The Tiniest of Notes: This is the second long story I will be writing—and probably the last for a while. I have a muse that's always searching for the next vacation. Oy, my Roxas is rusty...but... Kingdom Hearts, WHOO!

~Into the Fold~

Chapter 1: The Joining

Roxas's P.O.V.

It's been about a week since Xemnas found me in Twilight Town.

Since that week I've been left to find my own way to the Organization's doorstep—for lack of a better word. I've walked down countless alleyways, kicked away countless homeless people who looked shadier than I do, and fainted in several respectable people's doorways. And though they always seem to have a reluctance to take me in and take care of me for the night…they always do.

It was in this way, wandering around Twilight Town, that I first noticed that I felt… different…from other people. They seemed to be capable of feeling (which I soon realized I wasn't; their children cried and inwardly I felt no sympathy, though I felt like I should have), of being substantial, real. When I accidentally cut myself using one of the men's kitchen knifes, little blood flows and there is no flash of pain that the women feel when they do the same thing.

It was a little...relieving, actually. When you sense you're not cut out of the usual cloth it's kind of hard to shake that feeling off.

So here I am. In this dark, gloomy city that has rained endlessly since I have arrived. Around me I see shadowy creatures spawn that I somehow know are Heartless (Neoshadows in particular) and people duck back into shadows. Slivers of green, blue, red, and silver appear to the corner of my eye and then disappear just as fast.

Ticks me off.

Once I felt one get too close. I swiveled around, my hand reaching, reaching...searching for the thing that was not there one moment but always there in the next one.

The Keyblades...

I never knew how I knew of them. One of those fuzzy memories that fizzes in and out of existence in my mind, something I try to grasp but that never seems to be complete, I still don't know... I just knew they were pretty damn handy when you had a bunch of things skulking after you when you were just trying to join a group of soul-searchers. Really handy.

Whish-and it was gone with a single swipe. Dissipated, like the others.

Boring.

I walked on, feeling no closer to what was my eventual goal. All I saw, on left and right, were brightly lit buildings that burned my retinas; but all were dark, and unwelcoming. I saw one man take a look at me and hurriedly pull his shutters closed...

Whooosh.

I whipped around-someone was here-no, there, appearing behind me, holding something out toward me in an attack position-a weapon?

They dare to want me?

A person in a long, black hooded cloak materialized fully then, chuckling. They snapped their fingers and the weapon (a sword? a laser?) disappeared from their other hand.

"Roxas..." A low, deep mumble, of appreciation.

I cried, "Who are you?"

"Come."

Suddenly fear (or what should have been fear, anyway) crashed over me; in a long, burying wave. It had just occured to me that I really didn't know who I was or who these people were; that they were much more experienced than I in whoever-or whatever-we were and how to stay that way; and that one wrong move of mine would result in my end.

I don't trust this.

"I won't go anywhere until you tell me who you are and what's going on!"

"You must come, or I will be forced to destroy you."

I think I started to sweat then.

The man I now followed had thrown me some sort of jacket; white, unlike his, and very thin. I swore that I heard him chuckle every time I shivered audibly.

"Jerk."

"Mmmm... I think I should have said 'Come with no complaints'. You, Roxas, are lucky we bothered to notice you."

"Then why don't you just leave me here? I can do fine on my own, in case you didn't know. When that Xemnas found me-"

The robed man laughed-a low, mocking rumble that ticked me off even further. Then he removed his hood.

I'll admit it-I gasped.

Xemnas smiled, and replied in what might have been described as a gentle voice. "We cannot leave you because you are...special. It would make us fools to ignore you. Case in point-"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood; I heard a swisshing noise and lunged backward, feeling cold metal in my hands-

Another Heartless bit the dust. My receding hairs told me that any others were not coming out to join the short fray.

Xemnas clapped. For once it didn't sound mocking.

"Excellent. I take it back. We shall have extreme need of you."

But now I wasn't having any of it.

"No."

"Pardon?"

"You heard me. For what reason would you make me follow you all the way across this dreary, decrepit city? Just so I can join your little club?"

"...You're an arrogant one."

Pause.

Xemnas rolled his golden eyes. "Of course I want you." His voice became softer, more prepared to lull. "You are the final piece. You are what I need to achieve Kingdom Hearts."

I have no idea what this fool is talking about.

He reads my expression. "I ask that you be patient. All will be revealed, in time, if you just come with me."

Xemnas spread his arms wide, as if he were reaching for some dream just out of his arm's length; and despite my initial hatred of this mad, mad man, I felt a pull to him; as if he were mine and I was his, as if all he dared speak was true. We were One. We were Brethren. And if I went with him, I wouldn't have to be alone again, begging for a doorstep to sleep on, watching people live like living was nothing and know inside that I wasn't like them...

"...Where are we going?"

Xemnas has put his hood back on, and has said no more to me since that exchange. I follow him silently, still shivering and fuming at myself-but knowing that this is my only alternative. There's no going back now. If Xemnas really does want me this badly, there would be no stopping him from stalking me wherever I went. I would never be safe.

We rounded one more alley and then came into a bright, open space; buildings surrounded us, including one in the middle of the plaza-thing that shone brighter than the others. It reminded me of a-the word was coming-hotel.

"Memory's Skyscraper," Xemnas whispered. A touch of appreciation lit his words. "This is where we sometimes meet for... amusement purposes."

Right.

"Amusement, eh...?"

"Indeed."

"This your little 'hideout'?"

"Oh, no, no, no..." Xemnas shook both his head and his hands side to side, as if he thought me some sort of child. "'Hideout' is such a crude word...we prefer 'headquarters'-or, quite literally, castle."

Castle?

"You're having fun playing around with me."

"Actually I am, but not in this case. We do liv-ahem, reside, in a castle."

It gets weirder by the second.

Reading my thoughts again, Xemnas murmured, "Just wait until you are a part of the castle..."

"I never said 'yes'."

"It is too late for you to say 'no'."

Crap!

"...I see."

We walked up a steep incline, and I think my jaw unhinged and was left behind somewhere on the pavement back there because ohmyfreakinggod that is the biggest, most threatening, ominous, and alabaster-white-

"Castle you have ever seen," Xemnas finished smugly.

Wow.

Wow.

Wow-that-is-awesome-wow.

There was no hesitation.

"Okay, Xemnas, you've got me. Where do I fit in here?"

They were standing there. Just standing there, waiting to meet me. (So Xemnas said.)

I counted eleven-not including Xemnas and myself. Eleven grouchy, bored, tired, mischievous, bubbly, cold, staring individuals in black cloaks identical to Xemnas's. About six were holding curiously-shaped weapons. Ooooh, jealousy.

One stepped up. He had dark hair, pulled back into an elaborate sort of braid, and a sneaky smile that emphasized his dark eyes.

He said softly, "Welcome, Roxas."

"Ah...hi."

The others chuckle. My temper flares.

"Careful, now," Xemnas murmurs. He shakes a scolding finger in their direction, and they quiet.

"I can defend myself."

"I'm sure you can."

I move along them, going into more detail with my scan. I see just one woman, blonde (and boy, does she look icy)-one scholarly-looking fiend with ash-gray hair covering his face-and some spiky redhead who's staring at me like I popped out of the ceiling.

...Huh?

He notices my gaze and smiles, tossing his hair in a way that makes me want to roll my eyes. I notice he has eyes like green emeralds, bright and clear and...slightly mocking. Hmmph. His smile only widens; I feel a prickle run down my spine, as if somehow he is important to me...or will be.

"Roxas."

Xemnas is calling my attention again. I force my gaze from the redhead and turn back to where he points-to one who looks like the one with all those braids-except his face is severely scarred. And he's frowning. Or is he smirking? I hate these people already.

"This is Xigbar." Xemnas gestures magnificently. "My second."

Xigbar smiled in a way that made my skin crawl. "Roxas, eh?"

"Xaldin, my third..."

The braided one nods in a way that tells me that I do not interest him. Well, back to you too.

"Vexen, my fourth..."

This one's hair is long and pale blond. He looks like he's hypothesizing a way to take my atoms apart. Really genius, as I don't have any to speak of and neither does he.

"Lexaeus, my fifth..."

His hair is red, too, but in more of an orangish way, and it is short and faces the sky. He looks as if he could beat me up with one well-aimed look. I don't have any sarcastic thoughts about him-I'm only hoping our rooms are farthest apart.

"Zexion, my-Zexion, pray pay attention when I am introducing you to new members. We will not have this discussion again."

I must hold in the laughter. It isn't working very well so far, but I must hold it in until I can be alone. There is yet another guy (where are the women? And if there are none, what have I just joined up with?) with dark gray hair over his eyes, engrossed in some book he's holding with three fingers. I kid not. Just three fingers-index, middle, pinky. It was the one I saw earlier-except now he's courteously ignoring me. Are their new recruits really that boring?

Or are they trying to throw me off?

"My sixth," Xemnas continues, teeth clenched, "and last original member. Next is my seventh, Saïx..."

And isn't he special. The man has blue hair (again, I kid not), light blue, and down past his shoulders. It's obvious by the look in those golden eyes that this man thinks he is someone special. I'm sure the first five others do not agree with him in the slightest, but I find myself wanting a room far away from his as well. I'll just have to remember: Lexaeus and Saïx...

"My eighth-and most troublesome-, Axel..."

The spiky redhead. He steps forward and bows to me, with a dangerous smile I can't help but admire. He says nothing aloud, but the look he gives me speaks volumes. He believes that we will be great, equally-trouble-causing friends someday. I can't help but wonder if he isn't right.

"My ninth, Demyx-" Xemnas points to one with short blond hair who looks more concerned with his guitar-looking thing than me; and then, next, "My tenth, Luxord," a lighter blond-haired one with sky-blue eyes, a silver earring in one ear, and a dangerous-looking pair of black dice in his hand. The latter was studying me as one studies a confusing textbook. I felt myself shrink, and saw Axel give Luxord a cutting glance.

"My eleventh, Marluxia..."

A young man, some years older than me, with light pink hair that looked like rose petals arranged perfectly, smiled from his position a few feet away from me. His smile was more dangerous than Axel's; it made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I felt suddenly that I had surely seen this man somewhere before, fought him, sparred dangerously with words and weapons.

As I watched, he flicked a strand of hair away from his perfect dark-blue eyes. Narcissist. Should have known.

"And last before you... my twelfth, and only female as of yet, Larxene." Xemnas's gold eyes shone. "Watch her. She bites."

Hope he doesn't mean that literally. And yet, looking at this one, I could imagine her biting me. The icy blue glare she'd given me earlier paled to what she was doing now. You'd think she'd be happy that there was now someone lower than her in the ranks, but noooo... not that I cared in the least, anyway.

I suppose Xemnas warned me of Larxene to keep me from assuming that her gender would influence her temper. He didn't have to worry-I'd found someone else I wanted my room to be far away from.

"That is all of us." Xemnas turned now to them, stepped forward to look upon them, and his expression became something I couldn't define-joking, stern and unyielding all at once. "I expect that you treat our newest neophyte with respect and that you expect of him what I expect of you. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Superior..."

Superior? I hope I don't have to call him that.

"You must also refer to me in this way, in case you are wondering," Xemnas said lightly over his shoulder.

Crap.

"You are dismissed, Roxas. We will expect you to greet us again come the morning."

I bite the inside of my mouth so that words will come past the pride. "Yes, Superior."

"Good, you learn fast."

I spin on my heel, throwing off the stares from the others, and turn to leave them and go who knows where. I suppose their precious castle will show me the way.

"Wait."

I stop and turn just in time to catch a long, black coat just like every other person's in the room.

"You will have need of this. And... Welcome, Roxas, to Organization XIII."

This will be the end of me, I just know it.

I am sitting on a bed in a darkened room-well, lit by a single lamp, but still-with the coat on, looking at my newly-gloved hands and the bare walls that surround me completely.

Organization XIII. Thirteen people, inside one gigantic castle, with weapons as unique as my Keyblades, doing God knows what. I don't trust this at all. It's too risky. It's too simple. It's too...suspicious.

Yes, this will be the end of me.

So why do I look forward to what the end brings?

A few notes now that Chapter One is over.

Into the Fold was started long before I had knowledge of Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (which I still haven't finished; darn card system!) and of Xion, the supposed Number XIV in the Organization of the past (wonder what her epithet is), so I am not sure if I will be including any of that in this story.

I do know that this will be a group of reflections from each member, focused mainly on Roxas and how he is handling being inducted into the Organization's ranks. Some people will have more than one reflection based on "events" that will happen.

I hope you enjoy Into the Fold; its updates may be sporadic, but I love Kingdom Hearts deeply and so the chapters will be heartfelt and will (hopefully) accurately display everyone but Zexion and Lexaeus, whom I have unfortunately not seen yet.

See you soon.