His whole life up to this point had been defined by a series of routines. Every morning, he woke up and went to the Gray Area to receive the day's mission. Every evening, he'd go to the clocktower with his friends, and every night, he'd write in his diary before going to sleep. It was a simple, straightforward life, at least at first. But even when things started to become more complicated, his days still followed the same structure.
By leaving the Organization, Roxas had broken that pattern. His life from now on would never be the same, and he didn't want it to be. Still, though, it didn't take long for him to realize what that meant. He'd probably need another job, and somewhere new to live, but that was too much to think about right now. First, he had to escape. Hide. Go somewhere so far away that the others would never find him.
Unfortunately, he didn't know anywhere like that. The only places he'd ever been were the worlds he'd been sent to on missions, and all of those were places he could easily be found. Instead, he wandered back to Twilight Town, and back to the clocktower right on schedule. Breaking a lifetime of habit – even a lifetime as short as his – might be harder than he'd thought.
He sat down, knees pulled close to his body, and the reality of the situation began to close in on him. "Where did I think I could go?" he said, thinking out loud.
Then Xion showed up, and made the choice for him.
Summer was the only time of year when he didn't have a set routine. Without school taking up most of his day, he almost had more time than he knew what to do with…at least until the last week. At that point, the assignment he'd spent the whole break putting off became impossible to avoid any longer. He'd get it done in time, though. He always did.
Except this time, things were different. If the dreams weren't enough to convince him that something was wrong, then all the strange occurrences definitely were. But until he ended up at the mansion, none of it made sense.
After that, everything did.
In that moment, surrounded by sparking wires and smashed monitors, Roxas felt more lost than he ever had before. His old life was gone, and so was the illusion that had replaced it. Now, he had no choice but to keep going and face what lay ahead.
When he did, another choice was made for him. So much for breaking the pattern.