Summary: He died, but Roxas ceased living. Sometimes it takes more than just time to get over the hardest thing you will ever have to face. Axel/Roxas, with some Sora/Riku and Demyx/Zexion Rated Mature due to heave topics such.

Author's Notes: Ah, so I finally got the first chapter of this story done!! Phew. It took me about a month to complete it and that's part of the reason it took me so long to get the next chapter of Razorblade Shine out. But don't worry, I won't be taking any break from that either. I'll just have to work twice as hard now!! I hope everyone enjoys it!

Update! I revised this chapter! Chapter 2 now up as well!

Assent

Act 1: Homecoming

Scene 1: Wise

—

He died the same way millions of people die each and every year. It wasn't any one in particular's fault, unless you count Fate who put together the cruel chain of events that followed him after he woke up that morning. No one's fault, no one to blame. After all, it was just an accident. Even the cops and paramedics said so as they stood around the gruesome scene of the accident, noses covered with sleeves as the smell of raw flesh and blood lingered in the air. The paramedics hadn't really even needed to show up; there had been no one to save, just a body to scrape up off the pavement.

Sure, there were people you could blame, if you found the need to as I once had. The tired trucker who had been on the road for days without a decent nights sleep. The Wal-Mart that the trucker was delivering the shipments to. The doctor for prescribing him medicine with side effects of drowsiness.

But the blame couldn't be isolated to one specific person. It was a tragedy, I know that now, an accident and nothing more. A tragedy that tore apart my entire world and nearly everything in it. If it had destroyed everything, I surely would not be here right now to tell you this story, to hopefully save even one person from one ounce of the pain I felt for so long and still do sometimes.

If, after hearing my story, a single person can learn to accept what I couldn't, then...well, I won't say that it will have made his death worth it, I could never say that, but it will have given it a purpose, a tiny, minuscule ray of shining good and hope in such a huge abyss of dark.

—

I used to think that God had a personal vendetta against me for some brutality I committed that I couldn't even remember. Before I met Axel, I used to drink all the time, so much so that I wouldn't remember a single thing the next morning, huge gaps in the banks of my memories. After I first heard about the accident, I thought that during those gaps in my memories that I must have been driving home and killed somebody in a car accident and drove off or raped some poor innocent little girl. In fact, I was so positive that I did something of the such that I turned myself in to the cops once. You should have seen the looks on their faces after I told them that I thought I committed a crime but didn't know what it was. When they asked my why I thought that, I told them exactly why I thought so: because God was punishing me by taking away the person I loved most in the world in such an atrocious way. That meant I had to have committed a crime.

Luckily, Sora was there to save me, again, to pick me up off of the ground and carry me safely home. I really don't deserve someone like him for a brother, I really don't. He patiently explained to the police what had happened, how I was rejecting the truth and didn't even know what I was doing. They smiled sadly at me, not because I had just lost my boyfriend, but because of the enormous waste of time I was to them when they could have been watching the Patriots play the Steelers on the flat screen the department had just invested in for the break room. It's not like they had jobs to do or anything. No crime ever happened in Twilight Town.

It was much easier forgiving God for taking Axel away from me than it was to forgive myself for caring too much, not caring enough, for all of the things I should have told him that he seemed to know anyway. It is always far easier to forgive someone else than it is to forgive yourself. I'd been doing it all my life, forgiving the people who hurt me before I forgave myself for letting them hurt me, for not doing anything about it when it would have been so easy, simple even, to speak up. I could have saved myself and others so much pain, but I didn't. And all I had to do was speak.

—

Two boys sat at the top of the stairs, the younger of the two crying in the arms of the older. "Shh," the blond one comforted his brother, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately. "It'll be okay, you'll see."

The younger boy sobbed harder. "I know you're l-lying Roxas! T-things are not okay! Why do they fight all the time? Aren't parents supposed to love each other?"

Roxas, the older boy, winced as a crash came from the downstairs, followed by a new wave of cursing and screaming and yelling. He clutched the younger boy, at a complete loss for words. He was only ten; he wasn't equipped to handle this. Trying his best to be a good older brother, he stood, pulling his brother up with him. "Let's go to sleep now, Sora. We have church in the morning."

Still crying softly, Sora let his brother lead him into the bedroom they shared. The two boys pulled on their pajamas and crawled into bed. The sounds of the scuffle downstairs were still to be heard, the yelling, the flying objects.

Looking over at Sora, who was desperately clutching his stuffed tiger, he crawled out of bed and walked over to the TV they shared. He forced a smile, holding up a few movies. "Which one do you want to watch? It's your pick this time."

"We're not supposed to watch movies before we go to bed. Dad says it is a needless waste of energy," Sora said quietly.

"It's okay, Sora. Besides, I'll stay awake so I can turn it off if I think Dad is going to come upstairs, okay?"

"Okay," Sora said, brightening a little. "But it's your turn to pick the movie, remember?"

"Nope, I watched a movie while you went to the doctor for your check-up yesterday. So it's your turn to pick."

"Which movie did you watch?" Sora asked skeptically.

"101 Dalmatians," Roxas said quickly, a little too quickly. Even an eight year old Sora was able to pick up on it. But he let it go.

"Okay, let's watch The Lion King. It's my favorite."

"I knew you were going to pick that one," Roxas said, again smiling for his younger brother's sake. He picked The Lion King from the stack of movies and put it in the VCR. After fast-forwarding through the credits, he pushed the play button and crawled back into bed next to his brother.

As the movie began, Sora looked over at his brother, who was sitting up, determined to stay awake so they wouldn't get into trouble for watching a movie after hours. "I'm glad you're my brother," he said, smiling up at Roxas. He was missing his two front teeth.

"What?" Roxas said, his staying-awake concentration broken.

"I said that I'm glad that you're my brother. You always take care of me." Sora sat up to give Roxas a hug, his arms squeezing his brother tightly in an affectionate hug. Roxas winced, a shallow, pained breath escaping from his mouth. "What's the matter?" Sora asked, pulling away quickly.

"I-it's nothing, Sora. I just hurt myself earlier, that's all."

"How?"

"I fell down the stairs." Again, the lie fell from the blonde's mouth, just a little too quickly for comfort. Even at the age of tent, he was capable of lying at the drop of hat, ready to deny, ready to misinform and exaggerate to hide the truth.

"Let me see," Sora demanded, trying to pull the navy Optimus Prime t-shirt up so he could look at the wound.

"No, Sora, there isn't anything to see. There isn't even a bruise." He tugged his shirt back down quickly before Sora could witness the large, fist-shaped bruise to his ribs.

Pulling out his secret, irresistible weapon, Sora pouted, his blue eyes gazing up a Roxas pleadingly. "Please, Roxas, I just want to see."

Despite all denial, Roxas was a sucker for the secret weapon, often just giving in rather than having to endure Stage 2: Tears. "Okay, okay. You win."

"Yay!" Sora said, bouncing around a bit. Roxas pulled up his shirt just high enough for Sora so see the most recent bruise; no need for him so see the yellowing ones higher up. He leaned closer, examining the bruise. "Ew! That's gross, Roxas." He pulled his shirt back down, careful not to touch the bruise.

"Yeah, well it's what happens when you fall down the stairs. So don't do it yourself."

Sora giggled. "Jeez, I thought I was the clumsy one. That's what Mom's always saying anyway. Clumsy, giggly Sora and serious, reliable Roxas."

Roxas smiled affectionately. "Mom says that?" The brunet nodded. Roxas liked being thought of as reliable. It meant he was doing his job as an older brother and doing it well.

His smile was wiped from his face before he knew it, as his dad burst into the room, smacking him clean across the face. His dad glared down at him, eyes bloodshot from drinking or rage, it was hard to tell. There was also a strong possibility it was both. "I thought I told you that you aren't allowed to watch movies when you go to bed because you fall asleep right away and don't even get to see them anyway. When you start paying the electricity bill, I'll let you watch as many fucking movies as you want, but until then, you follow my rules. Got it?"

"Daddy, it was my fault. Roxas tried to stop me, but I put the movie in anyway," Sora said, staring pleadingly up at his father.

"That may be, Sora, but Roxas is still older than you and should know better by now."

Roxas knew what he had to do, how to get his father away as quickly as possible so he wouldn't turn on Sora too. He'd never let his dad lay a finger on his brother, not while he was there to stop him. As far as he could see, his dad never did hurt Sora and for that he was grateful. Sora never had the fear in his eyes when their dad walked into the room as he knew he did. Sora never cowered from the man as he did. "I'm sorry, Dad. You're right, I should have known better because I am the older brother."

"I'm glad you see things my way," their dad said, recoiling a bit. He turned off the TV and left without another word.

"Are you okay, Roxas?" Sora asked as the door was roughly shut behind the man.

"What are you talking about Sora? Dad just patted my cheek. It didn't hurt at all."

"But your face is all red," Sora protested.

"Nah, it's just 'cause I was sitting with my hand pressed to my face before he came in the room."

He shook his head. "But I head a smack when he touched you."

Roxas, growing exasperated, snarled, "Sora, you don't know what you heard. You're only eight."

Pouting, Sora laid down and rolled away from his brother. If there was anything Sora hated in his usually good-natured way, it was being called little. Both the boys were short and kind of scrawny for their ages, but Sora took it to heart more that Roxas did.

Roxas got up, turned off the VCR that their father had missed and crawled back into bed with Sora, giving him a quick hug and whispering, "I'm sorry, Sora. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, it's just that sometimes there are things you don't understand when you are only a certain age."

Not one able to hold a grudge, Sora rolled over to face his brother. "Will I understand them when I'm ten too?" he asked eagerly.

I hope not, Roxas thought. "Of course," he lied. "It's like Mom always says, 'With age comes wisdom.' Tomorrow you will be a little wiser than you are today because you'll be a little older."

Sora smiled happily. "Really? You get wiser every second? Because you're older every second, right?"

"Right," Roxas said, desperately hoping that Sora would never get any wiser lest his perfect, rose-tinted glasses be shattered.

—

Scene 2 : Hole

"Hey Roxas," the nurse said cheerily as she walked into my room, a large vase filled with bright yellow flowers, daffodils, I think, in her hands. She set them next to my bed on the end table, turning the vase so the majority of the sunny little faces were toward me. "Your brothers called said that they were going to be here today, around lunch time or so.It will be nice to see them, don't you think?"

I remained silent, simply staring up at her, trying to frown as stonily as I could. She just didn't seem to be taking the hint that I didn't want her in my room trying to make me feel better. Actually, I had no doubt that she knew perfectly well that I didn't want her in my room and was there anyway just to spite me. Tifa Lockhart was always my nurse when I'm in the hospital and she always tries her damnedest to make me miserable by trying to make me smile.

"So, how are you feeling today? Any pain?" she asked, pulling a thermometer from a drawer and sticking it in my ear. It beeped a moment later, and she pulled it out, jotting whatever numbers had appeared onto my chart. "No fever. That's good, right?"She smiled at me again, sickly sweet. "Pain?" she asked again.

"No," I said tersely. "Nothing new, anyway. Just the usual."

"Any vomiting overnight? How'd you sleep?"

"No to the first question, like shit to the second."

This didn't even seem to phase her, but then again, nothing ever did. "Okay, well we have to run a few tests now, going to take an x-ray and an ultrasound of your stomach."

"I'm not pregnant," I muttered, rolling my eyes at her stupidity.

"I know, but ultrasounds aren't just to see a baby in a mother's stomach. You can use them to see lots of things. Your stomach won't stop hurting, so we need to check it out."

"And the x-ray?" I asked.

"To cover our asses," she said with a wink. Great, she was trying to bond with me again. Under any other circumstances, Nurse Tifa Lockhart would never say the word 'ass' for any reason whatsoever.

"Well, do you want to walk there, or should I wheel you again?" she asked, standing with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

"Wheel me," I said, climbing out of bed. "I don't really feel like walking anywhere."

"Alrighty then," she said, pulling a wheel chair from the hallway and gesturing for me to sit in it. I acquiesced, closing my eyes as she wheeled me through the halls and to the elevator. I could feel the elevator moving up. After the doors opened, we proceeded, not stopping again until we reached our destination. The x-rays didn't take long to do as I contorted myself into various odd positions so the technician could take pictures of several different angles. Ten minutes later, we were in the elevator again, heading down this time. Once inside the "ultra-sound room," Tifa wheeled a strange looking contraption in, plugging it into the wall.

"Are you even authorized to do that?" I asked as I took off my hospital gown, standing there in only my boxers, arms crossed over my chest.

She took it in stride. "Sure am, Rox."

Rage pumped through my veins. Only one person was ever allowed to call me Rox, and he was gone. I had to restrain myself from the great urge to punch her right in the face. Fists clenched, I stared up at her and said, "Don't ever call me that. You're not authorized to."

"If you say so, kid," Tifa replied, motioning for me to lie down on the bed. I did and she grabbed a bottle, pouring a white substance. The chilliness of the substance cooled my rage.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It's just lotion. I need to use it." She pulled something that looked like a stunted microphone from the contraption and began rubbing it in circular motion across my stomach. "Look," Tifa said, nodding at a screen to my left.

I looked over, seeing my insides for the first, and most likely last, time. After a few minutes of the rubbing (it was almost soothing in a way, not that I'd ever admit it), a grin broke across her face. "Ah, we have uncovered the mysterious, elusive ailment!"

"What is it? What's wrong with me this time?" I asked, expecting, hoping it was a cancerous tumor that had no hope of cure.

"You, kid, have a hole in your stomach. An ulcer, and pretty nasty one, too, by the looks of things. But don't worry, it won't kill ya." I sighed, disappointed.

After wiping the lotion off of my stomach, I put the gown back on and got into the chair once again. We rode the elevator back up to my floor and went back to my room. I got back into my bed, ready to just veg for the rest of the day, and tomorrow too. Oh, and then the next day, until I really did develop a huge tumor that would claim my life.

Before she left, Tifa grinned at me. "I'll talk to Doctor Gainsborough and she'll be in to see you later. Be nice to your brothers when they get here or I won't bring you any sea salt ice cream tonight. After tonight, you won't be able to eat anymore ice cream for a while because of your ulcer. See ya later, kid. Don't do anything I told you not to. Oh, by the way, your father wrote you another letter. I put it in the drawer with the rest of them. You really should read it this time, though, Roxas."

—

Scene 3: Denied

"Sora, Roxas, can the two of you come down here for a moment? Your father and I need to talk to you about something," a pretty brunette woman called to her children.

"What do you think it is?" Sora asked his older brother fearfully, blue eyes wide as he clutched at his older brother's shirt.

"I don't know," Roxas said, not meeting he younger boy's eyes as he said it. But he had his suspicions. Either things were about to get a lot better or things were about to get a lot worse. He hadn't yet decided which. "We should go see what Mom and Dad have to say, though."

Sora nodded, trailing behind his brother as Roxas made his way out of the bedroom they shared and down the stairs. They found their parents sitting on opposite ends of the couch in the tiny living room. Their father looked passive, his hands resting on his knees with a certain bored ease, but their mother was obviously worried about something, her own hands twisting and turning nervously around her wedding band.

"What's going on, Mommy?" Sora asked, sitting down next to her. She smiled gently down at her younger son, putting a tentative arm around him. Roxas sat between his father and brother, careful to leave a very acceptable distance between him and his dad, even though he knew the man wouldn't try anything with witnesses around. Last night had been a slip-up, a mistake made after arguing with his wife for hours and drinking too much. Either way, he knew his son would take care of it, clean up after his mess.

"Well, you see Sora...Daddy and I aren't going to be...married to each other any longer," she said, voice apprehensive.

"Who are you going to be married to instead?" Sora asked, clearly confused as to what his mother meant. But Roxas knew, and he was glad. He knew that oftentimes, custody was awarded to the mother, just look at all his friends' families, and he was glad of it. He'd never have to see his dad again.

"No one, Sora, we're not going to be married to anyone anymore. Roxas, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, Mom, I understand," Roxas said, taking the lead. "Sora, Mom and Dad are getting a divorce."

"Divorce? What's that mean?"

"Just what she said, they aren't going to be married anymore. They aren't going to be living with each other anymore."

She smiled at her son, good old serious, reliable Roxas. "Right. Things are going to be a little hard for a while because Mommy and Daddy are going to have to go to court to determine who you boys are going to live with."

"S-so we're not going to be a family any more?" Sora asked, tears falling down his cheeks.

Roxas hugged his brother close to him, comforting him as best he could as he had the night before.

—

"Roxas!" a short, chocolate-haired boy squealed as he bounced into the room, startling me from my thoughtless reverie. It was Sora, my beloved brother, here to visit me. I stared at him passively as he jumped onto my bed.

"Don't, Sora!" a tall, silver-haired boy said as he strode into the room next. "Didn't you hear the doctor? He has a hole in his stomach.

"Riku, jumping on him isn't going to make his ulcer any bigger!" Sora said, hugging me.

"It isn't the hole in his stomach that's going to get bigger," a short, slate-haired boy said as he walked in after Riku, a taller blond with a haircut that equated to that of getting butchered by a lawnmower grasping his hand. I stared at their hands, my chest leaping with jealousy at the sight.

The blond saw my envious gaze, squeaked, and quickly let go of the other's hand.

"What do you mean, Zexion?" Sora asked quizzically. "What hole does he have that's going to get bigger?"

"Sora, please," the blond, Demyx, pleaded. "Just be quiet."

Sora's gaze fell helplessly upon me. He was a smart kid, but didn't always think the things he said through very well. And I was feeling vindictive, angry. This is the only excuse I have for saying the things I said next. "He's means the hole in my heart, Sora. The fact that I'm heart-broken. That fact that Axel is dead and I'm still fucking here."

My younger brother stared at me, horror-struck as his eyes unconsciously welled up. "I-I'm sorry, Roxas. I didn't mean anything I said. I'll just go now." He scrambled off the bed and ran for the door.

Riku glared at me as he followed my brother out.

"Roxas, that wasn't really necessary, was it?" Zexion asked quietly. "You know how he is. He loves you, he's just a little...naive."

I sighed, feeling a little inkling of guilt. That in itself was amazing; I rarely felt anything these days that wasn't associated with anger, depression, or self-destruction. "I know," I replied quietly. "Make sure he comes back in here before you guys leave."

"I'll go get him," Demyx said, following after Riku and Sora.

Left alone with Zexion, I knew by the look on his face that he was about to deliver news that I wasn't going to like. "Roxas, is the hospital really necessary this time?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You only have an ulcer, Roxas."

"So?" I snarled. "I don't feel good. Ever."

"Do you only ever think of yourself? I found Mom crying in her room last night. I went in to her to try and comfort her and guess what I found out? Go on, just guess."

"You and I both know that I have no idea what you found out," I said, already worn out of the conversation.

"Well then let me tell you, Roxas. I found out that Mom's insurance quit paying your ever-increasing hospital bills. She's been denied, Roxas, and she's now paying for this out of her pocket. It this keeps up and she loses her insurance, Riku, Demyx, and I might have to go back!"

I broke out into a cold sweat. Mom paying for my bills with the measly money she had now. Them going back. It was my turn to be horror-struck. I wanted to punch my fist threw the wall, smash the nearest object into a million pieces and turn them into hundred dollar bills and give them all to my mom. She'd already been put through so much, and here I was, adding to the load. I couldn't let her keep paying and I couldn't let them get taken away from her. It would break her heart.

Solemnly, I nodded. "I'll gather my things."

—

Scene 4: Mom

"Sora?" I said as Riku glared at me from his spot outside of the door Sora had locked himself behind. "Sora, will you let me in?"

"No Roxas," he said through his tears. "You can't come in, Roxas. You're broken. I broke you, I let you down."

"Sora, please don't say things like that. It isn't anyone's fault I am the way I am, especially not yours. You're the only reason I'm still here, Sora. You and Riku and Demyx and Zexion and Mom. You guys are the only reason I haven't killed myself."

Sora started crying harder at my words. I hadn't meant that to happen, I wanted him to let me in so I could apologize properly and here I was, only making things worse. Just as I always do.

The stalls of the bathroom ran all the way to the floor, but only stood about six feet high. I formulated a plan, eager to redeem myself. "Sora, let me in or I'll climb the stall."

He mumbled something inaudible, something similar sounding to what he'd said before. "Riku, give me a boost will you?" He was angry at me for having upset Sora to begin with and I didn't blame him for it, but he helped me up anyway, basically picking me up like a sack of flour and hoisting me to the top of the stall. I leaned over the top of it, ready to swing my leg over.

I head Demyx chuckle from behind me. "I'm really glad you decided to wear boxers today. Otherwise your ass would be hanging right out of your evening gown." Did I ever mention that Demyx thought he was funny? Riku laughed, apparently thinking he was too.

"Watch out, Sora, I'm about to drop in." He looked up with disbelieving eyes, not thinking I'd actually do it, then jumping out of the way. I landed on my feet, stumbled and fell into the side of the bathroom stall. Sora steadied me and I turned to hug him.

We were now the same height, me having a few inches on him for years. His eyes were the same blue as mine, his face the same shape. People often asked if we were twins, identical except for the color of our hair and the fact that he gets more sun than I do, especially now. Despite how much we looked alike, our personalities were like night and day. He made friends easily, while I had few. His cheerful optimism was only countered by my disgruntled cynicism. A smile was always plastered on his face while I reserved mine for the people I thought worthy of them.

At least that's how we used to be.

He changed as I did, as we all did, after his death. It was hard to tell, but his cheerfulness now was only an act. His smiles were only ever real when mine were and that was a rarity. It seemed that he was trying to take away some of my pain through osmosis, hugging me whenever he saw an opportunity, trying to cheer me up whenever he could.

I didn't do anything for my own sake anymore, I did them for Sora's. A lot of the time, it seemed to be me comforting him, me reassuring him that thing will get better, that the pain, while it won't go away, will lessen.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I hugged him back for all the ones he'd given me. "I didn't mean what I said."

"Yes you did," Sora softly, barely above a whisper. "Yes you did."

"No," I said quickly. "I really didn't. I say a lot of stupid thing now and that was one of them. I mean it when I say that you and mom and the rest of them are the reason I'm here. I mean that."

"Okay Roxas," Sora said with a sigh.

"Hey, guess what?" I said, leaning back so I could see his face, so like my own. "I get to leave the hospital today."

"What? But you're still sick."

"Nope! Well, I was never sick to begin with. I just have an ulcer. The doctor told me that I'd just have to take a couple of medications and go on a diet."

Sora cracked a smile. "You're skinny enough as it is."

"Not that kind of diet. No sweets, no pop, that sort of thing. Just healthy food."

"No sea salt ice cream?" he asked fearfully.

"No sea salt ice cream."

"Jeez, Roxas, I'm sorry." I could tell he meant it too.

"I know. Let's go back to my room and pack my things up."

"Mom will be excited to see you."

"I know," I replied softly, unlocking the door and following him out. "I know."

—

Check-out went a little less smoothly than I had anticipated. I had to state that fact that I was eighteen and they couldn't legally hold me before they let me finally go. The drive home was a short one, thank goodness for that. Small favors and such that the hospital was only a few blocks from our house. And it wasn't the fact that car was cramped (we put the three smallest in the back; Sora, Zexion, and me) that I was on edge, it was the quiet. Dead silence, in all actuality. Riku was still a bit peeved at me, along with Zexion, while Demyx was positive that I wasn't well enough to go home, which only cause Sora to think that I wasn't well enough to go home.

We pulled into the drive way, and got out of the car. This was the first time I'd seen home in over a week because I had been at the hospital while they ran test after test on me to figure out what was wrong; the headaches, the stomach pains, the shortness of breath and panic attacks. Probably a big waste of time now that I thought about it.

I followed everyone inside the house, looking around. Our home wasn't big, especially with five teenage boys and a woman living in it, but it was enough. And it was home. A far better home than mine with Dad had ever been.

When I first moved to Twilight Town and in with Mom when I was sixteen, I was surprised to discover that she had become a foster mother to three teenage boys. That was before Zexion had come to live with us, when it was just Mom, Sora, Riku, Demyx, me...and Axel. Zexion moved in with us about a year later, completing our little family.

Mom was sitting slumped in a reclining chair when I walked into the living room. She was sweaty and dirty looking, obviously having just gotten off her shift at the Twilight Town Plastics Factory. Her eyes were closed in exhaustion and her clothes were filthy. There was a grease smear on her left cheek.

Despite all this, she was still the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life, inside and out. Her heart was as vast as the ocean, bringing several children she didn't even know into her home to raise as her own. Sora took after her in this regard. Her smile could warm any heart and her big brown eyes could tell if you were lying to her in an instant.

I leaned down and kissed her sweetly atop her sweaty head before turning to leave. "I love you, Mom."

"Roxas?" she called, waking up from her light slumber.

—

The Judge walked into the room, taking the seat behind a table. The woman was sitting on one side with her lawyer while the man sat on the other with his. Two young boys sat in between. The younger of the two boys appeared scared of the Judge, who was very tall, tan, and stony. He was the Honorable Judge Xemnas and he was to decide the fate of the two small boys that sat before him.

The older boy looked a little pleased, as if everything was going his way for once in his short life time. He held the hand of his younger brother, giving it a reassuring squeeze..

The Judge cleared his throat before speaking. He began, "I have heard from both sides and have reached a decision and I think will suit both parties.

"Ma'am, you plan to move to Twilight Town, correct?" he asked the woman.

"I do. I grew up there and have already bought a house," the woman replied softly. The Judge nodded.

"You, Sir, plan on staying here on Destiny Islands. Am I correct?"

"You are, Judge."

The Judge nodded again, appearing to have made up his mind definitively. "My ruling is to send one child with Mrs. Assent, while leaving one here with Mr. Assent. The only thing to decide now is which child will stay with which parent."

"B-but Judge Xemnas!" Mrs. Assent called out. "The boys should be kept together, they're so close... They're brothers and brothers should be stay together."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but for the time being I think that this would be the best option for all parties involved," the Judge said so the ashen-faced woman.

"How will you decide who gets which kid?" Mr. Assent asked.

"I don't know yet. Maybe–"

"Please, Sir," the elder of the two boys began. His mind was racing, things were not going the way he had planned, not at all. However, he still had to do his duty as a big brother, he had to be the protector. I can't let Dad hurt Sora. I will have to stay with him then, the boy though. Taking a deep breath, he added, "Please sir, I'd like to live with my dad if that's okay."

Both the woman and the younger boy let out sobs at the same time. Hurt dusted her pretty features, hurt and anguish. The little boy buried his face in his older brother's chest, beginning to sob uncontrollably. The father, however, simply looked surprised.

The Judge nodded once again, completely passive of the situation. "It is done."

A wretched sob came from the woman's throat.

—

"Roxas?" Mom called, wearily standing up. "I didn't know you'd be coming home today."

"Neither did I. They found out that I just have an ulcer."

"That's good. Well, not good that you have an ulcer, but good that it isn't anything more than that."

"I know what you mean, Mom," I said, smiling at her.

"Do you have any prescriptions for me to pick up?" she asked.

"Nope," I said, scrunching the paper in my hand. I had enough money in my bank account to pay for them myself.

She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around me and letting out a relieved sigh. "I'm so glad you're home, Roxas. So glad."

--