Author's Note: Well well, what is this. This is when characters actually speak with me. This is when I actually want to write a story, and don't feel like it's simply an obligation.

This is actually just me trying to get back into the sway of writing. So please forgive me if it doesn't flow correctly, or something. I'm trying..

"I think that in another universe, Sora could be a hero. And if Sora is a hero, then Roxas would be the knight that fights in the shadows."

"What?"

My eyes shot over to the redhead beside me, who was currently staring out at the sunset. She was a petit girl whose eyes seemed to reflect the wonders of the world – that sounds like something a romantic would say, but that's not exactly how I meant it. She's seventeen, but sometimes you could never guess. Not if you're looking at the right places.

"Well…think about it. Sora is Light. He wants to help everyone in any way that he can, and people love him for being like that. He's our little ball of energy that would sacrifice everything he is for the people he cares about, while also doing what is right. He just…naturally settles into the position."

"And you wouldn't be saying this at all because you think of him as your own prince charming, now would you? Romanticizing him," I say, and she laughs out a quiet little chuckle while I find myself smiling. She shakes her head slightly and turns her head up to the sky, like she's waiting for something to appear. Maybe she is.

"Well…maybe a little bit. But you can't deny that it makes sense. Sora is Sora, and that's the kind of person he is. I'm…sure he'd be the first that would come and save me when I'm in trouble."

"And how does Roxas fit into this?"

Her smile widens a little bit, and she turns her head back down to gaze out at the city panned out in front of us. Everything seemed orange—orange and red in this town. Twilight Town earned its name appropriately…a city basked in the flames of the sun.

"Well…if Sora is the sun, then Roxas would be the moon. They're both so strong – they just go about their actions in different ways. While Sora's out on the surface with his actions broadcasted for the world to see, Roxas would be working towards the goal in secret—supporting Sora from the shadows. But like Sora, he'd be a savior. A knight that prefers secrecy over recognition," She pauses for a second and lets out another small laugh, "And it fits, because Roxas never liked attention anyway."

We sit there for a little bit in silence, both of us gazing out at the horizon in front of us. For a while, there's no use for words since our company is enough. Sometimes I wonder how we got to this point where we are able to just sit here in comfortable silence, but then again, it must just be her. Hell, if I'm going to play along with this make-believe world she's thought up…she'd be the fucking princess. That goddamn princess that deserves so much more, but doesn't think so. The princess that's…

"Hah. Too bad that's not the kind of world we live in, Kairi. It would be nice, though. If…we could count on them to be the saviors."

Kairi's quiet for a moment, and she closes her eyes while folding her hands into her lap. And here's the kicker – she's smiling again. That same, gentle half-smile that makes it look like the world was just painted as a backdrop to shine behind her. She's looks like an angel. And at the moment, I hate angels.

"That's…not true," she says quietly, hesitantly. "I'm the one who can't be saved this time. Sora might be a hero, but even heroes have limits as to what they can and cannot do. But you, Axel…you have a chance. You've always had a chance. And I think that maybe, someday, you could be saved if you let it happen. You deserve it."

I snort, laughing out loud at her statement. If I were with anyone else, they might think that I was being rude. But because it's her, she knows it's not directed to her. So she sits there, just listening, waiting, like the patient and quiet princess she is.

We shouldn't be friends. There is no reason for us to be. But somehow, she clicks with me just like she clicks with everyone else, and this is the only time that we are able to get along together. Because we're all so different when we act with a group of people. Or maybe I just am. Maybe I'm just a hypocrite.

But here, just here, we can be real. She can let out what she's thinking, and I…I can pretend that I actually have a heart to feel with. I can pretend, just for a little but, that I'm a human that is worthy.

Kairi died a week later.

Chemo was expensive, and her family was done providing for it. So when she came out of remission, she had no chance. It's a fucked up thing to think about, that her of all people had to die. Not that I'm saying she's better than anyone but…she just didn't deserve it. It wasn't fair, none of it was. But even at the hands of death, she was graceful.

Sora was crushed; I don't blame him though. He had to sit there and pretty much watch his girlfriend deteriorate one day at a time…And watching someone deteriorate is probably somewhere on the same level of suck as attending a fucking funeral.

And two guesses as to where I am now. First one doesn't count.

"What's the point of this, anyway? She's dead, and it's not like she's going to see this. So why have a funeral? Kairi didn't even want one."

I roll my eyes and glance at Xion, the girl who's currently glaring at the casket at the front of the rows of seats. I feel like that maybe in another life we could have been friends, but here I can only see her as a 'not-kairi.' That's probably a really mean thing to think, and it's not like I'm looking for her to replace her sister, but it's just how she strikes me as.

"We're here because funerals are for those who are left behind," I say off hand, turning my attention back to the priest who was currently reading some passage from the bible. It's a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. What the fuck is the point of quoting shit from an old book? I might as well go up there and start reading shit off from Harry Potter.

Is it obvious where my religious beliefs lie? Yeah. Screw the bible, but maybe for Kairi, I'll almost-pretend there's a Heaven.

"Well aren't you the philosophical one here today," she replies with sharply, but immediately after sighs. Xion's different from Kairi in the way that you can't always tell what she's thinking, which makes her a great liar. It's her thing, imitating things she believes will help her get somewhere. Or help her fit in. Because Kairi was the one everyone liked, and Xion was the double that was a little on the crazy side. No, really.

I really don't want to be here. Sora just walked up to say something and…

No, fuck this, I'm not staying here.

I'm already standing up and walking out of the small garden this thing is being hosted in, what with all these fucking pink-and-white flowers, and heading off towards god knows where. I can feel people's eyes on me as I walk, and shit, can't they look elsewhere? It's not that it bothers me, but it's just annoying. Can't they find something better to gaze at right now? So sue me, I don't want to listen to a sob story from the boyfriend/best friend.

And god knows who else. I certainly don't care to hear either way.

Before I realize it, my feet are taking me up towards the clock tower that's in the middle of town. It's a huge building, and you'd honestly think that they would keep such a towering building locked so that children couldn't get up there and "hurt themselves." Hah, as if they ever need special ways to get into trouble. Either way, the gate to the stairs is easy enough to jump over, so up I go.

Kairi's still on my mind, and I sort of want her to go away. Those who are dead should leave the living be, instead of letting lingering memories haunt them.

So fucking lame. I need to get my head out of my ass before I hurt myself with all this wanna be…"philosophical" crap, as Xion so kindly put it.

But before I realize it, I'm up there, and the city suddenly looks so small. Standing over the edge like I have so many times before seems almost surreal, and I don't even know why.

Maybe it's because this was where Kairi and I first came to a mutual friendship agreement. Maybe it's because the town seems a little less vibrant without its main character. Fuck, maybe I'm just out of my fucking mind right now, and I'm the one that's seeing things wrong. I wonder, if I fell from this height, would it fix my eyes? My brain?

"You look like you're about to jump. You'll dirty the streets."

I turn around so fast that I almost do lose my footing, and my heart flutters from the brief scare. A bit behind me and to my left leaning against the wall is Roxas, and I release the breath that I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Heh, y'know. Just thinkin' about giving it a bit of my 'personal flare.' It needs it, don't you think?" I grin at him and he takes a few steps forward so that he's beside me, but not quite up on the ledge like I am. He's staring out at the sunset neutrally, and I'm suddenly wondering what's going on behind those eyes of his. I can never tell what's being reflected.

"It doesn't need it. Shouldn't you be at Kairi's funeral?"

He has his hand shoved into the pockets of his sweatshirt, and he's still not looking at me. "I was. But I left when Sora went up there to gush about his dead girlfriend. Not interested in hearing people's sob story," I say, and turn my gaze back out towards the city. "I don't recall seeing you there at all."

From beside me I can hear Roxas chuckle, and hear the shuffling of cloths; when I glance down at him, he has seated himself on the edge of the building where I'm currently standing. "That's because I was never there," he says rather lightly, "I'm not interested in funerals at all. The last thing I want is for my last memory of a friend to be them lying there, dead, in a casket while people are weeping at the mere thought of her."

"Is that what Sora has been doing?"

Roxas looked at me and gave a rather dry smile while drawing his knees up to his chest. "Yeah. It's like everything reminds him of her."

Of course it does. That was his girlfriend, and even before that, best friend since…how long? Probably since they were kids, given how close they've been and how Kairi would talk about them. I can't say I'm surprised.

"I can't blame the guy. But it's not like I understand it, either," I say, exhaling as I lower myself down and sit beside him. "I wouldn't know what it's like to lose someone that important to you. But I can imagine it would be somewhere near devastating."

Roxas peers at me through half-lidded eyes hidden behind his hair, and I sigh. What a situation.

"I wonder how it felt. To die."

"What?" I say, slightly caught off-guard. What does it feel like to die? Fuck if I know. But he's looking for an answer…

"What it's like to die. What do you think? And spare any religion bull. I'm not interested, and I've heard it enough."

I laugh at that and shake my head; good to know he hasn't completely shut down. "Well, it's not like I would know. But maybe it would be like…-"

Like burning. Perishing through the flames, but it's okay, because you know things will be better now even though you regret—

"Axel?"

"Hu-what?" I blink repeatedly through the mist that has covered my eyes and place a hand over my chest—and I'm relieved when I feel the irregular ba-dum ba-dum pulsing within my chest. My heart's racing, but it's still there. It's still there…

Of course it's still there. What the fuck am I thinking.

"You just – you started hyperventilating or something! Jackass, you almost fell off of the damn clock tower!"

I furrow my brow and frown slightly as my vision starts to become a bit more clear, and I notice that I'm no longer sitting at the edge, but rather I've been pulled back to lean against the tower itself. The next thing I notice is that Roxas is kneeling next to me and glaring, and it's funny, because there's probably nothing going on behind those eyes of his.

What a fucked up thing to think. I thought my friend was without expression. That's how I am, not him…

"Haha; my bad. I'm fine now. Maybe the stress was getting to me, or something…"

Yeah. Stress. More like it felt like my whole body was coming apart from the molecular level.

"..Are you sure," Roxas mutters quietly, and the way he's staring at me bothers me. With the way the light is playing against us, it looks like his eyes are shifting colors and it's giving the illusion that he can see what I'm thinking. Like he knows something.

"Positive."

AN: I have a vague idea of what this is/might be.

But I have no clue who Roxas is right now. Axel's sort of in there, and everyone else is trying to slide in, but Roxas isn't showing himself.

(Kairi's like a morality pet of sorts. Axel's really smart, but he doesn't like to show it. He likes his attitude better. But that's all I'll say there.)

Anywho, I hope you liked it! More to come hopefully soon; If there are any mistakes, please tell me and I'll fix them as soon as possible. Constructive criticism shall be taken with grace.

(So will flames but...shh. That takes away from their fun.)