A/N: For Emma's Namixas challenge that corresponds to my Kaiora one.

I think I write better Namixas than I do Kaiora. o.o

;

"Hey, Roxas, I bet I can climb higher than you!" An eight year old blonde girl said, legs dangling from the branch of a tree as she stuck her tongue out at her friend below.

"No you can't." Roxas said, shaking his head as he began to climb up the tree as well.

"What makes you say that?" Naminé inquired curiously as Roxas sat next to her, his face lit up with one of his trademark sideways smiles.

"Because," Roxas said, puffing up proudly, "I'm a boy. Girls can't climb."

"Tch! Meanie!" Naminé said, smiling, as she climbed up onto a higher branch. Roxas knew she would call him names and stuff, but she never really meant it. They were the only girl and boy that actually hung out together anyway. Roxas didn't understand why so many boys insisted that girls had cooties. Roxas had been hanging out with Naminé since kindergarten, and he hadn't gotten… cooties… yet. (Were cooties dangerous? Could they kill someone? Like, him, for example? Maybe you couldn't tell you had cooties until it was too late…)

Roxas was brought out of his thoughts as Naminé let out a little 'eep' and lost her balance and began to lose her grip on the branch she was clinging to. Roxas put his arms around her to steady her. He blushed at this thought. Mommy better not be below getting pictures…

Naminé turned around to see her blonde friend, who was blushing a bright shade of pink. "Thank you, Roxas." She said, smiling sweetly.

"You shouldn't be so careless, Naminé." Roxas said, shaking his head of blonde spikes. His blue eyes met hers. "But you are anyway."

"I know. That's bad, isn't it?" Naminé said with a sad sigh.

"Yeah," Roxas mused, "but, I'll promise you, I'll never let you get hurt, no matter how careless you are.

"Okay." Naminé said, smiling.

They then did their secret handshake- they high fived and then spit. Naminé winced.

"We really need to come up with a better handshake."

Roxas laughed.

10 Years later…

;

Roxas looked outside his window, the setting sun casting a weary light in his room. It was the first day of summer vacation. The first day after their final year of high school.

Naminé kept telling Roxas he needed to figure out what he was going to do with his life. Well, the first thing he wanted to do… was to marry Naminé.

He loved her.

He loved her so much.

But he just couldn't tell her.

Naminé was insanely popular. The cheerleader, the valedictorian, hell, she was probably going to be the first female President. And here he was, enter stage left, the stupid, unlikely best friend. The skater, the quiet one, the guy who got C's in mostly everything.

Well, now was the perfect opportunity to tell her how he felt, wasn't it?

A starry summer night.

Roxas dialed Naminé's number (the lucky duck got her own phone line), and after six rings, and six times Roxas thought he was going to throw up due to nervousness, he got the answering machine.

"Uh… this thing on? Testing, 1, 2, 3… Oh! Okay! It is! Silly me. Uh… Yeah! Hello, this is Naminé Devereaux speaking! I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a name after the tone, beep, annoying noise, whatever you want to call it! Love you!" Naminé's voice said from her answering machine. Even though she wasn't there, Roxas melted into a big pile of gloop at the sound of her melodic voice.

"Hey, Nam… It's Roxas. Call me back when you can, okay? Bye." He said and hung up. He had debated on saying 'Love you too' in reference to Naminé's answering machine but he had a feeling she probably wouldn't make the connection.

With an inward sigh, Roxas trudged downstairs and turned on the TV.

"This is Fox 8 News at 8:00! Making headlines today is the Sunset Killer. He is rumored to now be wandering about Twilight Town. If you see anything, please phone the investigators. The Sunset Killer strikes at sunset on unsuspecting victims…"

Roxas groaned. The news was so depressing. He changed the channel. Oh, look, Court TV was having a special on the Sunset Killer. Haha. He changed the channel again. Ooh. Basketball. Crap. The Cavaliers were losing… But it was better than hearing about some murders.

It was then Roxas's parents came into the room.

"Roxas? Change the channel back to the news. Now." They commanded, and Roxas knew better than to argue, so he did so.

"We interrupt this bulletin to give you some breaking news! As predicted, the Sunset Killer has struck again, this time attacking the home of…"

Roxas didn't need to hear it, he could read as well as anyone else, and the family's name was clear as day on the TV. Devereaux.

Naminé.

;

Roxas had sped to the hospital like a bat out of hell. Everything was a blur. He hated hospitals. They were so tragic.

He hoped that this didn't have to end with tragedy.

Room 107, he was told. Roxas managed to smile. Seven was Naminé's favorite number, and no matter how many times she tried, she just couldn't explain why.

"Roxas…?" Naminé said weakly as she tried to sit up but failed to do so. Roxas noted that she was bandaged up on the left side, and was bleeding through it.

"Naminé… Naminé… I'm here for you…" Roxas said softly as he ran to her side, clasping her hands in his. He noted that her hands were cold as ice, and she could barely manage to grip his back.

"Hm… If you don't already know…" Naminé gave a weak chuckle. "I was shot. Below the collarbone on my left side. It's in far too deep… It's going to get lodged into my heart, Roxas. I'm going to die… My father and brother, you know Demyx, have… My mother is in critical condition, and could possibly be saved."

Roxas couldn't stand to hear another word and put a finger to her rosy colored lips. "You're going to live too, Naminé. Just wait." He sighed, and choked on the words he was going to say next, he had never pictured it happening like this… "Naminé… you have to live… Please… For me… I… I love you more than anything, Naminé…"

Naminé sighed. "That's one promise I can't keep, Roxas…" She said, slowly closing her blue eyes and opening them again. She was slipping into the shadows of death.

"Nam… Please…" He nuzzled her face with his, their tears mixing. "You'll live, and we'll run off… somewhere far away from here… and get married. And you can be an artist like you've always wanted to be, and…"

Naminé silenced Roxas with a kiss, it was passionate, and some could perceive it as lusty, but it was merely all the love that neither of them would be able to give to each other much longer.

"Roxas… I have and will always love you… No matter what…" Naminé said, crying softly, and took one shuddering breath as her eyes began to dim, "no matter… …what… Roxas…" She said her love's name with her last breath, her eyes glittering as she did, and then Roxas felt her hold on his hand go weak and then her grip became nonexistent. She had died.

Tears stained Roxas's face. He wasn't ashamed to cry.

After all, he had promised her he'd never let her get hurt.

And now he was the careless one.