Demyx's POV
I looked around myself in wonder. The sky was colorless. When did the world become so gray? The clouds hinted rain. Oh perfect, I thought. I'm gonna be stuck in a downpour. Truth be told, I didn't mind the rain so much. It made everything cleaner. I just didn't like to be out in it. At least, not on a day like this. The wind scraped against the back of my neck and I pulled my collar up to protect it. Funny, I don't remember putting on a coat. Directly ahead of me was a huge building that looked almost like a castle. I decided to head for it. And not a moment too soon; the sky opened up as I reached the grand doors. Should I knock? Or maybe-
Someone opened the door before I could finish my thought. Did they know I was here? Were they waiting for me? But how could they? Wait, who were they anyway?
"Good to see you made it," an oily voice said. I turned my head to see a serious looking young-but still older than me-man. His tone was flat and lifeless, and his face reflected his voice. I, however, found it hard to keep a straight face. I mean, this guy's hair…It was blue! It reminded me of one of my old friends. His name was…Um…Huh? Why couldn't I remember? I thought a moment. I couldn't remember my own name either. What's going on?
"I know you're confused," he said. "Your name will come to you soon enough." Great, now they can read minds. I opened my mouth but again he knew what I was going to say before I knew myself. "I am Saix, but you will most likely refer to me as VII."
"VII?" I asked.
"We have numbers as well as names. It's all in terms of order. You are assigned a number as you join."
"What do you have to do to join?"
"You already have."
"Wait, what if I don't want to join?"
This "Saix" smiled-if you could call it that, it was more like a sneer, actually-and walked away.
"Hey!" I called after him. He kept walking. I kept after him. I don't give up easily. If someone's going to talk to me, they're not going to walk away mid-sentence. "What did I join anyway?"
He turned momentarily to face me. "Not what, who." He turned away and-I'm not making this up-disappeared into a bubble of darkness. I stood there, gaping like an idiot, until another person came up to me. I paused to look at her clothes. She wore a black coat like mine. Hers clung to her curves while mine hung loosely from my shoulders.
She giggled softly, expressing oppressed amusement. "Well, what do you know, we got a live one." She approached me and began circling. I got the feeling of an animal without a pack. This woman unnerved me; she had almost an aura of pain. I felt like she could be describing my own death with exactly the same expression.
"Now Larxene," another man came then, pink hair this time. He faced me. "Don't scare the boy." I couldn't meet his eyes, I was so focused on his hair. What is it with this place? He caught me staring. "Marluxia," he said, introducing himself.
"I'm uh…" My mind was blank.
"Don't worry about it," Marluxia assured me. "We'll talk more once you've settled in."
"Alright," I nodded. "Um, would you mind-"
"Oh, of course," this guy really smiled. "Your room is just down the hall there." I looked warily down the corridor he had pointed to. I noticed there were several rooms that way.
"Which one?" I asked meekly.
"Your room is your number," he said as though that should explain everything. I opened my mouth again but Marluxia left the same way Saix had and Larxene followed. I felt a burn in my left forearm. I pushed up the sleeve and stole a glance. I gaped for about the millionth time that day when I saw the mark on my arm:
IX.
I looked up. IX: the number on the door.
"Well, that explains a lot." I opened the door and peeked in. No one was there. I had the room all to myself. "That settles it."
"What are you doing? You make it seem like you're breaking in." The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I know this voice.