Blood and Faction
(rough draft)
A Kingdom Hearts / Divergent crossover fanfic by Raberba girl

My 100th story on FFN
Dedicated to Taliax

Summary: "Faction before blood." They know how it works. Transferring out of Abnegation gives each of them a new life, and a new ultimate loyalty. ...At least, that's how it's supposed to be. KH characters in the Divergent universe, focusing on AkuSaiRokuShi; no slash.

A/N: Kingdom Hearts characters in the universe of Veronica Roth's Divergent series. And, while I know Kingdom Hearts like the back of my hand, I'm not overly familiar with the Divergent universe, so forgive me for any errors regarding that world/society (and please point them out, too! :D).

KH will usually take precedence over Divergent; for example, the character whom I chose to make the leader of Candor.

o.o.o

Chapter 1

Axel

My brother is a selfish, heartless jerk.

I mean, it's not like I blame him for leaving. Saïx was never cut out for Abnegation - heck, I'm not cut out for Abnegation. Neither of us have ever had an easy time here, with his nosiness and my...me-ness.

...But he could have told me. You know?

We're less than a year apart. We were like twins when we were kids - we went everywhere together, did everything together, kept no secrets from each other, we could even finish each other's sentences.

But...eventually...I guess it was after the real twins were born...things changed, and we started drifting apart. He's never really liked Rox and Xi, but I've adored them almost since I first laid eyes on them. While I was playing with the babies, he'd be reading books; when I took the kids out to watch sunsets or catch fireflies, he'd be holed up in his room. By the time I was fourteen, I didn't know him anymore.

Then he went and transferred to Erudite, and that was it. We might as well have stopped being related. It wasn't like I was expecting him to stay here forever, I think we'd all seen it coming for a long time. He just never told me. I kept expecting him to say something, and still expecting him to say something, and then I thought maybe he meant to stay after all, and I finally asked him about it when we were alone and no one could get on my case for "satisfying my own greedy curiosity," but he just brushed me off. Then Roxas and Xion came running up to tell me about a squirrel or something and I got distracted, and I could never get him alone after that; then finally it was Choosing Day and he was walking offstage to join the Erudite - that shaggy hair of his the same color as their clothes, as if he'd always belonged to them. Never looked back, never said good-bye.

I'm not going to be like him.

"Rox...Xi...I have to tell you something."

They look at me with those huge pretty blue eyes of theirs. The light from the sunset glints in Roxas's honey-brown hair, shines on the smooth black of Xion's. "The aptitude test..." Well, let's just say that the results didn't surprise me.

"Did it hurt?"

"Was it scary?"

"What? No, I-" I take a deep breath. "The test was fine. It's just that I...decided...I'm not gonna choose Abnegation tomorrow."

"Whaaat?!"

Their dismay hurts, and I wish I could back down, but...I know I can't. This life of keeping silent, fading into the background, as if they're trying to erase my very existence...I can't stand it, even just the thought of living like that the rest of my life. For sixteen years, I've yearned for Choosing Day - without that hope, life here would be unbearable. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, but...I can't stay here."

"Why not?" Roxas demands. (He's not exactly the best Abnegation I've ever seen, either...)

"You're gonna leave us like Saa-chan did?" Xion says tearfully, and I have to look away, so they won't see me trying to hold back my own tears.

"Why would you leave?!"

"Axel, I don't want you to leave. I don't want you to leave."

They're good kids...they calm down eventually, and remember to be dutiful.

"It's selfish to want you to do what I want instead of what you want," Roxas says dully. "Be blessed and happy in your new faction, Axel." He pauses. Then adds, passionately this time, "I don't like being Abnegation."

I can't help laughing a little.

"Where are you going, Axel? I'm going there when I'm sixteen."

My heart leaps and then falls, aching as I look at him. I want that so badly...for us to be together somewhere where I can still be happy, but... "Roxas, remember why we make the choice. Faction before blood - you live where you can serve this community best. What you choose is for life, Roxas - you don't pick your alliance just to satisfy a selfish whim." Am I saying that because it's true, or because I've been raised to believe stuff like that all my life?

"What if living with you is serving the community best?" Xion says anxiously.

I'm looking at her, trying to treasure her with my eyes, because I won't be able to very often after tomorrow. "It might be. It might not. You guys are too young to know...you still have seven years to figure that out. You know?"

"Maybe," Xion says sadly. Roxas just glares. I hesitate, and then...I reach out and draw them close. No one else is watching, and even if they were, well, I don't really care. I want - need - an embrace right now.

Roxas sits there stiffly in my arms for a moment, then finally relaxes a little and rests his head against my shoulder. Xion gasps a little in surprise, then flings her arms around me and squeezes me back, like she's been hugging people her whole life.

"I'll always love you," I whisper. "It doesn't matter where I go, or what faction I'm in...I'll always love you. I promise."

"Promises are forever," Roxas reminds me.

"Yeah. I know that, kiddo."

"We love you, too," Xion says. "Always."

We're quiet together for a while, focused on each other. Then they finally pull back and start bombarding me with questions like they always do when we're alone, and I can laugh and relax for a little while and pretend that everything is going to be okay.

The next day, I'm not nervous at all, just really sad. I'm pretty sure that my mother and father have guessed... My mother fusses over my clothes, like she needs an excuse to maintain physical contact; my father is unusually curious about the dumbest things, like how long I slept and if I think breakfast tastes all right, as if he just wants to hear my voice. Roxas and Xion trail around after me like despondent puppies, scooting so close as we eat that they're practically sitting in my lap.

"You should stay in Abnegation," Roxas says.

"Roxas," our mother warns quietly.

"Selfless people stay and do what's best for their family," Roxas grumbles.

"Yeah," I say, "but selfish people who can't do what's best for their family never belonged in Abnegation in the first place." Xion buries her face in my shoulder.

"We should not be discussing this before the Ceremony," my father says firmly. "Axel, pass the bread, please. How dark would you like yours toasted?"

That whole morning, I kept trying not to think about Saïx at all, much less wonder whether he'd bother to show up or not, but it's a relief to get there and finally see him in the crowd. He came. He's sitting with his snooty faction, staring at me with no expression as if he doesn't recognize me and I mean nothing to him, but at least he's here. Thought that watching his brother choose a faction was worth leaving his precious library for a day. I wave, but all he does is frown a little. Nice to see you, too, bro.

Candor is hosting the ceremony this time. The ceremony starts and someone gives a long, boring speech I don't even try to pay attention to. I'm not gonna be Abnegation for much longer - no point in continuing to pretend interest I don't feel. Instead, I'm looking at the bowls, the stones and the earth and the water and the glass that we'll have to choose between. Some of the other initiates look nervous, but my choice feels easy. I just want it to be my turn already so I can get this over with.

When I'm not looking at the bowls, I'm watching my siblings. Saïx is sitting there like a goody-two-shoes, unmoving, legs crossed at the knee, hands folded delicately atop that knee like a proper lady. I bet if I was able to tease him about that, he wouldn't have any reaction at all, one way or the other. Talk about "Stiff"... He's fixated on the speaker with that closed expression of his that gives away nothing. Well, nothing except the fact that I can't imagine he's happy. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I've seen him smile.

Roxas and Xion look just as bored as I am, but aren't as good about hiding it. Our poor mother's shushing them a lot, even though it looks like she's trying to keep them quiet by giving them paper to draw on. At one point, Roxas holds up his paper to show me, and I can't actually see what it is, but I smile and give him a hopefully unobtrusive thumbs-up. Xion shows me her picture, too, which is a heart.

They will always be precious to me. I don't care if they eventually come to my new faction, or stay in theirs. I meant it when I said I'd always love them.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for your time. Now, we present to you the youths of our community, each ready to direct the course of his or her future."

This is it. I wait impatiently as the first initiates are called. Then it's my turn, and I get up and walk over to those bowls.

Rox and Xi are waving their pictures like crazy, and I give them a smile before our father yanks the papers out of their hands and gives them a stern, whispered lecture. Saïx is watching me, as detached as if I might as well be any of the other sixteen-year-olds. Seriously, Sai, do you even remember who I am?

I'm glaring at him as I choose the fire.

To be continued...