I awoke to a strong, bright light surrounding me.
"Ugh," I moaned, rubbing my eyes. "I feel like crap." The black dots slowly receded from my field of vision, and I examined where I was. I squinted. I couldn't detect where the light was coming from, but the white room reflected every single little bit of light. Great, exactly what I needed right now.
Rubbing my temples, I tried to remember anything.
Who am I? Where am I?
Pulling my hands from my head, I flexed my fingers. My entire body felt stiff, like I'd been sleeping for too long. I shifted into a sitting position, running my hands through my hair.
"Who's there?" The voice echoed ominously. I looked up, startled, to try to see who was talking. Jeez, so much for time to get my bearings.
Locating the source of the voice, my eyes focused on a tall figure walking quickly towards me. Shrouded in a black coat, I could tell (now that I had time to analyze the voice) that it was a man. Young. His voice wasn't that deep. I cocked my head as he came close. Should I be afraid? I wasn't feeling any bad vibes.
When he reached about ten feet away, the man edged hesitantly towards me. When he was fairly close, he knelt down. What was I, some kind of animal?
He pulled the hood away from his face. He was a unique-looking person. A very defined jawbone, I realized. High cheekbones too. His eyes were a piercing green, with a tattoo under each. The bright hue of his red hair startled me.
He held out a gloved hand. I took it hesitantly, appreciating the help to stand. When he let go, I wobbled a bit, but managed to stay standing.
"I'm Axel," He said. "Who are you?"
"I…. have about as much of an idea as you."
A thought hit me. A name. Was I remembering something? Letters formed in my head slowly. I read them and put them into a single word.
"Na…nam….nami….namine." I nodded. It seemed right. "Namine."
"Is that your name then?" He asked, staring at me incredulously. He mumbled something under his breath. The most I could make out was the word "superior".
"Follow me," he said, turning on his heels and walking quickly. I had to nearly run to keep up with him. I looked at my legs. Was I vertically challenged, or was he just freakishly tall?
We walked in silence. I lost track of what route we had taken—too many twists and turns. Jeez, this place must be, like, a castle. It was huge.
Axel stopped abruptly at a door. I could hear quiet voices from inside. He tapped three times, placed his hands on his hips. I had to stop myself from laughing. He looked like a girl when he did that! He knocked again impatiently. A few seconds later, he breathed out a frustrated sigh and went to knock again when the door opened.
A man stood in the frame. He was tall, about as tall as Axel. He had white hair and dark skin, and amber eyes. He was wearing a coat similar to Axel's. Behind him peered yet another man with pink hair. Despite his feminine attributes, his large muscled arms defined him as clearly masculine. The golden-eyed man looked at me, seeming troubled, but his eyes flicked back to Axel's face.
"Axel," The voice was deep and commanded attention. "We need to talk, I assume?" Axel nodded once.
"You may go, Marluxia," The white-haired man waved his hand. The man called Marluxia walked past, staring at me with curious eyes. I shivered, looking down. He gave me the creeps.
"You'll be fine out here?" Axel said, looking over his shoulder at me.
"Yeah. Thanks." He followed the golden-eyed man into the room. I sat down, back to the wall. I slumped down and stared at the blank, white walls for a while.
I heard the door opened. I started awake. When did I fall asleep? Their voices were muted, like they didn't want me to hear.
"Alright. Well, you know orders."
"Yes, Xemnas, sir." I could detect some hidden sarcasm in his voice. The golden-eyed man, apparently named Xemnas, rolled his eyes and retreated back to the room, closing the door loudly. Axel made a face at the closed door as I stood up. My legs faltered, but I pushed myself to stay awake.
"Sorry about that…. He can go on quite a bit." He rolled his eyes. "Jeez, it's past midnight already. You should get some sleep. Here, I'll take you to your room." He examined my weary face. I tried my best to mask it.
"Want me to carry you?"
"N…no, thanks." We started walking. It was longer than I anticipated. My mask, draining my will, quickly disappeared.
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you? We still have a ways to go."
"I…guess…. For a…. little…" I never had the chance to finish my sentence. He swept me up without any effort. My head rested under his chin. The slow bobbing of his walking lulled me to sleep even more…
I awoke as he turned a doorknob. "We're here," he whispered. He laid me down on the bed at the center of a warm, dark room. I didn't even bother to get under the covers. "Goodnight," I heard him say. I tried to force my lips to do the same, but I passed out before I could do so.
Waking up to the sound of pure silence was pretty unnerving. Wait, no… it wasn't pure silence. I could detect two people's hushed conversation outside my door. I yawned hugely, scrambled out f bed, and stretched. Running my fingers through my hair as I looked into the mirror, I hoped I appeared somewhat presentable. I went over to the door, pressing my ear to hear what they were saying. Their voices were whispers.
"You have to have read something like her in all your books."
"My apologies, but despite my extensive intellect, I've never heard of anything of the likes of her."
One person sighed.
"Good morning," I said brightly, opening the door. I smiled when I saw the red-head.
"G'mornin'," he replied, smiling.
I peered past Axel to see he was talking to. A very short man stood there, silvery-blue hair covering half of his face. He gave me a glare and walked away without so much as a greeting.
"Did I…do something wrong?"
"No. Zexion's just….weird like that."
"Oh….I see."
"Oh. By the way… Xemnas and I agreed yesterday that you should be formally introduced to the Organization, seeing as you'll be staying here until we figure out what you are…" He said the last few words softly. I cringed.
"Okay," I said quietly, contemplating the last half of his sentence. "Should I be scared?"
He laughed. "Maybe."
A few hours later, Axel came to my room to show me to "the Organization's" meeting. Again, I was reminded of the vastness of my new environment as we twisted and turned through the corridors.
"I have to go now. You know, take my seat," Axel said. "Xemnas will introduce you to everyone." Suddenly, the tall, golden-eyed man was behind me. Axel vanished behind the door.
Xemnas led me into the room. My eyes widened in awe.
The conference room was not nearly what I'd expected. It was shaped in a circle, and (surprise, surprise!) it was completely white. There were thirteen extremely tall thrones scattered at different heights rising up the walls. The highest seat was vacant. The twelve people in the seats were all eyeing me intently. I saw some interest, some loathing. I spotted Axel and my shaking hands calmed down a little. Xemnas put a huge hand on my back.
"Organization XIII!" Xemnas announced in a booming voice. The room echoed menacingly and the buzz of conversation silenced.
"This is Namine," He said. I looked down. "She will be residing here for some time." Then, he proceeded to introduce me to all of the Organization members.
"Number II: Xigbar. the Freeshooter." An older man with gray and brown hair tied into a ponytail. He had an eyepatch and looked… just plain scary.
"Number III: Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer." Another scary-looking man with dreadlocks, strangely-shaped sideburns, and a vicious grin.
"Number IV: Vexen, the Chilly Academic." A man with long blonde hair and a scary smile.
"Number V: Lexaeus, the Silent Hero." Lexaeus was a muscular man with cropped brown hair. He was hunched over in his chair.
"Number VI: Zexion, the Cloaked Schemer." The guy from earlier. He looked way too small for his chair.
"Number VII: Saïx, the Luna Diviner." A younger man, he had electric blue hair that was styled in a spiky mullet. He had a scar across his face and was studying me intensely.
"Number VIII: Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames." Axel nodded at me.
"Number IX: Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne." The young man cocked his head. He had light brown hair, a thin build, and a crooked smile.
"Number X: Luxord, the Gambler of Fate." He had a blonde buzz cut and a mustache and beard. He sat with his legs crossed and he stroked his beard absentmindedly.
"Number XI: Marluxia, the Graceful Assassain." The man from Axel's talk with Xemnas last night.
"Number XII: Larxene, the Savage Nymph." The only woman in the Organization rolled her eyes and checked to make sure she hadn't broken a nail.
"And lastly, Number XIII: Roxas. The Key to Destiny." My eyes shifted to the seat. A young man that looked too small for his chair, too. He had blonde, spikey hair.
After Xemnas had introduced everyone, he launched into a long speech about "Kingdom Hearts". After a while, I couldn't even comprehend what he was trying to say, and tried not to fall asleep.
Axel came to take me back to my room after the meeting.
"Sorry about Xemnas' verbal diarrhea. There's always at least one of us that falls asleep."
"Does he do that--?"
"Every day," Axel muttered, finishing my sentence. He rolled his eyes.
"Hey, Axel! Wait up!" I twisted around to see who was calling him.
The thirteenth member-- "the Key to Destiny", as Xemnas had called him—ran up to Axel's other side.
"Hey, sup? Haven't seen you today yet, man!" They did some weird fist-pound-secret-handshake thing.
"Nothin much, bro. You?"
"Nothin." The blonde boy noticed I was there, despite my best efforts to disappear.
"Hey," He said, tilting his head to see me. "You're Naminé, right? I'm Roxas." He looked too young to be wearing the solemn uniform of the Organization. I examined his face. He couldn't be any older than me. Fourteen, fifteen max?
"Hi," I said quietly. I examined his features. He had clear, perfect skin, a rosy complexion, and spikey blonde hair that defied gravity. What intrigued me most were his eyes. They were huge and a bright, electrifying shade of blue. The shade was somewhere between teal and medium blue—ultramarine. That seemed to fit. I noticed that he was pretty much gorgeous.
He smiled at me. I probably looked like an idiot for staring at him. I tucked some hair behind my ear and looked down. I could feel the heat coming to my face.
"So, are you new here too?" He asked me.
"Um, yeah."
"Thought so. I just got here a few days ago."
"Oh. Cool."
He continued to talk to Axel. I watched my feet like there was something interesting on my shoes.
When we got to my room, I said bye to Axel and Roxas and flopped on my bed. I sighed, mentally retracing his facial features. As time passed, I wondered to myself. Had I dreamt him up? He couldn't be real. He was too perfect.
Later that night, as I was getting ready for sleep, I heard a knock on my door. I was surprised when I opened the door. I had been expecting Axel, but instead of looking up, the pair of eyes were at eye level.
"Oh… Hi, Roxas," I said. My eyebrows wrinkled a little in confusion.
"Hey…Sorry I'm here at a weird time. I just wanted to give you something. I figured you must get pretty bored."
"Oh. Thanks." He handed me a book. I opened it, flipping through. It was full of blank pages.
"A sketchbook?" I murmured, noticing the pencil clipped to the binding.
"I love to draw! How did you…" I looked up. Roxas was nowhere to be seen.
"….Know?" I whispered to air. "Thanks,"
I went back into my room, closing the door behind me. I sat down on my bed, and forgetting any previous tiredness, began to draw.
Using my renewed mental image, I sketched the sharp curve of his chin, the big blue eyes, the light blonde hair…. I must have spent hours on that picture. Drawing, erasing, drawing some more, re-erasing.
After a while, I looked back to evaluate my work. I went back to perfect the picture. I drew the eyes until they captured the sparkle that he had. Again and again, I kept on sketching. It wasn't ever unpleasant. Even if I had drawn a certain section of his face what seemed like fifty times, I just challenged myself to make it as perfect as he was.
I drew through the whole night. Who needs sleep? I kept drawing right up until Axel came to take me to breakfast in the Great Hall.
"Hey," he said, not even bothering to knock. He knew I'd recognize his voice anyway.
"Hey," I yawned once.
"Whatcha drawin'?"
"Eh, just a drawing of Roxas. He gave me a sketchpad, so I figured I'd give him a gift too." He came over and sat down next to me.
Peeking over my shoulder, he whistled.
"Holy god. Did you seriously draw that?" He tilted his head. "Jeez, that looks just like him!"
"Yeah," I said. "I've been drawing…for a…while…" When I blinked, my eyelids didn't want to open again.
He looked at me suspiciously. "How long have you been drawing for, exactly?"
"Eh… maybe, eight hours? Give or take a few, I haven't really been keeping track."
"Namine, you can't just not sleep!"
"Sure I can! My sleep schedule is already screwed up, so why not?" I laughed. "Hey, before we go to breakfast, do you mind showing me where Roxas' room is? I wanted to slip it under his door."
"Ooh, anonymous. How romantic," He laughed. "Sure, I'd be happy to. He's actually not far from here." He took the trip like it was some spy mission, moving quickly and quietly. I just prayed that Roxas wouldn't be there when I gave him the picture.
Axel tiptoed to a halt at a plain white door. "Here it is," he said. I crossed my fingers, took a deep breath, and slipped the picture under the door. Not waiting to see if anyone was there, we both took off at top speed.
Laughing when we reached breakfast, I saw Roxas there.
"Hey, what took you guys so long?" He said upon our sitting down at the communal table. I promptly cradled my head in my arms. I let out an exhausted sigh. Now that I was sure it was day, my eyelids didn't seem to want to stay open. I only looked up when Axel handed me a bowl of cereal. I ate gratefully.
Roxas chuckled. "Jeez, Namine, you look dead. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Uh, uhm, not really." I muttered into my bowl of cereal, trying not to give myself away or smile through the sleepy haze.
He tilted his head. "Why not?" He inquired.
"You- you'll see soon enough." I shrugged. "That's all I can say for now."
"Oh… okay." He seemed confused, looking to Axel, but the older boy just shook his head.
"You'll have to find out for yourself." He said simply, trying not to smile.
He smiled unsurely, launching into conversation with us again. He tried to get hints from us, but it didn't work. We were adamant in our decision not to reveal any details about the gift.
After breakfast, I forgot about the gift until later that night….