Two Become One

Chapter One: Again

A/N:

Here's a RokuShi story for a change! (I normally write RokuNami, but 358/2 Days' ending changed that.) This one also happens to be my first adventure-themed pureblood Kingdom Hearts fic!

That said, I still plan to include romance, which I guess was made obvious by the first paragraph of this authors' note, huh?

For the people following my Sword Art Online stories, I have something to tell you:

None of my Sword Art Online stories have high priority right now. I'm just too much into Kingdom Hearts. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. That doesn't mean I won't update my SAO stories every once in a while, but it does mean that none of them are high on my to-do list, so it won't happen very often.

Well anyway, enough about that! Most of you are here for Kingdom Hearts anyway. I've rambled enough for now, so…

See ya at the bottom!

"Come on, why don't you fight back?"

I felt another punch to the gut, but I didn't even try to fake being in pain.

After all, they already know that I can't feel pain.

"Your attacks are nothing," I said smugly, though the blood coming from my nose didn't help prove my point.

"Oh? Is that so?"

THUMP!

The boy in front of me picked me up by the collar and threw me against a wall. Just before I hit the wall, my instinct kicked in, and I twisted in midair until my feet kicked off the wall, making me land behind him.

"I told you, I don't fight people. Violence isn't the answer," I said.

No matter how much I wish it were.

"What the hell is going on here?" someone said from behind my attacker. "I sure do hope that no one is picking on one of my friends!"

"W-what the?!" my attacker turned around, coming face-to-face with one of my best friends, Axel.

"Crap! It's Axel!"

With that, the bully ran away as fast as he could.

A few minutes later, Axel and I were walking through the streets on our way to the ice cream stand in the town square.

"You really need to stop pissing people off," Axel told me, in a relaxed tone. "Just because you don't use violence, that doesn't mean that other people don't."

I sighed. "I know, but I don't really care. I only have one thing to fight for, and he didn't have it."

"Don't you mean her?"

I coughed violently, blushing furiously.

Axel laughed. "I hit the bull's eye, didn't I? Xion's really important to you, eh?"

After another fit of coughing, I said, "Yeah, you could say that."

More than you could ever know.

"Still, I'm hurt that you wouldn't fight for me, man."

I chuckled. "Come on, we both know that you can take care of yourself!"

"Yeah, and I wouldn't want a guy to fight for me anyway," Axel replied. He then pointed to himself, saying, "I'm all about the ladies!"

I all-out laughed. "And yet you hang with losers like me and Xion all the time. What a way to pick up chicks!"

We shared a brief laugh. Then, everything quieted down.

Axel adopted a solemn look. "So… Roxas… how much longer can you stay here? They're probably searching this world for you now. If you want Twilight Town to stay peaceful, then you're going to have to leave as soon as they find you, right?"

I looked down. "I know, but… I want to stay with you and Xion. And at the same time, I don't want them to find her. I know that I'm only drawing attention to her by staying here, but…"

"You can't have it both ways, man. If you stay here too long, they might find her, and then history would repeat itself."

"I know… and that's why…"

"That's why…?"

"I'm going to leave in a week. I feel like something bad is about to happen, so I can't take any chances."

"I see…"

We finally arrived at the ice cream stand, buying three bars of sea salt ice cream. We started walking to the clock tower, and when we got there, a familiar girl with short black hair was there waiting for us.

"Did you bring the stuff?" she asked with a playful smile.

"Don't make sea salt ice cream sound like a drug, Xion," I said lightly.

Xion pouted, saying, "You're no fun!"

A half hour later, I got up from my spot in between Axel and Xion. "Sorry guys, but I've gotta go."

"Okay, see ya!"

I walked back down the stairs, thinking about my friends… and how I would have to leave them soon.

I'm sorry, Axel… Xion… but I can't stay any longer. I've been here for two years, and they've almost found me.

I summoned my weapon, Two Become One.

Why do you have to give me so much trouble?

Walking towards my apartment, I forced the weapon to disappear before anyone saw me with it. When I got there, I unlocked the door, walked inside, relocked the door, and went into my room. As soon as I walked in, I tripped over a fan I had put on the floor, causing me to fall onto my bed.

"Wow, I'm out of it…"

With that thought in mind, I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking at my door frantically.

"Coming!" I shouted, getting up and walking out of my room.

I walked to the door, careful not to trip on anything on the way. When I opened it, I found Axel, out of breath.

"What's wrong, man?"

"Everyone's gone!" he shouted. "There aren't any people on the streets! I went to Xion's house, and…"

"What happened?"

"She's not there!"

Shit!

"All right," I said. "Let's split up and search for her!"

I ran out the door, Axel following suit. "I'll search the town, you check the woods and mansion!" he said, splitting off from me.

"Right!"

I ran to the crack in the town wall, going through it and beginning to search the forest.

As soon as I got near the mansion, I heard screaming sounds, followed by the sound of blunt weapons making contact with flesh and bone.

The screaming sounds like Xion's! Damn it!

I followed the sounds, and when I got to the source, I saw…

Five boys with dark looks in their eyes were beating on Xion with baseball bats.

I saw one of them raise his bat high in the air, preparing for a strike that would knock her out… maybe even kill her.

No! I won't let this happen! Not again! I thought frantically, rushing to the scene.

I pushed Xion out of the way of the swing, then jumped in the opposite direction to avoid the same swing myself.

"Who the hell are you?" one of Xion's assailants said angrily.

"Your worst nightmare," I whispered in reply.

He swung his aluminum bat at me horizontally, and I swiftly ducked. While I ducked, I slid my left leg under his feet, causing him to trip and let go of the bat. While it was in the air, I grabbed its handle with my right hand just in time to block a strike from another of Xion's assailants.

I got up, hitting the right wrist of the second kid to make him drop his wooden baseball bat—

Right into my left hand.

"I know what you five really are. But I… I am Roxas Kageyami, and my codename in the Organization of Divine Wielders is XIII," I said, my voice eerily calm. "If you don't want me to kill you right here and now, I suggest you run away."

"XIII?!" one of them shouted. "I'm out of here!"

The rest of them followed suit.

"Xion, are you okay?!" I shouted, my calm composure gone like the wind.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…" she said quietly as I helped her up, inspecting her injuries. "But… what just happened?"

"Those people attacking you weren't really people. They were dark beings called Lost Ones, and they feed off of the energy released when strong-hearted beings die. They kill these beings using magical weapons called Releasers, which have a variety of special powers.

"They were planning on transforming their bats into Releasers and killing you as soon as I left, since they didn't know it was me."

"How do you know all this?"

I hesitated for a second.

The more she knows, the more danger she's in. But…!

I sighed, giving in. "Like I told them, I'm a Wielder, and I fight against the Lost Ones. I'm an agent for a top-secret organization that searches for clues on the Lost Ones' source and leader. They're called the Organization of the Divine Wielders.

"And now that I've been discovered, I have to make it to the next world before too many Lost Ones swarm me. I'm strong, but I can only take around fifty at once at my current power without suffering major injuries."

"So you're leaving this world…?" Xion queried sadly.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I can't stay with you any longer, but—"

"Then take me with you!"

What?!

"I can't do that…" I whispered, hating myself for it.

I don't want it to happen again…!

"Why not?!"

"Because you'll get killed! I can't go through that pain again!"

Xion was shocked into silence. Then, choosing her words carefully, she said, "They were already trying to kill me, right? They would probably do it again."

I clenched my eyes tight, desperately trying to find the right path.

If I make her a Wielder, history might repeat itself, but if I leave her here, she'll probably be killed! Even with Axel here, she wouldn't be safe! Damn it…! Think…!

"Roxas!"

"What?"

"I can see people with strange weapons approaching!"

When I turned around, I saw ten people with that same dark look in their eyes, all coming at us with glowing weapons.

I growled. "Damn it, we don't have time for this! Come on!"

I grabbed her hand, running through the forest towards the old mansion. In my right hand, I summoned my weapon, Two Become One, and our speed began increasing.

"Why are we going towards the haunted mansion?" Xion asked me.

"The Corridor I used to get here is inside it! I put a special seal on the gates that looks like a giant lock to prevent people from getting there and closing the Corridor, so it should be safe!"

"Okay!"

Once we got to the old mansion, I found an insanely large amount of Lost Ones standing at the gates, all in various bestial forms, though none of then had Releasers. I did a quick headcount, finding there to be—

Sixty-seven?!

They moved to surround us, and I desperately tried to think of a plan.

I won't let Xion get dragged into this! I can't! But… there are too many to fight alone, especially when I'm trying to protect someone!

They started to close in.

Damn it! I have no choice! I have to make her a Wielder!

I let go of Xion's hand, simultaneously dematerializing my weapon.

I began to talk to Xion in a whisper. "Xion, I need you to listen very carefully. I'm going to make you a Wielder. I'm going to summon a weapon for you to use temporarily until you can summon a weapon of your own. You'll have to fight with me until we get out of this, and then we'll run away for a while. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"All right."

I summoned the most basic of Keyblades, which were my weapon type, and handed it to her.

"This weapon is called the Kingdom Key. It's weak, but it's just a stepping stone to more powerful things. Besides, it'll work wonders on these scrubs."

"Right!"

Crap!

Just then, because of her shout, one of the more humanoid Lost Ones jumped at her.

Almost as if she had been trained to use the weapon her whole life, she swung the Kingdom Key with incredible speed and skill, knocking the Lost One back into several others.

"How did I do that…?" she asked, astounded.

"It's your battle instinct. You were destined to become a Wielder."

I summoned Two Become One once more, but before I attacked anyone with it—

In a flash of light, it disappeared, and two Keyblades appeared. My new Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, the strongest Keyblades of light and darkness, respectively, floated into my hands. I spun them around by their handles, then clashed them against each other, making black and white electricity emanate out of them.

"Let's go!"

"Right!"

We set to work, destroying all of the Lost Ones that came our way. I noted that, on average, it took her about three hits to destroy one, whereas it took me only one.

Even so, it's pretty amazing. With the Kingdom Key, it would normally take a lot more than that, even for basic Lost Ones like these.

An incoming attack from a more powerful Lost One snapped me out of my thoughts, and I immediately blocked with my Oathkeeper, then retaliated with my Oblivion, destroying it in one hit.

Then, I took the offensive.

I dashed towards a large group of Lost Ones, jumping into the air and falling back down with my Keyblades pointed towards the ground. When they made contact with the earth, they created a shockwave that dispersed all of the Lost Ones around me.

"Roxas, look out!"

I pulled my Oblivion out of the ground just in time to cut the arm of a Lost One mid-attack. The arm dispersed, and I pulled Oathkeeper out of the ground to slice my now-one-armed assailant in half, then spun around and destroyed several other Lost Ones by hitting them in their midsections.

I looked over at Xion to see how she was doing, and I found her to be growing very tired.

Suddenly, images of her in different clothes getting hit by a Lost One in the back appeared in my mind.

No! Not again!

Then, when I snapped back into reality, I found the same thing about to happen.

I used one of the powers of Oathkeeper to appear behind her instantaneously, slashing the assailant in four even pieces with my Oblivion.

"Thanks!"

"No problem!"

We jumped away from one another, getting out of each other's way so we could fight freely.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of brutal brawling, there were no Lost Ones left.

"Whew!" I said, sighing loudly. "I'm out of shape…"

Though I was tired, Xion was in a much worse state.

I walked over to her. "Hey, you okay to walk?"

"Yeah…" she replied in between pants, getting up from her sitting position.

Her Kingdom Key had disappeared, having served its purpose. I looked at the ground, remembering the reason I didn't want her involved with the Wielders.

I shook my head to clear out my depressing thoughts and took her hand, leading her to the mansion door. Just before we reached it, however…

A boy about my age, with long, bright silver hair, a black coat, and a black blindfold over his eyes appeared in front of us.

I glared at him, gritting my teeth.

"… Riku."

He just looked in my direction silently, though I couldn't tell if he was looking at me because he was blindfolded.

After a while, he broke the silence. "Roxas, I'm taking you with me."

"Like hell!"

"Your girlfriend can come if she wants, but I think we both know what will happen if she does."

"Shut up! I'm not letting you take me back!" I shouted. "Not this time!"

"This time?" he queried. "This is the first time I've come to get you."

That's right… I'm the only one that remembers the other time… after all… I—

"Roxas!" someone shouted from my left.

Two flaming Chakrams flew through the bushes, aimed at Riku. However, Riku swiftly dodged them as if they were moving in slow motion. Then, Axel emerged from the bushes, more Chakrams in his hands.

"Axel, you're—"

"A Wielder, yeah! I'm also VIII, but this isn't the time to talk! I'll hold Riku off, so run away with Xion!"

He attacked Riku, who summoned a weapon of his own to block Axel's Chakrams.

"He'll kill you!" I shouted frantically.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does!"

"Just go, before it's too late!" Axel shouted angrily, pushing Riku back with his superior physical strength. "You told me what happens if you go with him!"

Axel…

I tightened my grip of Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

Why…?!

I sighed. "You'd better not die, you hear me?!"

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

I smiled bitterly, dematerializing my Oathkeeper and grabbing Xion by the waist to hoist her over my shoulder.

"H-hey!"

I jumped over the battling Axel and Riku, and once I landed, I held my Oblivion so that it pointed directly at the lock on the mansion gates. A black light started to emanate from the tip of my Keyblade, and then it shot up into the lock, making it disappear in a flash of black light. The gates began to open, and as soon as the opening was wide enough, I ran through, still holding Xion over my shoulder.

Once we reached the inside of the mansion, I let a very red-faced Xion down, then grabbed her hand and kept running.

"Sorry about carrying you like that, but it was the quickest way," I said apologetically.

Silence.

Once we reached the stairway, I ran down the stairs, Xion following close behind. We ran through a few narrow hallways, not stopping until we reached a room full of computers.

"It's just past this room," I told Xion.

"I see…"

"Are you overwhelmed by all that's happened?" I asked her softly.

"Yeah," she confirmed quietly.

"I'm sorry I got you dragged into this…"

"Don't be," she said, her tone suddenly cheery. "Now I get to go with you on a journey, right?"

"Yup, you're stuck with me from now on."

We shared a short laugh.

"Well, let's go," I whispered.

"Yeah."

We walked through the door on the other side of the computer room, finding an all-white room with a giant, cocoon-like white pod in the center.

"It's in there," I said. "All you have to do is get close to it."

"Okay."

We walked up to the pod, and it opened, revealing a black circle, a Dimensional Corridor, in its center.

"We'll go together," I told her.

I gripped her hand a little tighter, and we walked towards the Corridor, side-by-side.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

We walked on top of the Corridor, and its black light enveloped us.

A/N:

So, what did you guys think? Leave your thoughts in a review, if you please! It helps me get better!

Well, I don't really have much to say now, so I'll just proceed straight to the disclaimer.

I don't own the Kingdom Hearts franchise or anything/anyone I use from it!

See ya!