OMG!!!! New Story!!! Well, as promised, i included Ichigo and Uryuu since i felt bad about canceling the bleach fic (no, they're not in this chapter). This one was inspired, believe it or not, because i read "Lover's Flat". The Floors were originally apartments and it was gonna be about their crazy adventures and how everyone was connected. I might do that later. I hope you like it and please comment! I'm gonna attempt to be more in character and i'm striving for more of a poetic and grown-up way of writing. I'm graduating this year, so i guess it's time my writing moved up a bit on the scale of Grade too.

He stood in front of the metal skyscraper, golden pieces of hair fluttering in front of his eyes. The wind was cool against his skin, adding to the eerie aura of suspicion that the building before him gave off. This was the boy's first mission and there was no time for mess-ups. With only five months of training under his belt, he had no idea what to expect. And even though he was scared out of his mind, something about the air made him excited.

"Roxas, lets go!" The tall man with red hair beckoned the boy forward, signaling to the metal grate on the side of the building. "You'll get shot if you keep standing there." A cool smile swept across Axel's lightly tanned face.

Roxas nodded, moving quickly over to the older man's position. "Really? The vent shaft? Isn't that a bit too 'James Bond' for real life?"

Axel shrugged, "Well, the front door will have a heavier guard than last time. It's only been about half a year since the company tried to break in."

The company. It was a term used to avoid saying Kithir Incorporated. On the outside, the fifty story building seemed like one of the best and most recognized names in medical supplies; but the workers above the thirty-fourth floor knew better. Competitors, paparazzi, and anyone that Kithir considered a "problem" was dealt with using the fourteen floors populated with serial killers and assassins. The higher up the floor, the better you were at your job. Roxas had only just joined the company and he was more of a street rat than anything else, so he was at the bottom of the barrel; the thirty-fifth floor.

"Come on already! Lets get going," Axel pointed to the open grate, signaling that the boy was the crawl through. It was small, no bigger than two-feet in either direction; but it'd have to do.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Roxas carefully climbed inside, calculating his movements critically. Oh yeah, it was as cramped as he thought it would be. But the space wasn't his only issue, the man that was climbing in behind him was also on the top of his warning chart.

Axel, also known as Red Rum within the company. And the title wasn't only because of his hair or his drinking problem. He was infamous for killing all of his partners within a year of joining them. Unfortunately, the boy had only learned this once he was assigned to Axel's group. He had learned from Leon, one of the guys from floor forty-four, that the last guy teamed with Axel was named Demyx. He only lasted more than a month because the two of them were screwing.

Peeling himself out of the metal box, Roxas dropped himself to the ground below, observing his surroundings. There was a glass window overlooking a meeting that was in progress. The table was lined with men in suits who all looked a little overweight and a lot over-the-hill. "So, which one of them is Stevens?"

"Probably the only one who's American. Ister is a Japanese company, so the only American who should be there is Stevens."

Today's mission was to eliminate John Stevens, a wealthy American business man who's business was a major threat to the Ister company. Officials at Ister had paid Kithir to take care of their "foreign problem". A simple in-and-out job that was handed to the newbies. The only difficulty was making the assassination look like an accident so as to avoid an investigation. Axel's specialty was pyrotech while Roxas relied on brute force. This wasn't exactly the Brain Squad either.

"Ok, lets see here," Axel crossed his arms, looking around the room before them. "We can't hurt anyone else, only Stevens." His green eyes glances upwards as a smile ran across his face. "Ok, here's what we do."

***

It was show-time. The blonde was positioned exactly 30 feet away from the small explosive, praying to God that Axel wasn't trying to kill him just yet. They were on the floor above the meeting now, directly above the intended victim's seat.

"Once I press the button, the floor will open and the pipes will dislodge. Pick the one that will be easiest to knock off and hit it at Stevens." Axel smirked, standing further away than he had positioned Roxas.

"I don't know about this, can we go over it one more time?"

"Too late!" Axel grew a wicked smile as his thumb flicking the red switch. In an instant, everything was orange. The world slowed for a second as he was both relieved and confused as to how in Hell's name he was still alive. "Hurry up!" Axel waved his arms, signaling to the new kid that it was his turn.

Roxas nodded a little, coming out of his trance slowly as he ran into the fire; a metal bat in his hand. He was hot, but not on fire. The boy's only motivation was that if he didn't die now, he would be killed later by Axel. At least this way was more honorable.

Below him were about 10 gray pipes, all blown apart to reveal the group of confused and scared business men below him. One in particular was looking right at him, an American man. The blond gulped down his fear and raised the metal bat in the air, swinging downwards at a pipe that had nearly fallen off.

And then everything went black.

***

"Roxas! Hey, Roxas!" He was being shaken awake by a familiar voice.

"Axel?"

"Thank God, I thought I'd lost ya already!" The older man smiled a little, looking forward at the moving street before him.

Moving street?

Roxas glanced over, noticing that he was being carried in Axel's arms down an abandoned street. "Where are we? What happened?"

"Oh, you fainted. I never took you for the squeamish type, but I also never thought you'd actually hit the guy."

"Hit? What are you talking about?"

"Stevens. You nailed him between the eyes with the pipe. Nice aim by the way."

And without a second though, Roxas closed his eyes, trying to tell himself that it was all a dream.