Chapter XLIII; Goodbyes
Yuki sat up on the clock tower overlooking Twilight Town. She wasn't really watching the town like she normally was. Instead, she was trapping herself in her thoughts, not sure if she wanted to forget or remember.
After Roxas had left Yuki had a sense of crashing realization. Xion was dead. Gone for good. She would never get to see her ever again. And it hurt Yuki in a way she didn't think it was possible for her to be hurt. Her chest felt tight and the thought of breathing wasn't existent. It was almost as if Yuki thought if she held her breath she would be able to be with Xion again. Her eyes filled with tears that never seemed to dry out.
But losing Xion wasn't what hurt the most. What hurt the most was everyone else seemed to be forgetting her. Roxas was afraid he would forget her. And when Yuki returned to Castle Oblivion to tell X and Y what had happened, they could hardly remember there even being a sixth member of their group. It was like Xion had never existed outside of Yuki's memories. And it scared Yuki. Dying didn't seem so scary, but being forgotten, that was terrifying.
Yuki looked down. Beneath her, she saw two figures that must have been X and Y approaching the clock tower. She sighed, looking up.
"I'm sorry Xion. I promise I won't forget you." Yuki whispered to the air. There were so many things Yuki wanted to say to Xion. Words that she never got the chance to say. Xion was like a sister to Yuki, closer than a friend. And now she was gone. And it broke Yuki.
X and Y joined Yuki silently. They had realized trying to talk to Yuki wasn't going to yield much results. So they too wrapped themselves in their own thoughts.
The trio sat together for some time. None were sure how long exactly. They were too wrapped up in their thoughts. But eventually, X stood up and went toward the stairs.
"Night's falling." He said simply. Y nodded and stood up, walking to her twin. Yuki stood, not really thinking. Just moving on instinct. She followed the twins downstairs to the station plaza. Yuki didn't know where they planned on going, and really couldn't bring herself to care. She felt numb.
Out in the plaza, the twins froze. Yuki stopped behind them and peaked around to see who was blocking their way. X drew one of his daggers and pointed it towards the familiar red-haired figure in a black coat.
"Hello, Axel." X said. Yuki was briefly reminded of X's amazing ability to make such simple statements sound threatening before falling back into her daze.
"Hey." Axel greeted. He was leaning back against the wall overlooking the rest of the town with his arms crossed. He wasn't smiling like he usually was when Yuki saw him. It almost made him seem like an entirely different person. He sighed looking down. "You can all calm down, I won't force you back. It's your organization's problem. Not mine."
"What brought you here?" Y asked, stepping closer to the redhead. X followed her, lowering his dagger but keeping it at the ready.
"Roxas is gone." Axel replied simply.
"We knew he ran away too. Yuki saw him yesterday." X said, glancing back at Yuki. She was looking down at the ground, nervously moving her fingers. She was hoping that was all Axel meant. But part of her knew it was more.
"Did he mention where he was going?" Axel asked, looking around the twins to see Yuki. Yuki looked up at him slowly, trying to avoid making contact.
"To destroy Kingdom Hearts," Yuki replied softly. X's head snapped in Yuki's direction as he took a step to the side. Y gasped, looking in between Axel and Yuki stepping to the opposite side of her brother. Axel looked down sadly as if he had expected that answer. "They caught him, didn't they?" Yuki asked. By they, she, of course, meant Riku and DiZ.
"We can only assume as much." Axel said, walking closer to the group. None of them objected. X turned away from the group and began pacing, rubbing the back of his head in frustration.
"That idiot." X hissed out as he paced.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Y asked, her voice shaking. Yuki glanced over at her. She was surprised to see her bright orange eyes filled with tears. It occurred to Yuki Y had already lost her friends before. Losing Roxas was just another pain for her to carry.
Yuki turned her attention to Y's question. What were they supported to do? With Roxas caught, that would mean Naminé could finally finish. So, Sora would wake.
"Sora," Yuki whispered. Despite her whisper, all the others looked to her.
"That's right, if they have Roxas it's only a matter of time until Sora wakes up," Axel confirmed with a nod. Yuki frowned, Axel had known about Sora. For how long?
"So what, we kill Sora to get Roxas back?" X asked, frustration clear in his voice. Yuki noticed the hand on the back of his head grip his hair tightly.
"It's not a bad idea," Axel said. Y looked at Axel in disbelief.
"Are you kidding?" She asked, stepping forward. "It's a terrible idea! Sora might not be our friend but he has just as much a right as Roxas has to live! There has to be a solution that saves both of them!" Y said, much louder than Yuki think she meant to. Her fists were clenched and her eyes held a determined look that made Yuki think there was something more to her desire to protect Sora.
"And what would that be?" Axel asked.
"I don't know," Y admitted. "But if we have enough time I can figure something out." She insisted. Axel rolled his eyes at her.
"We don't have time Y," X said. Y glared over at him. He met her glare with a calm look.
"At least someone agrees with me." Axel said gratefully. X shot him a look that Yuki thought could have killed him. Axel looked at him in surprise.
"On the contrary. I don't agree with killing Sora. Roxas is gone and there's nothing we can do about it. Sora will be the one fighting the organization, and he's going to need all the help he can get." X said, in a calm voice. His eyes, however, were daring Axel to defy him. It was a scary look.
"So you want to just abandon Roxas?!" Axel asked in outrage. He took a step towards X but was held back by Y.
"Roxas was my friend, just as much as he was yours. But we can't take another's life just to get him back. And we don't have the time Y would need. We have to act rationally." X said, just as calmly as before. There was an undertone to his voice, however. It made it seem X was in pain just from saying these words.
"Like hell." Axel hissed out. "There's no way in hell I'll leave Roxas for death." He said. X frowned and sighed, rubbing the back of his head in frustration once again.
"Then it looks like we're on different sides." He said simply. Y stepped up between the two, looking between them desperately.
"Guys, come on fighting won't solve anything. There has to be something." She said. The desperation was clear in her voice. It was clear she was terrified of this friendship falling apart.
"Your optimism never ceases to amaze me," X said, shaking his head. "However, I'm a realist. At most, you have a few days. We can't stop them in that time. We don't even know where the hell they're hiding, nor do we have a solution at hand." He continued. As much as Yuki hated to admit it, X was right.
"X is right about that," Axel said, stepping back. "We have to come up with a plan b. So who's side are you on?" He asked. Y shook her head.
"Neither. I'm going to find a way to save them both." She said stubbornly.
"Fine, that's your choice." X said. It occurred to Yuki this was the first time she had seen these two really argue.
"What about you Snowy?" Axel asked, turning the attention to Yuki. Yuki looked down at the ground and bit her lip.
Saving Roxas did sound great. But Sora was her friend too, wasn't he? Did she really have a right to pick between them? How was she supposed to chose? She didn't want to lose Roxas like she had Xion. But at the same time, hurting Sora was unthinkable. But Sora was the reason the other two had been taken away. If anything merited death, did that? It was practically killing two others.
"I, I want to save Roxas." Yuki finally said. Axel looked at her hopefully. Looking away she continued. "But, I don't know. Killing Sora doesn't sound right. But at the same time, I want to see him dead. I know we don't have time to save them both, but I can't choose." Yuki heard a snort from X.
"You don't have long to think it over. But, if your choice is to watch and wait it's all up to you." He said in a taunting manner. Yuki flinched away from his words. Y shot her brother a glare that rivaled his own.
"X, can't you see she's torn up about this? Can you be a little less heartless for five seconds?" Y snapped. Yuki was grateful for her support, but still felt it was wrong for them to be arguing so seriously.
"I think it's clear what this means." X said with a heavy sigh. Yuki nodded blinking back tears.
"We're all on our own," Axel said, crossing his arms. There was silence in the group. Yuki fought back her tears. She had always thought things could stay like this. But things couldn't last forever. And things fell apart much faster than Yuki thought.
"We're still friends though, right?" Y asked cautiously. The group looked up at each other. They each met the eyes of another in turn.
Yuki first met with Axel's vivid turquoise eyes. Meeting them she remembered the times she had spent with him. He was like an older brother. Someone who was always looking out for the group. She remembered all the times he had laughed with them. All the times he had taught them. He was always there.
Next, she met X's purple cat-like eyes. They had lost the harsh look they previously held. The corner of his mouth tugged upward, forming a small grin. Yuki remembered all he had done for her. He was always willing to step up and protect her. Her best friend, if anyone had a right to that title. Even through fights, he was there. He taught her just as much as Axel had. And he always had a smart comment to make her smile.
Last she met with Y's orange doe eyes. Y was always the cheery one. The one who made sure everyone was smiling. Yuki was just now seeing the pain that was in her eyes. The lose that she always carried. It seemed like Yuki didn't know her as well as she would have liked. She didn't know any of them as well as she would have liked.
In unison, all four nodded. Even if they couldn't agree, they couldn't leave each other. They were still friends.
"Alright then, see you guys later." Y said, with a small smile.
"Right, see ya when I see ya," X responded without missing a beat.
"Hope we don't have to kill each other," Axel said. Yuki shot him an unimpressed look while X glared at him.
"Yeah, I hope things can sort themselves out." Yuki said. She looked around at the group one more time. Smiling despite the strong urge to cry. This was goodbye. Maybe for a week, maybe forever. None could say.
Y gave a heavy sigh. She tightly hugged X, who only patted her back awkwardly. She then hugged Yuki, with more force than Yuki thought she should have been able to. Nonetheless, she returned the hug with as much force as she could muster. Lastly, Y hugged Axel, who looked surprised but patted her back and hugged her with one arm. Y then left the other three without a glance over her shoulder.
After watching his sister leave X turned and saluted the other two. He turned and walked away, opening a dark corridor and disappearing through it.
Yuki looked at Axel with sad eyes. He gave her a smile and ruffled her hair. Any other time Yuki would have hit his hand away, but this time she allowed it. He pulled back his hand with a smirk. Yuki smiled at him, before hugging him tightly. Like with Y Axel froze up for a second, unsure how to react. He decided to return it after a moment. Yuki pulled back and smiled up at him.
"Good luck Snowy," Axel said. Yuki nodded looking down at the ground. She wasn't sure where she was going to go. And that scared her. "I'll always be here you know, to bring you back, if you need it." Axel said suddenly. Yuki looked up at him surprised.
"Thanks, Axel." Yuki said, smiling. "Good luck to you too."
Without another word both turned their backs on each other and walked away. Axel walked into a dark corridor, taking him back to The World That Never Was. Yuki walked out of the station plaza heading to the manor.
Yuki paused halfway through Twilight Town. She looked back over her shoulder, though she knew no one was there. The town was empty at night. Her mind wandered, thinking of the past. Days on the clock tower filled with nothing but laughter. The first time she had ever met the Nobodies. The first look of Twilight Town from the top of the tower. Their one and only day off. Problems solved and questions answered. Days that unraveled without a knot.
She shook her head looking down at the ground. She couldn't stay in the past, no matter how much she wished she could. But looking ahead to the future, she wasn't sure she could move on.
She wasn't ready for these days to end. But it was time to move forward. The simple days couldn't stay forever. Yuki knew goodbyes were never easy, but she never thought they would be this hard.