Roxas walked down the street in the dusky twilight. He huddled into his sweater, pulling the hood up to hide his hair and ducking into the shadows. If only his mom would let him dye it… He sighed loudly and thought of his brother Sora. Sora did whatever he wanted, regardless of what people thought. Sora didn't have to provide for their family, Sora didn't have to work in a factory every day, Sora got to be a kid for a while longer… Roxas blinked heavily, shaking off his sudden melancholy and hiding his hair under his hood tightly. He shouldered his bag and darted into the alley that led to the back entrance of his family's apartment. He looked both ways quickly, and dashed down the stairs to the sub-entrance. The brick and wrought iron blocked him from view as he slid off his hood at last outside the door. The last of the dim light caught his gleaming hair and made it shine. Roxas ruffled it briefly so his mother wouldn't be able to tell he'd hidden it, and he unlocked the door. He stepped through quickly and locked it behind him. Roxas' mother, Aerith, called to him from the kitchen and he slid off his shoes by the door. He walked past their garden and into the living room. Sora was sitting on their tattered couch and chatting with one of his friends. Kairi, isn't it? Sora was giggling about something, and they turned to watch him as he walked into the kitchen. Kairi exploded into giggles, and Roxas blushed as he realized they were talking about him again. Roxas the failure. Roxas the factory-boy. Roxas the older brother. Roxas, Roxas, Roxas. Didn't they have anything better to do? He walked into the kitchen and saw his mother sitting at the counter, leaning into her work as she stirred the soup they'd be having yet again. Roxas couldn't remember the last time they'd had something solid…probably before the End… The End was what everyone called the darkness after the blast; when almost all the plant life on the planet had been killed off by radiation. When the people climbed out of the cement bunkers deep underground, everything was covered in ash. Most of the buildings were intact, but the trees, even the grass was grayed and powdery. The only things that survived were the seeds in garden stores and the remains of green houses. People had to plant in doors, and, once the sun started to die, they had added heating lamps to try and keep the plants alive for as long as possible. Almost every country had had the same idea: "If our home is going to be destroyed, shouldn't we take a couple others with us?" It wasn't enough to work together to find a solution; people were petty, and they always would be.

Roxas looked at his mother carefully. There was more grey in her hair, more lines on her face. She looked weary. Roxas smiled at her fakely and handed her his backpack.

"Hey, Ma…got a new seed today!" he said cheerfully.

"Roxy, that's fantastic! What'd ya get? What'd ya get!?" She laughed. She dropped her hands to her apron-clad waist, and turned to face him. Her long braid dangled over her shoulder and the ribbon played at the edge of the stove.

"Ma, move! Geez!" Roxas yelped, darting forward to pull her away from the flame.

"Sorry, Roxas… Guess it's time to cut my hair again!" she joked, pretending not to notice how careless she'd been. Roxas shook his head worriedly and opened up his bag. He pulled out the container carefully and placed it on the counter.

A small scoop of dirt with a tiny seedling poking through it marked his completion of another 6 weeks at the factory. People didn't really have a use for money anymore, so they traded using seeds. Depending on how well an employee did, they were rewarded with the means to feed their family. Today, Roxas had brought home a shoot from a wheat plant. Once it grew, his family could plant more from the seeds, and eventually, have enough to harvest. It would take a long time, but wheat grew quickly indoors. His mother opened the container carefully and carried it into the greenhouse. She transplanted the shoot in a row with the other plants and watered it lovingly. Roxas smiled; if Aerith could work in a greenhouse all day, she'd be the happiest woman alive. He left the greenhouse and walked into his room. He sat down on his bed and pulled off his grubby sweatshirt. He had to keep it on all day, or risk someone taking him. People with blonde hair went pretty quickly nowadays, and with his hair and his stunning blue eyes, a kidnapper would make a bundle off him. He had pale, unblemished skin, shining blonde hair, and was short enough to appear delicate. Pretty as he sounded, Roxas could defend himself pretty well. Last time someone had seen his hair, 3 men came at night to take him. Roxas had killed one of them, and the others had fled. Roxas carried the man into the alley, and the cops disposed of the body. It was understood that it had been self defense. There was a lot of "self defense" going on in the city…

There was a knock on the door, and Roxas threw a towel over his hair quickly. With Kairi over, there was no telling who else might be in the house; better not to risk it. He opened the door a bit, and looked into the dark hallway.

"Heeeey, Roxas…" Sora said slowly. Roxas' stomach sank at his brother's tone; apologetic and anxious.

"What did you do Sora?" he groaned.

"Why do you automatically assume I did something?!" Sora yelped. Roxas raised his eyebrows and Sora ducked his head.

"Okay, yeah. I usually do something, but I swear: I didn't mean to!" he whimpered. Roxas shouldered past him and into the kitchen. Aerith was sitting at the table with her head in her hands. Kairi was gone, and his father Cloud was seething at the table. He looked at Sora questioningly.

"Okay…what happened?" Roxas asked in dread. Sora scuffed his foot and looked up at Cloud.

"Oh no, you get to be the one to tell him, Sora." he growled. Sora sighed quietly and looked back at Roxas.

"Iaccidentallykindofkilledyourplant!" Sora said quickly. Roxas grabbed Sora by the shoulders.

"You did WHAT?!"

"-plant…wasn't my fault…." Sora grumbled under his breath. Roxas slapped him across the face and struck at his chest weakly.

"Sora, how could you? Do you know how hard I worked for that? 6 weeks! 6 WEEKS!" Roxas shouted. Sora stuck his chin up in defiance.

"So what! It's just a little plant! It's not like it even grew yet!" Sora yelled back. Roxas let go of his brother and stepped away from him.

"How can you say that, Sora? I worked hard for that; I worked hard for this family, while you sat around with Kairi. So thank you. Thank you for once again proving why I have to be the one to take care of this family!" Roxas whispered. He left the kitchen and walked into the greenhouse slowly. The last little shoot in the row was plucked. The little leaves that were sprouting off of it had been pulled systematically; it was no accident. Sora had gone out of his way to kill what Roxas worked for every day. The little leaves were already yellowing at the edges and the stem was curling in on itself. Roxas sighed and pulled it out of the dirt. He clipped some of the hair-thin roots and put them in a small pot. Maybe he would be able to salvage even part of the plant… He discarded the dead leaves and shut the door to the greenhouse behind him.

Roxas walked into his room quietly and looked in the mirror over his dresser. His light blond hair caught the light coming through his blinds and reminded him how similar he was to his father. Same crazy style and color, but none of the same problems. As a soldier, Cloud's hair served as a beacon. It drew attention to him, a fact he used to his advantage. Every enemy made him stronger, and as the sun caught his hair, it seemed to lighten the hearts of the men fighting around him. But, for Roxas, if anyone saw his hair, he had to make sure to take a bat to bed with him.

When people first started hearing about children getting kidnapped, many dyed their hair or cut it off. Aerith wouldn't let him; she always told him he was beautiful the way he was, and that he shouldn't have to hide. She cried when he dyed it black once, and since then, Roxas had just covered it to keep her happy. When he went to work, he made sure to keep his hood up, and when he went home, he always had something on hand to hide his hair.

Roxas climbed into his bed a fell asleep quickly. Tomorrow would be a long day.