to his apartment that he gave me long ago, but to my surprise, I found the door to be unlocked.

"Huh, that's odd," I said to myself.

I looked around, trying to find Roxas. My eyes settled to his kitchen table, where a peculiar letter resided in the middle. I walked over to look at it, looking at the words on the front.

To whoever finds this

I gasped. Please, no…!

I opened the letter, reading the contents carefully.

"No!" I shouted, running out the door without even shutting it.

Roxas

Standing at the top of the clock tower, I looked down at the beautiful city lights.

"I kinda feel bad that I'm going to be defiling the city with my blood. But I guess that it'll be cleaned up soon enough," I whispered.

I climbed the railing of the balcony I was on, taking a look behind me one last time to make sure no one was there.

When I saw a girl coming up the stairs, dressed in white with long blonde hair, I immediately recognized her as Namine. We locked eyes for a second.

"No! Roxas, please don't do this!"

I waved at her with a smile, saying one final goodbye. Then…

I jumped over the railing.

Not two seconds after I jumped, I saw something closing in on me that wasn't the ground.

"Wha—"

THUMP!

Namine

I looked at Roxas, my best friend, as he lay on his hospital bed. Tears still fell from my eyes endlessly, refusing to stop.

"Why…? Why did it turn out like this…?" I choked.

"I'm sorry, Namine…" Sora said from behind me.

"It's my fault…" we both said simultaneously.

"You idiots…" Riku said from the corner of the hospital room. "It was his choice. Neither of you are to blame. He should've thought it through before pulling that stunt. 'Make the world a slightly better place'? Don't give me that crap!"

"Calm down, Riku," Axel said softly from next to me. "This isn't the time to be pointing fingers at anyone. I know Roxas better than any of you… even you, Namine. He wouldn't want us to blame anyone."

At that moment, a female doctor entered the room.

"Okay, I'm sure everyone wants to know exactly what's going on, and what will happen to him," the doctor said. "I won't sugar coat it. Roxas will live, and he will wake up soon, but…

"He might not remember anything. From what we can tell, he might wake up and be perfectly fine. But he might also wake up in a state of total amnesia," the doctor finished.

No…!

"If he does wake up with amnesia, will he ever get his memories back?" Axel asked her, face grim.

"It's hard to say for sure," she said. "But he'll probably get his memory back within a year. Of course, that's assuming that he does get amnesia."

All was silent.

"Which reminds me," the doctor started. "If he does get amnesia, then he will most likely need someone to look after him. Thinking about it now, he'll need someone to help him with the physical damage, whether he remembers anything or not. Now, where was I…? Oh yes, that's it. From what I gather, he lives alone, so I would like to ask one of you to help."

"Well, I know we all want to do it, but every single one of us goes to high school or college," Axel said in a sad tone.

"I'll do it!" I shouted. "I don't care about missing classes!"

Everyone in the room looked at me with dumbstruck expressions, not expecting the honor student with a perfect attendance record to say something so rash.

"Well, that's very admirable of you, albeit a bit naïve," the doctor said with a smile. "However, you didn't let me finish. I'm willing to give a note to the school, asking for permission to allow you to do your schoolwork outside of the school until your friend there is fully recovered, amnesia or not. That would allow you to take care of your friend without getting in trouble."

"Thank you so much!"

"Ugh…"

All eyes turned to the hospital bed, where Roxas slowly sat up, holding his head. He looked up at us, briefly making eye contact with each and every one of us, until…

A/N:

I know, I know. It was kind of mean to leave you hanging there, but I need to break it off here for two reasons:

One: because this isn't meant to be complete, regardless of the status of the story. The reason for this, coincidentally, is also the second reason for leaving you with a cliffhanger.

Two: there are going to be TWO continuations to this story. They will be in separate entries, to avoid confusion. It's probably pretty obvious to you readers what they are by now, but let me make it even more clear: the first continuation will be where he doesn't lose his memory, (I'm going to make that a one-shot like this) and the second one will be a long story in which he lost his memory, and the events after that.

Well, I'd say that's enough!

I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise or anything/one I use from it!

See ya!