DAY 379 ~ Heartbreak

(Chapter 8)

That morning, I made a list of all the things I remembered about the girl. It wasn't that long…only eleven things. But I was glad to even know that much. A couple weeks earlier, I had completely forgotten about her.

Afterward I went to get my mission. It was at Beast's Castle, this time. I had to defeat a new type of Heartless that had surfaced there.

But upon entering, I saw more images…memories. I heard her, again.

Apparently she couldn't summon her keyblade. I told her to use mine. "What are you gonna use?" She cared so much. Why did she fade from my memory? "Roxas, that's a stick." I had been willing to risk a lot for her, too…she'd been so important.

The images soon faded. But the knowledge of how much she'd cared about me, how much I would be willing to help her, and how important she was…that didn't. I was lucky to remember that much.

Finding the heartless wasn't hard--it was in the first place I looked, the ballroom. Defeating it was completely different. I knew nothing about it, which made it even harder.

On my way back to the Dark Corridor, I heard Belle and that candlelabra talking. I stayed a safe distance away so that I wouldn't be seen, but close enough to see and hear them.

"Do not worry, I'm sure he will come around," the candle said. Belle was crying. I wonder if whatever happened had to do with what Xigbar did a few weeks earlier…

"But he's been so…different, lately!" Belle said. "I don't know how to help him, or if I even can…he stays up in his room, most of the time."

"Enjoying the drama?" a voice from behind me said. It was Xaldin.

"What are you doing here!?" I exclaimed, startled.

"I told you things would get interesting here," Xaldin smirked. "Look at her--shedding tears for no reason."

"She cares about him," I said, "and he's always in his room. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Hah!" Xaldin scoffed. "Love will just end in sadness, heartbreak. This human would be better off knowing that."

I decided not to respond. Instead, I left Xaldin and went to RTC.

Whatever Xaldin was doing, I didn't want to be a part of.

-----

I was on the clock tower before Axel, that day. "Hey, Roxas," he greeted as usual.

"Hi," I replied.

"Remember anything else about…her?" Axel asked.

"Kind of.." I said. "She cared a lot. About me, about us…I cared about her, too."

"Cared, or care?" Axel handed me an icecream.

"What do you mean?" I took the icecream and held it in my hands, staring at it a little before I took a bite.

"Well, do you think you would still care about her if you saw her today?"

"That wouldn't happen," I shook my head. "But I would probably care."

"So you still care about her," Axel concluded. "I do, too…somewhat. It's a bit hard when you barely know about a person, to care about them…"

"I know," I agreed. "By the way…Xaldin said something about love always ending in heartbreak. What's that mean?"

"Well…" Axel paused. "It's hard to know, since we don't have hearts. But I suppose…if you love someone and even a minor thing changes, badly…it would just make you really sad."

"Hmm.." I wondered if it were possible to love without a heart.

I'd probably never know.