Light streaked into the room through the narrow spaces left by the blinds. Roxas opened his eyes slowly, feeling the painful contraction of his irises becoming pinpoints. Lifting his head, he looked over at his clock and groaned. 6:30 am. Too damn early. Why school started this early he had no idea. He rolled back over, clinging to the possibility of even a few more minutes of blissful sleep.

Suddenly, The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy began to blare from his phone. So much for that. He blindly reached his hand out for the nightstand and the phone perched on top, knocking off an empty cup that hit the ground with a hollow Thud. "What do you want, Axel?"

"Aww Roxy, good morning to you too!" Axel's voice answered through the speaker. Why is he always so cheery?

"Shut up, Axel. It's too early for your chipper attitude." He decided not to start the futile task of telling Axel that he hates that nickname.

"It's never too early! The sun is out and so am I." Roxas could just imagine Axel's wink through the phone. "Anyways, you know today is the day right?"

"Yes, I know what day it is." Roxas sat up, since he apparently wasn't going to get any more rest. Axel calling could only mean one thing.

"Cool. I'm on my way. Put your clothes on." Before Roxas could think of some witty retort, the soft click told him that Axel had hung up. Well, there's that.

He threw off his soft satin sheet, the cool breeze from his fan refreshing against his bare skin. He walked over to his wardrobe and grabbed a change of boxers. It wasn't until he left his room and walked down the hall to the bathroom that he realized that the apartment was eerily quiet. The lack of the low buzz of the TV and the sounds of clanging pots in the kitchen meant Ven had already left. Of course he did, he needs to set up his room.

Once the water was warm enough, he stepped in and allowed the water to wash over him. His muscles began to loosen and his brain began to actually work. It's wonderful what a warm shower in the morning will do. He hurriedly washed himself, partly due to Axel's imminent arrival and partly due to his growing excitement. Today was the day he and his friends had been waiting for after all.

He turned off the water, dried himself haphazardly with his black and white towel, and wrapped it around his waist. He looked into the steamed up mirror and could just barely make out the state of his damp hair. Meh, good enough, just needs some gel. Walking down the hall back to his room, he noticed that the front door was slightly ajar. "Hi, Axel" he called out.

"Hey! How'd you know I was here?" Axel whined as he walked out from Ven's room.

"You left the front door open…again." Roxas rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Seriously, how are you going to survive this year if you can't even sneak right?"

"I don't have to sneak in weapon form, genius. Got it memorized?" Axel followed Roxas back into his room.

"Whatever. Are you going to turn away while I change or should I put on a show?" Roxas said with a wink.

"Oh Roxy, you know I can't resist your sexy body. But alas, I'll look away because honestly, Vani scares me." Axel turned his back to his meister while the younger teen slipped into his clothes.

"Axel, for the umpteenth time, you know he hates when you call him that."

Axel just shrugged in response. Roxas rolled his eyes again. At this point, it's a wonder that his eyes haven't just kept spinning eternally. Axel has that effect. Roxas proceeded to grab his hair gel and spike his blonde hair into its normal shape. Axel just scoffed at him. "What? Some of us need to use product to make our hair stand up. How does yours stand up?

"Magic!" Axel responded, wiggling his fingers in some grand gesture that he probably assumed was cool.

"Right. Definitely not your huge fucking ego." Roxas quipped back.

"Oh shut up. Are you ready yet? We have to meet up with the others."

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Roxas double checked his appearance in the full length mirror hanging on the back of his door. Everything looked in place. His white jacket hung comfortably upon his lean frame, left open to show off his plain black shirt underneath. He had his black and white checkered bracelet on his left arm, a constant reminder of his parents. The rings Ventus gave him for his 16th birthday rested on his pointer and middle finger on his left hand. His black pants and sneakers completed his wardrobe. "Ready."

"I don't know why you always check that you have everything. You wear the same outfit every day. You have multiple of each item!" To prove his point, Axel threw open the wardrobe revealing the same outfit in multiples hanging from a metal bar.

Instead of responding, Roxas just started to walk out of the room and the apartment itself. Axel jogged to catch up with him, closing the apartment door behind him for once. The pair of friends made their way towards the center of Death City, passing lines of vendors and other apartment complexes.

About halfway to their destination, two familiar figures were leaning against a wall on the side of the street. One with spiky brown hair, a black jacket and black pants with yellow bands crossing around the legs. His too-big shoes looked comical compared to his small frame; they were actually the subject of many jokes but Sora refused to allow his friends make him feel bad for his shoes. The other boy had straight white hair, which was odd for his age but surprisingly worked for him with his yellow vest and blue jeans.

"Hey guys!" Riku called out as he spotted Roxas and Axel walking towards them.

"Hey" Roxas nodded towards Riku and turned to Sora. "Where's your loser brother?"

"He's your boyfriend, why do I need to keep tabs on him? And where's yours?" Sora threw back.

"How should I know? Isn't it your job to keep him on his leash?" Roxas responded cheekily, adding a wink and eliciting a deep blush to form on Sora's cheeks while Riku chuckled quietly to himself and Axel just rolled his eyes. Sora may be shy in public, but in private? Well, Roxas had heard quite a bit too much from his brother's room too often to be able to pretend he was clueless about his and Sora's sex life.

"Alright you two, let's get this show on the road. We have to be there in ten minutes!" Axel was unusually impatient. But given what today was, no one could blame him. The four friends all looked up towards the place they would consider their second home for the rest of their lives. The Death Weapon Meister Academy. The DWMA.

The four looked at each other in turn, broke into knowing grins, and began their dash up the stairs. Running towards their future, not knowing just how complicated it would become.

…

"Xemnas!" a voice boomed from the dark throne.

"Yes sir?" the witch replied from beside his master's seat.

"Are the preparations in place?"

"Yes, Lord Xehanort."

The man on the throne cracked a menacing smile, instilling the slightest hint of terror into all present. "Good. Then let us begin. Bring me the 13."