Thank you to archsage328 for suggesting to add Ichigo's thoughts at the end.
Epilogue
Roxas's POV
I lay in my bed nearly a week later, completely lost in my thoughts. Axel and I had pulled the GREATEST prank on Luxord, with the help of Xigbar and Demyx. We gave him a bottle of rum and put a sleeping potion in it that we stole from Vexen's lab (it wasn't easy let me tell you. He writes all of the labels in Latin so no would bother to read them or try to figure out what they were. But we printed out the Latin alphabet and figured it out. Take that ;P) and hung him upside down from the ceiling in the Hall of Empty Melodies. When he woke up, we said we wouldn't let him down until he admitted how much he doubted Ichigo and until he told us where he gets all his rum (from some pirate named Jack Sparrow or something like that)…in front of the whole organization. Zexion was laughing so hard it was almost scary.
I rolled onto my side and stared at Kingdom Hearts through my window. I missed Ichigo and his friends; they added something different to our un-changing daily routine. Now everything was back to normal it was almost strange. I pushed away all thoughts of Ichigo from my mind and fell asleep to the sound of Demyx strumming his sitar to a sad, mysterious tune. Now you why we called him "The Melodious Nocturne."
I wake up the next morning and go through my morning without talking to anyone, not even Axel. I received my mission: a simple collecting hearts mission in Twilight Town. I quickly prepared myself and headed off. Not even complaing to Saix about how easy this mission was.
The mission went by quickly. Not a single heartless was a challenge, well except for one that kept running around in circles but I killed it after cornering it. As I headed back to the castle, I heard laughter. I turned and saw the same three kids I always see, laughing and eating ice cream together. The blonde one was coated in bruises and was thanking his two companions for saving him from some jerk. The brunette girl smiled at him and put an arm around his shoulder as they continued to walk down the road.
The sight pained my non-existent heart. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. I ran away from the teens and ran into the underground tunnels. I was supposed to RTC, but I didn't want to go back. I didn't want anyone to see my depression, especially Demyx; he hates it when people are sad. I sit alone in the dark tunnels tears slowly running down my face.
I know I'm not supposed to feel, but I feel depressed right now. I feel like there is something inside me that can feel. I feel awkward just missing Ichigo. I barely knew him but he saved me from the espada or whatever. I heard footsteps and quickly pulled my hood over my head. I stopped sobbing and prayed that I would blend into the darkness. I saw the outline of a tall figure stand in the entrance way to the tunnel. I pressed myself against the column and prayed he didn't see me.
"Roxas? C'mon, I know you're in here," It was Axel.
I pulled my knees to my chest as I heard his footsteps approach. He pulled me to my feet as my hood fell off my head, revealing my tear-stained face. Axel raised an eyebrow in confusion as I turned my back to him.
"Where you…crying?" He wondered.
"Yeah…" I sniffled.
"How 'bout we get some ice cream? It's on me, Demyx even tagged along," Axel insisted.
I nodded and followed him to the clock tower that loomed over the sun-bathed Twilight Town. Axel got us some ice cream before we climbed to the top of the clock tower, where Demyx was waiting. Axel handed out the ice cream before he took a seat beside me. I nibbled on my ice cream but it tasted more salty than sweet. I know I shouldn't be sad about Ichigo leaving, it would've happened sooner or later, but he risked his life to save me when he didn't even know me.
I bite into my ice cream, letting the chunk melt in my mouth. He even stayed an extra week to make sure I was all right. I helped him defeat that maniac Hichigo or whatever, so we were even. I'm over-reacting but I can't help it. I'm not in the mood for my ice cream. I sign deeply as the first stars of the night begin to show.
"Roxas…I hate seeing someone when they're sad. Don't be angsty in front of me, do that with Zexion. What's on your mind?" Demyx wondered, his voice sounding compassionate.
"Do you…think we'll ever see Ichigo again?" I asked him finally.
Axel signed deeply and stuck his ice cream stick in his mouth. "Dunno, but we still have memories of him. If we have memories of someone, then they'll never be forgotten, right?" Axel smirked.
I smiled at his interjection, feeling my mood lift a little bit. "I guess you're right, Ichigo won't be forgotten anytime soon,"
"I won't forget him! It's because of him we pulled that awesome prank!" Demyx exclaimed as he high-fived me.
I hear a familiar tune from a certain instrument. I turn and see Demyx leaning against the clock tower, strumming his Sitar. He begins to sing as the last light of the day begin to fade away…
I remember when, we used to laugh
About nothing at all, it was better than going mad
From trying to solve all the problems we're going through
Forget 'em all!
'Cause all those nights we would stand and never fight together,
We'd faced it all…remember when we'd?
Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Listen to the radio play all night
Didn't wanna go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life,
Those nights kept me alive
I remember when, we used to drive
Anywhere but here, as long as we'd forget our lives
We were so young and confused that we didn't know
To laugh or cry
Those nights were ours, they will live and never die together
We'd stand forever…remember when we'd?
Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Listen to the radio play all night
Didn't wanna go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life,
Those nights kept me alive
Those nights belong to us
There's nothing wrong with us
Those nights belong to us
I remember when…we used to laugh
And now I wish those nights would last…
Stay up late and we'd talk all night
In a dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life
Those nights kept me alive
Listen to the radio play all night
Didn't wanna go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life,
Those nights kept me alive
Those nights are known to us
There's nothing wrong…
I smiled at Demyx as his Sitar turned into mist that the cool breeze blew away. Axel's eyes were closed and there was a playful smirk toying with his lips. Axel sat up and flashed a thumbs-up at Demyx.
"Thanks Demyx, I love that song," I told him.
"No prob, after all I'm sure we'll see Ichigo again. But I DON'T want to get the crap beat out of me to have that happen!" Demyx replied before chuckled at his joke.
Meanwhile…
Ichigo's POV
I lean against the old oak tree by the school as the sun sets over the horizon. I should be home by now, but my dad's probably asleep so he wouldn't know weather I'm home or not. I glance at the moon, faintly looking gold just like Kingdom Hearts had in the dark sky of The World That Never Was. I sign deeply as I climb onto the tree's lowest branch and sit there, still lost in my wondering thoughts. I missed Roxas, he was my age and we shared similar experiences like having to take care of some creepy monsters unwillingly.
"Hey Ichigo, thought I'd find you here," A voice snaps me out of my complex thoughts.
I look below me and see Rukia standing under me, a juice box in her hand.
"Hey Rukia, what brings you here?" I questioned jumping down from the tree branch.
"Two things: One, can you open this?" She handed me her juice box. "Two, I wanted to talk to you because you've been so depressed all week,"
I poked her straw through the top and handed the box back to her. "Took you long enough to notice," I muttered.
"I've been trying to decide what to say," Rukia began. "I know how you feel about missing Roxas. I struck a couple nice conversations with Zexion myself but back on track. You'll see Roxas again, with someone like Kisuke it'll probably be in no time at all," She sipped her juice.
I didn't answer for the longest time. I felt the need to save him because I wanted to save him from Aizen. I felt connected to him but I didn't know why. After we returned to The Castle That Never Was, I felt the urge to stay and look after him. Again, I didn't know why but I wanted to know weather he was okay or not.
Flashback…
"Hey Ichigo, we're leaving," Renji told me.
I gazed at Kingdom Hearts through the huge windows. I knew Roxas was in crappy condition and extremely weak. From overhearing Kisuke's conversations, when two different types of energy mix together it can cause awful things. What if Roxas was in a coma? What if he even died? I shook the thought from my head and turned towards Rukia and Renji, who were still waiting for my reply.
"Can we stay a little longer?" I wondered.
"Ichigo…we've already been gone a couple days and your family's going to start worrying if you're gone any longer. We shouldn't," Rukia replied.
"I need to know what's going to happen to Roxas. I feel…connected to him somehow. We have something in common and I don't want to leave him, not knwoing weather he's going to make it through or not," I explained to her.
"Right now, we don't know what'll happen," A voice interjects.
I turn and see Axel walking towards me, his teal eyes telling me the whole story.
"Roxas's condition isn't so great. He's weak and he's developing a fever from being cooped up in there for so long," Axel began explaining. "His wounds aren't that serious, so you can let that off your shoulders, but we're not sure what'll happen to him,"
I felt a lump form at the back of my throat. "Can I see him?"
Axel nods as he leads me to a long hallway with doors lining the walls. There are labels on the walls like NO. II, NO. III, and No. IV. We walk down the hall until we reach a door that reads NO. XIII. I step inside the room and my eyes spot Roxas lying in his bed, deep asleep.
His skin is pale and his hair hangs over a cool cloth that lies on his forehead. He's dressed in a sleeveless black shirt and his injured shoulder is bandaged tightly. His chest moves up and down in a steady rhythm as he breathes. I brush away the hair that hangs over his face as Axel puts a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, man. He'll be okay…according to Vexen and Xemnas," He tells me.
"Is that a good thing?" I wonder.
Axel shrugs. "Depends on how you look at it, Vexen's a mad scientist and Xemnas is well…Xemnas," He replies.
"I'm neutral on that one,"
"So am I,"
End Flashback…
I smile at that memory. Roxas was all right, so maybe I should just remember what I did for him. A complete stranger who turned to be, possibly, my best friend. I gaze at the sun as it dips below the horizon, turning the sky from golden, to purple, and finally to black. The moon shines a faint shade of gold, like Kingdom Hearts.
Enough with the touching ending, I'll never forget Roxas. Short, sweet, and you know my thoughts without me going on a whole chapter-long explaination.
Author: Whew! Finally finished! I really hope you enjoyed this because, I certainly had fun typing it! I started typing this in September but didn't post it until I got an account. I was debating weather to finish it or not, but thanks to you I did! Thank you to all who favorited, reviewed, and subscribed. Special thanks to my older sis for editing this and Euregatto for giving me an idea for the last chapter. I hope you liked this story!
~yukihikari99
Kingdom Hearts (C) Square Enix
Bleach (C) Tite Kubo
Those Nights (C) Skillet
Anything else I missed (C) Whoever owns it