Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days
Chapter 7: The World That Never Was part VII
-Roxas POV-
Gazing up at the ceiling of his room, Roxas appeared visibly troubled. Things had changed a great deal after the split in the Organization, so much so that he was actually beginning to wonder why he was even apart of this group. Sure they had been the ones to find and help him when he didn't even know who or what he was, but shouldn't he have the choice to decide on a direction for himself?
The more he questioned his reasons for staying, the more he found himself thinking about Xion and Axel. He didn't bare any ill-will toward the others, but those two were definitely his best friends. So if they suddenly left, he'd probably just go with them. 'Though, now it just sounds like I'm hoping that'll happen.' he mused to himself in a sigh, closing both eyes in the process.
'I didn't realize it in the moment, but Xion definitely sounded like she was thinking about leaving. Its over two months ago we talked about it, and my feels of not belonging here have only increased since then.' Roxas continued while slowly reopening his eyes.
Despite seeming to look at the ceiling once more, the boy's gaze appeared entirely unfocused. Even the blueness of his eyes was a few shades duller, as Roxas' expression became one of deep contemplation. 'Though, if I was going to leave...where would I go? And what would I do?' he asked, these questions just being a few that were passing through his mind.
'I'm still just a teenager, so I doubt there would be any way for me to live on my own. Plus...I don't exactly have many skills that don't involve fighting.' the boy added before a slow smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"I guess I'd be pretty good at mercenary work if nothing else." Roxas uttered aloud in an amused tone, shrugging his shoulders briefly.
Almost immediately after this comment, a knock could be heard from the door. "Yeah?" the teen hummed out almost instinctually.
"Hey Roxas..." Axel called from the other side, his voice being somewhat sheepish or possibly even nervous.
The trio of Roxas, Axel and Xion had spent the past week barely interacting with one another. After the break in the Organization, things had become strained, even for the three friends. But it didn't seem to be stopping Axel today, as said man continued on after quickly clearing his throat. "...I heard that you already finished your mission today. You wanna see if Xion wants to join for some ice cream?" he asked in a hopeful tone.
'He's trying to get me to agree by making it sound like I already have.' Roxas mused with a slightly raised brow while sitting up on the edge of his bed.
'It's just like when I first joined, he always took the initiative to invite me to hang out.' he continued, gaining a small smile as he clearly felt a bit nostalgic about this.
"Sure." was all he answered, standing to his feet and opening the door to see his red-haired friend.
Whom offered a thankful smile and wave of his hand in greeting; "I'm glad you agreed, I was worried I'd have to blackmail you with the story of how you put your coat on backwards." he claimed in a chuckle, sounding just like his usual self.
Blinking to the man for a moment, Roxas quickly huffed and crossed his arms. "That happened one time, and I had just woken up." he declared, looking to the side as his cheeks started becoming a bit red in embarrassment.
Axel laughed in response to this before patting the teen on the shoulder. "Well not to worry, your secret is still safe with me...for now." he stated in teasing and somewhat taunting tone.
The blond-haired boy let out a long sigh, to which he then turned back to his friend with a small smile. "Lets go get Xion." he suggested softly.
In response to these words, Axel nodded his head and lead the way to the outside of Xion's door. Upon arriving, the pair simply paused in front of this entrance, unmoving. They knew that the girl had taken the news the hardest, as she had been becoming relatively good friends with most of the group whom left. Yet as they briefly turned to one another, it was obviously that they were hoping the other would be the one to knock. After a few moments of this impasse however, both decided to take the lead and knock on the door's surface in unison.
Upon doing so, the two simply waited for a response of any kind. As seconds ticked by, the two began to wonder if perhaps the teen was out, or had already fallen asleep. Just as they were about to call for the girl, the door suddenly opened. This revealed Xion with a confused expression on her features; "Yes?" she questioned, even before she actually looked at the two.
"Oh..." the raven-haired teen uttered in surprise, taking in exactly whom it was as her door.
"Hey guys, what are you up to?" she continued on curiously, tilting her head to the side slightly.
Gazing to her in mild puzzlement, both Axel and Roxas were somewhat bewildered to see their friend appearing to be just fine. She didn't have the gloom in her eyes that had been present until this point. Though, to make sure that they didn't draw attention to this fact, the blond just offered a small smile. "Well, we were about to go get some ice cream...do you wanna join us?" he asked in an optimistic manner.
Xion shifted her gaze from one friend to the other, slowly giving a nod and slow shrug of her shoulders. "I don't see why not." she responded, gaining a small smile as she did.
Both Roxas and Axel immediately returned this expression, feeling like they might have gotten over the hurdle that was between them. 'It looks like we all just needed a bit of time.' Roxas thought to himself as the girl closed her door to join them.
Before she did however, the blond teen noticed what looked like two folded envelopes on top of Xion's desk. This brief glimpse made him a bit curious, yet they all headed off together down the hallway. Shrugging both shoulders and shaking his head, Roxas simply dismissed the sight. 'I'm sure it's nothing.' he thought as they headed off on their way.
Sitting atop the tall clock tower in Twilight Town, the three friends slowly ate ice cream together. The sunset being just as beautiful, as the the first time they had seen it. And as they continued eating, they each talked to one another like they typically did. It was just their usual antics, which somehow made it feel unusual.
While Axel was his normal joking and teasing self, there was almost a reservation to his behavior. And despite Xion making her customary counter quips and adding to the fun atmosphere, she somehow still seemed distant. Even Roxas himself gave half-hearted laughs with his own jests. Everything simply felt like they were merely going through the motions, than actually spending time with one another.
But it was in the lull of their conversation, when no one was talking, that they realized the rift between them. They couldn't return to normal anymore, things had changed too much. The three either had to adapt, or their friendship wouldn't last. And the longer the silence hovered over the three, the harder it became for any of them to even try and break it.
'This hurdle might be a little too high at the moment, we have too much to unpack at the moment.' Roxas thought to himself, his head tilting down.
"Thanks for inviting me you guys." Xion suddenly spoke, a small smile curling upon her features.
"I know it didn't feel right...but it was still nice to just hang out with you two again." the raven-haired girl continued while glancing between them.
Roxas blinked a few times to the other teen, both he and Axel nodding their heads in agreement to her. "Yeah...I think if we take things slow, it'll be alright." the boy stated softly, sounding as encouraging as possible.
As he listened to this, Axel nodded his head in agreement while looking at the pair. "And if there is anything anyone needs, we all have each other to turn to." he added, gaining a smile as well.
"Thanks you guys...just wait about a week, things will slowly start to get better between us. I promise." Xion claimed silently as she patted her friends on the back, the expression on her features though was oddly hinting.
But before they could question this, the girl stood up and stretched her arms slightly. "We should be heading back, it's getting pretty late." she said, pointing to the last rays of the sun as night was fast approaching.
The other two raised a brow, to which they looked to one another briefly in mutual confusion. However, they turned back to their friend and simply nodded in response. Both figuring that they would get the chance to have another chance to talk to Xion about what she meant. Neither one expecting that in exactly one week's time, the raven-haired girl would have disappeared.
"Xion's...missing?" Roxas uttered out in shock, his eyes wide as he stepped back like he had been hit in the chest.
Was it truly surprising though? No. It wasn't that Xion likely left the Organization that was upsetting. She seemed to be hinting at doing so during multiple conversations with the two. No, it was that she hadn't told him or Axel about it. This made both of them quite fearful, as there was always the possibility that she was killed on a mission. Now that the Organization was short staffed, most of the missions were designated for only one member.
But while Roxas was initially hopeful when hearing that Axel and Saix were sent out to find evidence of Xion's whereabouts, this instantly changed when they returned. As, according to what they could find, all evidence led to the conclusion that Xion was indeed dead. "That...can't be..." he whispered out in a clenched voice.
With a blank stare, the blond went completely silent. His gaze shifted toward the floor, but appeared to be staring straight through it. Roxas then immediately began rushing toward Xion's room, despite Axel calling out to him. And while he was about to give chase, Saix put a hand out in front of him and shook his head. Letting out a silent sigh, the red-haired man simply watched his friend run off. He couldn't blame the boy after all, he had a similar initial reaction.
'She couldn't be dead, not after her promise.' Roxas thought to himself while continuing to run, his mind trying to reject the possibility of his friend being gone.
'That promise...she must have had this planned, right? She didn't actually die, right? It's just all part of her plan...it has to be.' he declared inwardly, not willing to accept the alternative.
Upon arriving at Xion's room, he simply opened the door without bothering to knock. Inside however, there was just an empty room. Even as he began looking around for some clue or indication, there was no sign of anything. No note, nor a letter, nothing.
'Wait...a letter...those envelopes I saw before, where are they?' he questioned to himself quickly while continuing his search.
But no matter where he looked, there wasn't any sign of the envelopes. After what seemed like hours, Roxas eventually found himself sitting on the floor with his arms around both knees. The contents of the room laying all across the floor. Anything that could be moved, was tossed to the side and left there. Tears gently fell from his eyes as he breathed heavily; "You're not really gone, right?" Roxas asked aloud before resting his forehead against both arms, hiding his face.
'You've always been able to think ahead of everyone, so you definitely couldn't have beaten by just anyone. But if you did plan all this out, then why not tell us? We would have come with you.' he continued in his mind as the tears started to slow.
'Wait...if she didn't take us with her, there must be a point to it, right? Which means, I shouldn't be thinking of the fact that she didn't tell us. I should try and figure out the purpose behind why. If she went through the trouble of faking her death, then there must be a pretty extreme reason. In that case...I need to leave the Organization to find out what it is.' Roxas continued, taking in a deep breath as he lifted his head up slowly.
The look in his eyes was very determined, having made up his mind to do this. 'But if I'm going to do that, I'll need a plan. Even if no one would mind if I left, Xion clearly wouldn't want me drawing attention. Though...it's not like I'd be able to fake my death as well.' he stated while standing up to his feet.
'Which means I need to become strong enough to the point that no one would even try to follow me.' the blond declared while looking to one of his hands as he clenched it into a fist.
'Or maybe I'll just become really good at hiding...one or the other.' he added to himself, letting out a heavy sigh.
'Either way...I think it's time I start testing my fusion magic theory.' Roxas mused thoughtfully, heading to his room and closing the door behind him.
And there you have it. Xion has left the Organization, and Roxas is on the path to doing the same. But how will both their plans work out in the end? I suppose we'll find out in the coming parts. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.