CHAPTER I: The First Day and The First Night
Sometimes I wish I was an ordinary high school student. If only my only worries were whether I got a good grade or not, what other people thought about me and even dare I say, have a high school crush. Such a life is a far-fetched dream for me. Although leading such a life appears appealing at first, I soon realized that I was never going to enjoy such a simple life.
These thoughts raced through my mind as I munched on my toast. The life of a secret agent working under the government. That was the life I was about to lead, a life of constantly fighting crime and terrorism. And there I was, sitting peacefully at the edge of our family table munching on a stupid toast coated in spread cheese and jelly, a personal favorite of mine might I add.
"Roxas, if you keep going at it like that you will bite your- ". My sister, Kairi, didn't get the chance to finish her sentence.
"AHH, MY FINGER" I screamed out in pain as I bit hard into it. Kairi burst into laughter as blood burst out of my finger, their synchronization could not have been better. Kairi was my younger twin sister, we were orphaned since we were five and were forced to make a living for ourselves as we had no further relatives. The government soon saw my potential as an orphan no one would miss, fueled by anger and decided to make a deal with me. They offered me enough money for me and my sister to live as a middle-class family in exchange for me signing up in their training program.
Being as young as I was, I greedily accepted the deal, oblivious to its true nature. Most youngsters that were trained alongside me weren't as lucky as I was to survive. The training regimen was brutal and heartless, but I pushed on for my sister's sake. Today was the day that I would be assigned my agent number, the day when my training will end. Needless to say, I was extremely nervous.
I patched up my finger and went to my room to get ready for school. I soon after got ready. I put on our school uniform which consisted of a white, collared shirt, black pants and a light blue, checkered tie and exited my room. I proceeded to wait in the living room for Kairi to get ready. Her own uniform consisted of an identical white shirt, but it was paired with a light blue, checkered ribbon tie and a black skirt.
We usually walk together to school since neither of us owns a car, because we both loved a good walk. Today was the first day of our senior high school year and to be honest, I was quite anxious. I wasn't very sociable to say the least and the thought of going to a new school where I had only my sister frightened me more than I was willing to admit. Kairi soon joined me in the living room.
"Are you ready Kairi?" I asked
"Yeah, what about you?"
"I'm ready as well. Shall we head out?"
"Yeah we'd better not be late"
I always loved autumn; the surrounding trees took on a golden hue as the streets were filled with brownish leaves of every shape. The sun was still fairly low on the horizon lighting up the street with a color that accentuated the warm colors that were decorating the street. Contrary to the colors that took over this autumn morning, the wind was blowing cold air around us, an omen foretelling the arrival of the upcoming winter.
Our walk was initially silent, but since Kairi was quite a sociable person, unlike yours truly, she soon started a conversation.
"So, how do you feel about our first day?" she asked
"I'm fine sis no need to worry about me." I always lied about my emotions. I didn't want anyone to worry about me, so I always put up a front. In reality, I was anxious, very anxious. Not only was this my first day at a new school, which for a loner like me, was enough to make my heart race.
Yes, I'm a loner. Deal with it.
But more importantly, today was my 'graduation' from the training program.
"You know better than to lie to your all-knowing sis, Rox" however, my front was never good enough for Kairi's perception. I could fool lie detectors, but I could never fool her. Thankfully, she never delved too deep into what I'm doing in the afternoon.
"I'm just a bit nervous, that's all." I finally answered truthfully
"No need to worry Rox, you can always hang out with me. I'm sure that we will make some good friends together!" Kairi said excitedly, a wide grin plastered on her face.
I was truly thankful to have a sister like her.
"Thanks Kai I will keep that in mind" I responded, matching her grin with my own.
Our conversation came to an abrupt end as a large building came into view. TWILIGHT HIGH SCHOOL was written on the entrance of the structure.
"I didn't think that it would be THIS big" Kairi exclaimed, her eyes sparkling and her hands flailing in the air. Needless to say, Kairi was very excited with our new High School. The structure was, as Kairi described, VERY big. Not only did it cover a large amount of square meters, but it was also two stories tall. It was
"Well, this sure helps to calm down my anxiety." I said, with sarcasm evident in my tone.
"You are too lame. It's time for you to brighten up a bit". Kairi exclaimed and before I had a chance to question her, she grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me towards the school. I could see a glint in her eyes from behind her along with a playful smirk. Despite her appearance, Kairi was quite the sadist from time to time. She wouldn't miss an opportunity to embarrass me in front of my future classmates.
However, I couldn't help the smile creeping its way up my face. Kairi had that effect on people, wherever she went she always brightened everyone's day. This effect was heavily accentuated on me since we've been living by ourselves for such a long time. She is all I have, and I will do anything to keep that smile on her face.
"Kairi stop pulling at my sleeve, I'm not your dog." I shouted, forming a frown.
"Okay doggo, promise not to bite your classmates". Kairi responded with a smile that lit her face and letting go of my sleeve.
Before I had a chance to retaliate, the bell of the school rang as we got near the entrance.
"Well, that's for us. Let's go grab our schedules" I said as we walked towards the entrance. Kairi's little stunt earlier sure helped calm me down. We entered the school side by side, following a sign towards a desk where a woman was in charge of giving out the schedules of all the seniors. The school was, as expected, bustling with the sounds of excited teenagers screaming their lungs out either because they were in the same class as their friends or because they weren't.
Ah, the worries of a teenager. Despite some disappointment in the air, the mood was mostly a bright one as everyone seemed to be excited to return to their usual habits and friends. After waiting a couple of minutes, we got our schedules.
"It seems that I will be in class C32. What about you Rox?" Kairi asked as she continued to skim through her schedule.
"Damn, I'm in C31. I guess we will talk later." I said, with disappointment evident in my voice. Hey just because I'm training to be a secret agent doesn't mean that I don't have feelings. At least for now.
"You can see this as a chance to get to know more people, you know, open up a bit?" Kairi said using her strongest weapon against me. And no, that's not a terrorist tank, it's her puppy dog eyes. God damn it, I just can't resist cuteness.
"Okay I will try" I said as the bell rang once more signaling us to get to our classes. I waved at Kairi as she left. And then it hit me. It was my first time at this school, so I had no way of knowing where my classroom was.
"What am I gonna do now?" I said. I had a tendency to think aloud whenever I was frustrated. Kairi always made fun of this bad habit of mine so I tended to keep it at bay while she was around.
"Um, need some help there buddy?" A voice was heard behind me as the owner of that voice tapped my shoulder. My agent training kicked in and I immediately took hold of his arm as I spun around and held it behind his back in one swift motion. This was purely a reflex action and I immediately regretted my actions, so I awkwardly let go of his arm.
"I'm sorry, you surprised me" I said, my eyes quickly darting left and right, not daring to look him in the eye.
"Wow, not gonna lie, that was so cool. Are you into martial arts?" My 'assailant' said. I was genuinely surprised at his response. How could he not be freaked out by that? My curiosity took the better of me and I finally gazed at him. He wore a toothy grin that caught me off guard. He was a chubby fellow with brown, spiky hair protruding towards every direction. I realized that I was staring for too long and decided to answer his question.
"Yeah, it's a hobby of mine." I blurted out, not really thinking about the answer I gave.
"That's awesome. Uh, we are running kind of late for class, which class are you in stranger?" he asked, his smile not leaving his face.
"C31, and I'm sorry for asking, but can you show me the way? I'm kind of lost here. It's my first time in this school" I said. I hated to rely on others, but what options did I have? I really was running late.
"That's a hell of a coincidence, I'm in C31 too. Follow me" he said as he ran towards a corridor. I decided to take his advice and began lightly running after him.
"Name's Pence by the way, Pence Amica what's yours?" he asked as we kept running.
"Roxas, Roxas Fatum" I answered. My lips etching into a small smile. Making small talk wasn't my forte so the fact that I kept a conversation that lasted longer than a greeting with a stranger is an achievement in my eyes.
"Well, glad to have you onboard Roxas" Pence said as he chuckled. Man, I guess this school won't be that bad after all, I already met a nice guy. Someone who isn't afraid of me. At least not yet.
We soon arrived at the classroom. We seated ourselves after apologizing to our teacher for running late. Literally. There were only two seats left so we didn't really have any options on where we would sit.
Unfortunately, those seats were on the second row. Way too close to the teacher for my comfort, but what can you do. In schools there is an unwritten rule of first come first served in regard to seats and if anyone wanted to change seats, a war was to go down. A war which I was not particularly keen on starting.
We hastily sat down, not wanting to get chastised by the teacher for delaying even more.
"Now that everyone is here, I should introduce myself, I will be your Math teacher for this year and also the teacher who will be responsible for this class. My name, for those of you who don't know me, is Ansem Wise. As you can see, we have some new students that have just arrived so I will have each of you introduce yourselves. I would also like to…" The teacher said.
I'm sure that he was still talking as I could hear the faint, buzzing noise of his voice in the background, but right now, my focus was elsewhere.
A girl, correction, a mesmerizingly beautiful girl was sitting right in front of me. Her long, platinum blonde hair was freely flowing down her back and just barely touching our desk. She was shorter than me and her frame was delicate and looked like she could just fracture and break if I hugged her too tight. She looked just like an angel the only thing that was missing were a pair of wings and a halo above her head. Well, not like she needed them to be perfect in my eyes. Damn, I was falling for her and I hadn't even seen her face.
Snapping out of my trance I caught a person standing up from the corner of my eye. It seemed like the introductions have begun. One by one people were standing up and introducing themselves starting from the front row, which meant… It would soon be her turn to stand. The girl sitting beside her proceeded to stand up. One to go.
After what felt like an hour of the girl beside her introducing herself, she stood up abruptly, her hands balled into knuckles and placed firmly on her waist, her small figure suddenly seemed taller as she took a stance that defined confidence. A confidence that I was jealous of.
"My name is Namine Pariete. I'm glad to be spending a year with everyone. I hope that we all get along and make some wonderful memories together." Namine said in the softest voice possible, snapping me out of my emo thoughts. Yup, she was definitely an angel. Her liveliness and happiness were extremely contagious as I found myself grinning for no reason.
I sat there completely stunned by her. No focus training could save me from her, the teenager side of me was getting the better of me. My trance was broken abruptly when I felt an elbow to my side. Restraining my reflexes, I glanced up to see Pence smiling at me, and was that a hint of a villainous masterplan in his eye? His eyes sparkled mischievously as he moved his lips, knowing better than to upset our teacher.
As he moved his lips, I tried to decipher the words he was forming. Fortunately, or unfortunately in this case, I was quite good at that, years of harsh training in the form of trying to understand my mute in classroom sister whenever she wanted to relay a message to me about how hot our teacher is. Yes, I know, truly the worst form of torture and that's coming from a trainee secret agent.
"You so want to get in her pants" Pence mouthed. His smirk not leaving his face. I guess I found a new worst form of torture.
I had to restrain every muscle in my body to keep myself from snapping his neck. Instead, I opted for the much better, stealthier option of leaning back on my chair so that it stood on only its rear legs. Pence was too busy enjoying my angry reaction to notice my move, utterly oblivious to the nightmare he was about to experience. I couldn't hide the smirk that crawled its way up to my lips fueled purely by the satisfaction I was about to get.
Pence noticed the change in my expression and finally glanced at my chair, his eyes filled with fear after realizing what was about to happen. But it was too late for little Pence as I shifted my weight forward, crashing the front, right leg of my chair on his foot. Damn, that must have hurt, but I couldn't help the satisfaction that fed my sadistic side. I guess it runs in the family. Pence had to use all of his willpower to restrain a painful scream that would have no doubt ended his high school reputation. At least for a week.
I have no idea what made me feel so comfortable around Pence. And I may have just ruined that.
As I turned to look to my left, I noticed that my turn to introduce myself was about to come up, so I concealed my sadistic smirk. I had to look as good as possible in front of people that I will be spending the rest of the year with. Yeah, that's it, not that I have the incarnation of Hylia right in front of me.
Oh wait, wrong franchise. Well, you get the point.
Regardless, I put on my poker face, one thing that I was too good at and awaited my turn. From the corner of my eye, I caught Pence glaring daggers at me while he tucked his lips. I almost feel sorry for my little stunt earlier. Almost.
The student beside me finished with his introduction and my turn came. I slowly stood up and started talking without thinking.
"My name is Roxas Fatum, it's a pleasure to be spending this next year with you." I said as emotionlessly as possible. I was never the one to show my emotions to the public. However, her gaze caught me off guard. A ray of sun was shining through the window, casting a warm light around her, illuminating her entire figure. She looked like the goddess of autumn, bending the elements to accentuate her already vast beauty.
As her shining azure eyes stared up into mine, I caught her glance, a glance filled with curiosity and pain? When she noticed me staring back at her, her features changed completely now adopting a wide, warm smile, which I hope was aimed at me. I found myself completely lost in her smile, as time seemed to stop for me giving me time to analyze her features, looking for any possible flaws. Error 404, none found.
Namine then proceeded to turn to the teacher once again. I was confident that I caught a glimpse, a tiny hint of pain in her piercing blue orbs. I shook my head, there was no way that that was pain, I must be reading too much into things. I blushed as the image of her bright smile filled my brain, my eyes closed as I focused on that scene. Everything about that smile was clad in a blinding light, a light which blocked off any hint of the pain that I spotted before.
After the introductions were over, the period went by in a breeze while I was making a bit of small talk with Pence. He apparently forgave me for earlier and we both agreed that we both got a bit out of line there. Someone a bit more than the other, no need to know who.
After the next period came to an end without something eventful happening, the bell rang signaling a 20-minute break. As always, the students were immediately pouring out of the classroom, immensely glad that they had just put two periods behind them. Well, it was one and a half hour closer to freedom I suppose.
Pence bid me farewell to meet up with some friends of his. I couldn't deny the bit of disappointment that I felt at that, but I would be spending every single period with him for the rest of the year, plenty of time to make a new friend, right?
My instincts took over and I tried to spot the target of most of my attention in class. My eyes searched for Namine through the crowd. After a brief moment, I spotted a lock of bright, platinum blond hair and like a trained bloodhound, I started walking towards her direction.
I have no idea why, but something compelled me to follow her, confirm that my earlier observation of her eyes was indeed wrong, but most importantly, find out what's so special about her, what drew my attention to such a level. Human curiosity really knows no bounds. At least mine doesn't.
Just as I was about to follow her through the school grounds, totally unlike a stalker, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I didn't have to see the caller ID to know who was calling me.
"Hey Kai." I said as I answered the call. I think that the fact that I only get calls from my sister is a little bit weird. Just a bit.
"Hey Rox, want to hang out during the break? I need some comments on your sandwich." Kairi answered. I chuckled, she always prepared my food for school and breakfast, so I took over lunch and dinner. I was a terrible chef, but thankfully Kairi was much better.
"Yeah sure." I always enjoyed spending some time with her. Not like I had anyone else to hang out with. Damn, I really do need some friends.
The rest of the school day flowed smoothly as I decided to exchange phone numbers with Pence as we got to know each other a bit more through class. Meanwhile, my gaze occasionally fell towards the girl in front of me. I'd really like to know her better. I spent the rest of the breaks with Kairi as well, comparing our teachers and talking about our new acquaintances. The final bell finally rang, signaling the return of most teenagers to freedom.
I was not one of them. I picked up my bag as my heartbeat was starting to pick up. In a few hours I would have to present myself in front of the Superior in order to formally end my training, as he said. I had no idea what that entailed. Needless to say, that was nerve-wracking. During the walk back home, I was an anxious mess and Kairi didn't fail to pick up on that.
"What's wrong Rox?" Kairi asked as she tilted her head, waiting for my response. Man, the concrete sidewalk looked so interesting all of a sudden.
"Come on, you know that you can talk to me about anything." Kairi persisted. Sorry sis, but you won't get the truth this time.
"I'm just nervous for work, it's a crucial day today" I answered. I mean, I didn't lie I just didn't specify what work.
"Do you get more costumers at Xemnas' Ice Cream Shop today?" okay maybe I did specify what work I did. I actually wasn't the one who came up with that one, the Organization was disguised as an ice cream shop situated in the ground floor of the clock tower which was actually quite popular among teenagers. During our free time, we were tasked with running the shop. So yeah, you can't blame me for that lie.
"Yeah, a lot of teenagers come today to grab a cone after school, I just hope I don't mess up anything cause Xemnas is quite strict." I added. That wasn't a lie either. I was too afraid to lie to Kairi either way, when I told her about the ice cream shop, I almost got caught as she came to check on me. Thankfully, I wasn't training at the time, so I was caught giving three scoops of sea-salt ice cream to a five-year-old. Don't question it, that's how evolution works. The younger generation can eat sweets all day long while we had to settle for a single candy.
"Don't worry about it Rox, I'm sure that you will do just fine" Kairi's voice put an end to my sweet rant about sweets. I'm not sorry for that. I looked up to find Kairi smiling brightly at me. That's all the motivation I needed. I proceeded to smile back to Kairi, showing my appreciation for her support.
"Thanks Kai" I said. The rest of the walk was quiet, but not an uncomfortable one. After arriving to our home, we had lunch and I changed out of my school uniform. I put on a plain black shirt with some white lines on it paired with black jeans. Soon enough, the time came to leave for my secret age- I mean, for my ice cream shop duties. I saluted Kairi and began walking towards the clock tower.
The sun was setting over the horizon, filling the entire town with a bright, warm orange color. What would follow was the dark, cold night. The sky was covered in a thick layer of clouds, so no moonlight or stars were showing up to brighten the sky. A fitting setting for such a night.
After a relatively short walk, I reached the entrance of it. There were quite a lot of shops located inside the ground floor of the tower, but I was headed for a specific one. Located on the far corner of the floor, the small ice cream shop came into view as I spotted one of the Organization agents behind the counter collecting some money from a couple, each holding a bar of chocolate ice cream.
"Those guys don't know a thing about quality ice cream." The tall redhead said. He was the ultimate guru of sea-salt ice cream, he knew how to make the best one and loved eating half of the batch he made.
"Chocolate is betrayal, sea-salt ice cream is the only ice cream worth licking, everything else is inferior in every way" he added before I had the chance to greet him.
"I know Axel, you've only said it one hundred times." I said with a small smile
"At least you got it memorized." He responded. Axel was like the older brother I never asked for, he was always there to help me with my training and always managed to put a smile on my face whenever I was feeling down.
I waved at him as I proceeded to enter the ice cream shop and stood in front of a door located in the back of the store with a sign that read STAFF ONLY. The door was locked and required a fingerprint scan along with a password to pass. Even then, there was a camera, checking whoever passed the previous two tests. The door creaked open, it was very heavy, built so that it could withstand the strongest explosion.
After the door opened fully it revealed an old elevator with many buttons, I only knew three of them, one leading to the basement where our headquarters were located and one leading to the training room where I was trained for the past 12 years. The third one was a small hangout spot of mine. I was only allowed entrance to the latter two since every button required a specific key. I naturally pressed the second known button after twisting my key.
As I stepped inside the elevator my mood changed completely, my jaw tightened, my gaze hardened, and my hands balled into fists. This was no school, no carefree, happy teenager belonged in this world. This night world filled with death and corruption was no place for an ordinary, emotion-filled human and I learned that soon enough. We were justice in its ugliest, most extreme form.
The elevator soon came to a halt as I had arrived at my usual destination. The door opened slowly, revealing a relatively large room with a round arena at its center and various weapons, both melee and ranged ones, hanging from the walls. Across the elevator, a large corridor was built seemingly into the wall and it consisted of our shooting range. The arena was usually filled with training dummies, weights and punching bags which were mysteriously missing this time.
"Greetings, Roxas." A voice boomed from the corner of the room. I instinctively took on a defensive pose, holding my fists up as the person walked into the arena were his features were visible. Xemnas stood before me wearing the Organization suit that every agent was required to be wearing.
Instead of responding, I lowered my fists and nodded in acknowledgement. I was never relaxed when I was in his presence, he was always calm, unnervingly calm. Worst of all though, his bright yellow eyes always sparkled with a certain bloodlust that I couldn't deny. He was the de facto and de jure leader of the Organization as the most responsible, experienced and arguably most effective agent. And he was also my master.
He took a few steps forward into the center of the arena and tapped the ground with his feet twice. Suddenly, another person walked in the arena, this time through a door to the side of the room that I never seemed to notice.
"Finally, I was waiting for you for two hours." The guy who walked in said in a rather annoyed tone. He was a tall man, wearing nothing but a pair of pants. He had a muscular build and short, spiky black hair along with brown-colored irises. I had never seen this man in my life. Why the hell was he waiting for me? I clenched my teeth tighter as I sensed that something was off here.
"Allow me to answer the questions that have undoubtably emerged within you." Xemnas offered as he noticed my increasing uneasiness.
"This here is Uru, Uru meet Roxas" he said as he pointed firstly towards Uru and then towards me. Uru seemed to lift his chin at the mention of his name. A prideful man no doubt.
"You are my two best apprentices by far and the only ones that I deemed ready to graduate as a full-fledged agent. This will be your "final exam"." Xemnas continued with his explanation, emphasizing that last part as his face morphed into a small smile. A smile filled with sadism.
"You shall battle bare-handed in this very arena that you trained in. I will be the one to determine the winner of this battle and the one to become an agent. However, a dark fate shall await the one who loses" Xemnas finished with his explanation as he motioned for me to remove my shirt and enter the arena. I did so without much of a thought and entered the center of the arena, facing Uru. The 'dark fate' that Xemnas mentioned undoubtedly meant death, but there really was no point in dwelling on it. I was faced with similar scenarios more frequently than I should have.
The size difference between us became blatantly obvious as I was now mere inches away from him. He was towering over me as I was staring into his upper abdomen. Now, don't get me wrong. 12 years of harsh training obviously gave me a toned body, my muscles were well refined, and I was stronger than any high schooler. However, Uru was on a whole different level. His muscles were protruding out of his body, veins popping out of every one of them. To say that he was a beast would be an understatement.
Before I had a chance to cook up a complete strategy to take down the mountain in front of me Xemnas lifted his arm into the air, preparing to start the battle. I immediately took on an orthodox stance as I prepared myself for this upcoming fight.
"Oh, I'm gonna have some major fun smashing your pretty boy face in" Uru exclaimed just as Xemnas lowered his arm signaling the beginning of our fight.
Uru immediately took on an orthodox stance of his own as he stared down against me. Just because he looked stupid didn't mean that he was reckless. He was Xemnas' apprentice after all.
I knew that Uru would have a major reach and strength advantage against me, so I had to be smart. Uru started throwing out some jabs with his lead, left hand aiming for my head. He was only testing the waters, but his punches were quick and fierce, and I only narrowly avoided them with some head movement.
I needed some breathing room and I decided to start moving laterally as he threw out a cross aimed at my chest. I slipped past his punch, dodging to the left, and proceeded to throw in a left hook at his ribs, fully loaded as I shifted my back. My punch hit hard as he flinched, but being the tank that he was, took the blow and moved to the center of the arena, dodging my upcoming right uppercut.
I suddenly found myself in a poor position and he didn't fail to capitalize on it with a strong, roundhouse kick with his left leg aimed for my liver. If that kick landed on target I would have definitely been on the ground, but I thankfully managed to lower my right arm just in time to catch his foot with my elbow, something which must have hurt. He pulled back his leg as he moved back to the center.
He slightly lowered his arms to the side, exposing for a second his head. I made sure not to let the opportunity slip and went for a quick leg kick to keep his guard low.
And I fell straight into his trap as he changed to a southpaw stance, successfully dodging my kick and let out a hard-hitting jab with his lead hand. I raised my arms, shelling up to protect my head, barely blocking his jab. His assault, however, was far from over and he let loose a destructive left hook which hit me square on the jaw.
My head throbbed as my arms grew weaker along with my guard. Uru was merciless on his offensive as he followed up with a loaded uppercut with his right hand. I abruptly pulled my head backwards to avoid most of the damage, but the blow was hard regardless. I immediately moved to the right, desperately grasping for any distance between me and Uru.
I was wobbling, my head was throbbing intensely and the pain I felt was overwhelming. My legs grew weak as the giant approached me, looking to finish me off. As he was approaching, he switched into orthodox again.
"Is that all you got blondie? Why the hell are you still alive?" Uru taunted. I was suddenly washed with a wave of nostalgia at the sound of the nickname that he deemed as an insult. My mother used to call me little blondie whenever she put me to bed. Before, before those monsters took her away from me. That's right, I can't afford to lose here, I promised to her that I would protect Kairi in her place and I promised myself that I would avenge her, I can't go down now.
As Uru got closer, I could feel my heart thumping against my chest, spreading adrenaline throughout my entire body. I decided to surrender myself to my instincts as adrenaline took over, I lost the ability to smell, taste and hear. My vision became devoid of all color and I could feel my every muscle tighten. My entire body felt lighter as the daze from before slowly faded away. In its place came a strong resolve to win, and a terrifying bloodlust. I felt a primitive urge within me, a strong desire to survive…and kill. What the hell is going on?
Uru was saying something but I couldn't hear him, my brain was focused solely on his movements, tracking his every muscle movement carefully. Suddenly, Uru took on a southpaw stance and launched himself, performing a gazelle punch in an attempt to finish me off. Before I had a chance to realize what was going on, I had switched into my own southpaw stance and side-stepped to the left to dodge his punch completely.
The whole sequence seemed to be going in slow motion as I caught his wrist, pulling him towards me. I was surprised when the giant got thrown off his feet and flung, his head reaching the level of my own. I felt a savage wolf take over my body as I raised my elbow, hitting his temple with immense force. I couldn't contain the bloodlust surging through my veins as my face contorted into a twisted grin, my eyes shining brightly at the sight of Uru toppling to the ground before me.
"Is that all you got big guy?". I mocked in a similar manner as he did a few minutes ago. Uru was surprisingly still conscious after the elbow to his face and tried to get up, only to fall back down again. He seemed to be seething with anger, his nose broken and his eyes bloodshot.
Moreover, he seemed to have sustained some brain damaged as he was visibly shaken by the blow. I stood over the once proud man, now turned into a pile of muscle in front of my legs, staring at him with a wide, sickly smile.
Before I could do something, I would regret, Xemnas stopped the fight quenching my primal thirst for blood. Temporarily.
"That's enough, Uru you have disappointed me. I did not expect you to go down in two blows." Xemnas said as Uru was lying on the ground, a look of horror overtaking his features as he backed away from Xemnas, crawling towards the elevator. The adrenaline had retreated from my system as I found myself clenching my teeth, the desire to kill fading completely. I had faced death a few times before in my multi-year long training, but I was still not accustomed to it.
Xemnas proceeded to step in front of the elevator door, halting Uru's escape. Uru looked even more horrified as he coped to realize his position.
"It's not from me that you should be running from. Roxas, it's time for you to finish your job. Shall you fail, well I'm sure you already know the consequences." Xemnas said as he threw a pistol to me, his malevolent, borderline psychotic grin could not be contained any longer and was shown in its full size on his pale face. I caught it instinctively without thinking, my mind too preoccupied with processing his words.
Throughout my 12-year training I had never killed a single person. I knew that this day would come eventually, but Uru was an innocent person. I had been trained to fight, to kill murderers, drug lords, the scum of the earth. Not Uru. For all his arrogant demeanor, Uru did not deserve death. I did not have a reason to kill him.
"Please, don't do this. I beg of you, I have family, I have a reason to live. I did nothing wrong please. I promise you that I will do anything you ask, just please don't kill me." Uru begged as he was kneeling in front of me, tightly clutching my ankles and filling my feet with tears. The sight before me was more than disturbing as the once pride, arrogant man was reduced to a crying beggar, a beggar for his own life. A life which I was tasked with forcibly ripping away from him. Why? Because he lost?
"What's wrong Roxas? Are you hesitating? Are you willing to trade your sister's life for this failure of a man?" Xemnas said, growing impatient. I had no choice, I promised to do anything for her.
"I'm sorry" I said quietly, keeping my gaze firmly on the floor. I could not bear to look him in the eye. I hardened my gaze and tightened my arm as I aimed for Uru's head, looking to get this over with before I had a chance to doublethink my decision. Uru then looked up to me, fear overtaking his features as he shook and cried.
"I'm sorry" I repeated in a much colder tone as I hardened myself both physically and mentally for the upcoming action. I pulled the trigger abruptly, the sound of gunfire resonating throughout the whole room, followed by the horrifying sound of Uru's body collapsing to the floor, lifeless.
"Well done Roxas, you have officially become an agent now. Agent XIII." Xemnas said in his usual, monotonous voice. His smirk was now entirely gone from his face as he took on a neutral expression.
"You may join us in the headquarters tomorrow in the usual hour for a briefing on your new duties, you are free to do as you please in the meantime." He added as he threw a key towards me which I presumed was the key to the headquarters. He proceeded to exit the room, dragging Uru's body to god knows where, leaving me alone in my thoughts.
"I just killed a man, an innocent man." I thought out loud as I stared into the blood stain beneath my feet. Uru's blood was still warm. The sound of his dead body falling was repeating over and over in my head. The sound was horrid and served as a reminder of this deed. This terrible act that I had committed. The worst part about this is that I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if it meant keeping my sister safe.
"I need some air; I think I'm hyperventilating." I once again thought out loud. I rushed to the elevator and pressed my all too familiar button. I was completely submersed in my thoughts for the entire elevator ride, my hands shaking as I started to feel the blood that had stained them. I was only a teenager, yet I took another man's life then and there without a second thought. Was there really no alternative?
The elevator door slowly opened revealing the night sky, a starless one as expected. I came here often, whenever I was overwhelmed with my training or school, to be precise. This was my place of comfort, a relatively secret spot on the top of the clock tower. The only other person that was ever here was Axel, licking and sharing his sea-salt ice cream.
So, you can imagine how surprised I was when I noticed an unfamiliar, shorter figure standing on the edge of the clock tower. I carefully made my way towards the unknown person, hiding my presence as I inched closer, my curiosity once again getting the better of me.
When I finally got a good look from the side of the figure, I was stunned in place as I gazed upon her. Standing right on the edge was a gorgeous, raven haired girl with a petite figure. Her hair was relatively short, stopping right above her shoulders, and her eyes were a cold, light blue color. Her skin seemed pale and seemed to be shining through her dark, Organization outfit. However, her pink lips were pursed tightly shut, a look that seemed apathetic and distanced.
My suspicion, however, was proved false as a single tear strolled down her porcelain cheek. I felt an intense urge to hug her and comfort her as every worry and thought that plagued me completely disappeared from my mind. In that instant, she became my only worry.
I just noticed that the clouds were retreating as the night sky was lit up brightly with many stars decorating its entire surface. The stars were seemingly hugging her delicate frame, lighting her entire body in a cold, comforting light. I found myself in a completely stunning trance as even the elements of the night were bending to her will. No star was as bright as the girl before me, shining brighter than even the mighty moon. She seemed oddly humane despite her status and beauty.
Every part of my brain was focused on studying her every movement, trying to figure out the puzzle that I was facing. My heart, however, was torn between the blonde schoolgirl and the raven secret agent. Unsure of which girl infatuated it the most and made it race faster.
DAMN IT HEART, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?
A/N: Hey readers! First of all, I'd like to thank you a lot for checking out this story. Since this is my first fanfic, I'd really appreciate ANY kind of review (except for purely hateful ones). Constructive criticism is welcome and needed for me to grow into a better writer with stories worth reading! Expect a new chapter soon enough, filled with comedy and a splash of drama ;)