It became a routine. No one knew what the two of them were up to, or why they had suddenly hung out every chance they got. Van and Roxas would get together when they both had the time and watch the news, trying to figure out something that the police may have missed.

It had been about a week since Sora had shown up, and Roxas kept himself busy by trying to find anything that might lead to his killer. If he wasn't busy trying to find something, he would wait in his room, patiently staring at the door. Sora had promised he would come back. He promised.

As for clues… Roxas and Van had searched the bridge, over and over again. Constantly re-checking things and getting on their hands and knees to search the ground for foot prints or anything that might have been dropped. Of course, they always came up empty handed. Roxas was adamant that there was something there. Something that would give them a shove in the right direction. But as to what it looked like, or what exactly it was, he had no idea. It was a big shot in the dark, but he was certain that when they came across it, he would know.

"Roxas. It has been a week already, and there is nothing that's pointing to anyone. I mean. Cops have degrees in this shit. We're just teens." Van said, interrupting the newscasters on the television.

Roxas continued to stare out his window, remaining silent. They had to have overlooked something,

"Cops have degrees, but they don't know that spot very well either. Lots of places that they don't know about." Roxas mumbled. His mind was still on Sora. Why hadn't he shown up yet? He had promised…

"Ughh. Roxas, I'm about tired of this little detective game. I mean… I want to find the killer as much as you do, but I mean… We don't have the right tools. The right things. It's a wild goose chase." Van said, crumpling up the paper he had been scribbling on, "Look, I loved my brother just as much as you did, but this is a waste of time. If we keep doing this, we're going to be just as dead to the world as he is."

"He's not dead to this world…" Roxas whispered. He knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Van got impatient. That was just how Van was! To be honest, Roxas was surprised he had even held out for a week.

Vanitas sighed, scuffing his foot, "He's dead Roxas. And we need to continue with our lives. Not sit in a room and sulk, or chase fairy tales." He said softly.

Roxas didn't know why he got so angry. Maybe it was because Vanitas had said it gently, or maybe it was the way he dropped Sora like a sickly cat, when not even two weeks ago he was in this very room crying over his brother. Roxas glanced up, eyes narrowing, "Fine Van. Then leave. Get the hell out of my room and leave. I'll find who did it because it isn't a goose chase. And it isn't a fairy tale. It's Sora." Roxas said heatedly. He spun back around to face the window,

"Rox…"

"Get out Vanitas. I'll let you know when I find out more." There was no more room for discussion. Roxas had closed up, and his mind zoned in somewhere else. Van went to say something, then stopped. He lightly placed a hand on Roxas' shoulder, squeezing lightly.

He didn't turn back around until he heard the door click into place. He ran a hand through his golden locks, tapping his foot irritably. Where was Sora? Where was his killer? Where the hell was any sign that lead to his killer?

It was infuriating. Beyond infuriating, actually. It gnawed away at him constantly, eating away at his focus until he couldn't think about anything else. He grit his teeth,

"You should stop doing that, you know. Not good for your teeth."

Roxas' breath caught in his throat. How in the hell…? He slowly turned on his heel, eyes traveling towards the brunette at a sluggish pace. Roxas was thrilled, but anger quickly took it's place, "Oh hell no. You can't do that. You can't just disappear for weeks, then appear out of the freaking blue like that. No." Roxas said, jabbing his finger into Sora's chest. His lip twitched slightly as he backed away from the other, glaring daggers at him,

"Why do I always get the weirdest reactions from you when I show up? The first time you fainted, now you're angry with me. Will you ever be happy?" Sora asked, a small smile creeping on his face.

That look. It was all it took for Roxas' anger to dissipate into nothing. He growled with no heat, grumbling as he spun back towards his desk that held so many hours of his time.

"Look… I'm sorry. Time… Time goes a lot differently where I am. And there was a lot to learn. A lot to know about what I'm supposed to do. What I am." Sora said, eyes downcast.

Roxas remained silent for a moment, processing what Sora was telling him, "So… What are you then? Why are you even here?"

"I can't explain much of it Roxas… But I have a job now. A lot of people count on us."

"Us? Who's us?"

"Roxas… Don't ask questions like that. I can't answer them, and it kills me because you know I don't like hiding anything from you." He stated sadly.

Roxas groaned, rubbing his temples, "Did they tell you who killed you at least?"

"No… But you can't keep this up Roxas. Bad things will only happen. " He glanced up for a moment, "I've already said too much… But please heed those words Roxas… Promise me."

"I can't do that Sora. You know that as much as I do. " Roxas stated, rolling his eyes. The other sighed, shaking his head slowly

"I know… I was afraid of that."

Roxas looked back, smiling his goofy grin, "Okay. So onto the next topic. Why can I see you as you?"

It got eerily quiet. Roxas glanced at Sora, who continued to look up, a sad look on his face. After a few moments, the other glanced down at Roxas, "I can't tell you Roxas… I-" he paused, shaking his head. He rubbed the back of his head, "Just… Just stop trying to find my killer Roxas."

"I can't Sora. Now drop it." He said, a little more heat to it than he meant. He shook his head, "This is horrible Sora. I don't know anything. I-"

"There is a reason for everything. Remember that… I have to go again Roxas. I've been gone for a while. I'll be back again as soon as I can. I promise." Sora said, quickly grabbing Roxas from behind and pulling him into an embrace. He laid his head in the crook of Roxas' shoulder, inhaling his scent slowly, "Don't pace like a cat this time when you wait for me. It's very boring."

"H-Hey, you watch me? You creeper!" Roxas said, pulling away from Sora and spinning around.

Only to find a flash of light, and an empty space where Sora had once been standing. He blinked, "Douchebag."

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The sun had begun to sink below the horizon, yet Roxas still remained underneath the Old Bridge, looking around slowly. He shouldn't be out here this late. Any minute he would get a call from his mom, telling him that he needed to bust his chops home, or something very similar. He rolled his eyes at the thought, already able to hear the constant nagging. He was old enough to take care of himself though, and this was important business. Or, it was to him anyway. He pulled his phone out, muting the volume on it so he couldn't be disturbed while he continued his search.

But where could he look? They had searched everywhere! He sat down on the ground for a moment, placing his head on his knees. It was definitely a frustrating search. No hints, signs, or iota of what he was looking for. After a moment he lifted his head slowly, looking around the shabby little spot. Sora and him had done everything possible to fix it up. To make it the best. In reality, it was nothing more than a couch, boom-box, a lantern, and two sleeping bags. To them, though, that was all that they really needed.

Blue orbs traveled over to the empty sleeping bag that lay crumpled and unused next to the couch. Memories of them camping out flooded into his head, so real he almost believed he was really laying next to Sora in his own bag, laughing his head off at some silly face the other had made…

But something snapped him out of his thoughts. They always rolled their bags up after using them. So…

Why was Sora's open? And why did it look like it had been used or…
His breath hitched. They hadn't thought to search around that. It was one of the minor details they had over looked, and definitely not something that the cops would have noticed. They were boys, afterall. What normal boy didn't make their bed, or put up their stuff if a mother wasn't nagging at them?

He slowly crawled forward on his hands and knees, eyes stuck to the material as if it would disappear in the blink of an eye,

"Well well well…" A voice spoke, causing Roxas to stop dead in his tracks. That wasn't Sora. Or Van. Hell that wasn't a voice he even knew, "Looks like they all just come back to this spot. What is this… The third one this week?"

"I think that's the same kid Mar. 'Cept he ain't with his pal this time." A woman said. Roxas glanced behind him, staring at the two figures, clad in black leather trenchcoats. The hoods swallowed their heads, making it hard to distinguish anything about them. Roxas couldn't speak. Couldn't even move.

"What should we do with him Mar?" The shorter figure asked, looking up at the other. The taller one (Mar?) didn't answer. He stepped forward, squatting down so he was looking into Roxas' face. He raised a gloved hand, pulling back the hood that covered his face.

Roxas gasped. Pink locks flowed out from underneath the hood, falling into place just over his intense blue eyes. No emotion played on the man's face. He cocked his head to the side slightly, "We'll do nothing." He said lightly, rubbing Roxas' head, "Cause he isn't going to talk. Are you… Roxas?"

Roxas' eyes widened in surprise. How did this man know his name? How had he never seen them before? Where they the ones who…

"Did you kill Sora?" Roxas asked, tears threatening to form. He couldn't cry. That would show his weakness.

The man just smirked, something dancing in his eyes, "Do you plan on doing us harm Roxas? You don't know what you are getting yourself into kid, but it's too late now." He said, standing back up. He looked over at the other hooded figure, "He won't tell Larxene. I can tell. He wants revenge… But in order to get that, he'll need to come to us. And he's on the right path." The gloved hand slowly went to a chain around the outside of the jacket that Roxas hadn't noticed until then. Whatever it was, slipped underneath the fabric as the assumed Mar lifted his hood once again, "We'll be seeing you Roxas." He said smoothly, turning on his heel and walking away into the fading light. The girl, Larxene, stayed behind a moment facing him. It was creepy. No being able to see their faces underneath those hoods… Not know what they were looking at, or what their expressions were. He blinked,

And she was gone. He glanced around for a moment, before crawling backwards. Once his hand touched the silky texture of Sora's sleeping bag, he stopped. He slowly reached for the blanket, never taking his eyes off of the entrance, and wrapped up inside of it.

Something fell to the floor. He jumped slightly, thinking that it was the two coming back for him, but after a beat he knew they weren't coming back. Slowly, his gaze traveled down to ground to find the object that fell.

It didn't take long. After all, there wasn't much on the ground besides pebbles and dirt. He reached down, picking the small metal object up and turning it over in his hands. It had once been a necklace. But something… Someone had broke the chain it was on. All that was left was a small emblem. At first it looked like a cross with the ends shaped like arrows, but the bottom was different. Instead it was shaped into the top of a heart. He blinked, spinning it around in his hands.

Was this what he had been looking for?

Thank you all so much for being patient. My job pretty much takes all of my time up, and I can only work on this when I have a free moment. Close to never is when that actually happens haha. But I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter =) I didn't exactly proof-read this one cause I wanted to get it out to ya'll, so please ignore any mistakes and errors! I'll try to update again ASAP.