The streets of Radiant Garden were quiet and peaceful; the evening hush was quickly overtaking the town as day fell into dusk, and the sun descended slowly over the western horizon.
He walked home the same way he always did, his white sandals shuffling a little over the stone street. He was, as far as he knew, the only guy his age who even wore sandals. Isa said they were unprofessional and whimsical.
He wore them anyway. They were comfortable.
A buzz in his pocket; oh, that was Isa now.
"Hello?"
"Lea, where are you?"
"I'm walking home, you idiot, same as always."
"It is not the same as always, you are ten minutes late already."
"You sound like you've been brainwashed, man. Since when do you care so much whether or not I'm late?"
There was a sigh; a burst of static filled the speakers as Isa expressed his exasperation. Lea could almost picture his friend's golden-green eyes rolling upward to heaven.
"Since my wife might kill me if you are the cause of our dinner going cold."
Lea snickered. "It's your own fault for marrying her, dude."
"At least I am not going to die alone," Isa replied, rather peevishly at that.
Lea put a hand to his heart, though of course Isa couldn't see it through the phone. "Now really, Isa, that wounds me," he said, affecting a tone of mock offense. "And anyway, what's so wrong with being alone? I've got no one to answer to." He smirked again.
"Just hurry!" Isa's waspish command sent another blast of static through the phone. Lea winced a bit, rolling his turquoise eyes.
"All right, all right, already. Freaking oblivion, you're starting to sound like—"
A click cut the conversation off before he could finish the sentence.
"—right. Taboo," Lea said, snickering again and sticking the phone back in his vest pocket. He left his hand there too, whistling a quiet tune as he turned a corner.
Jeesh, what a mother hen. Doesn't he know I can take care of myself? He worries too much; he lets Zanna worry him too much. I'm fine. I'm Lea the Invincible, for darkness's sake!
Lea grinned cockily at this thought, pushing back the thought that he was only invincible when there was nothing to fight…
A sudden sound behind him made him turn his head slightly. The sound was quiet, nearly inaudible; a sort of whooshing sound that seemed eerily familiar for some reason, although he couldn't quite place it.
"Hello?" he called, peering into the deepening twilight behind him. "Anybody there?"
No one responded.
"Must have been a cat or something…" Lea trailed off, shrugging his shoulders and continuing his walk.
He crossed several more streets, turning two corners and entering into the small alleyway that would shortcut him the last little stretch between the main avenues and the small street where he roomed with Isa and the latter's wife, Zanna. It was actually quite a comfortable existence, so long as he adhered to the household rules, didn't break anything and generally kept up with himself. Which he did… usually.
The few times he had screwed up were the only times he had ever found Isa a truly frightening person.
Lea hopped over a small pile of fallen trash, kicking an aluminum can out of the way with a sharp click of boot against thin metal.
Suddenly, the sound from before filled his ears; louder now, and undeniably familiar.
"What in the worlds…" the young man muttered, looking up from the ground sharply.
Where the end of the alleyway had formerly been empty, three people now stood blocking his path, their bodies forming a wall across the exit to the small passage.
"And you are…?" Lea began, meaning only to politely inquire about their names, and possibly what in all the worlds they were doing trying to trap him in an alleyway.
It was only then that he noticed their outfits; the uniform, form-fitting black coats, long and flowing to their ankles, zipped up the front and chained at the neck. Black boots, black pants, black gloves; their hoods were down, but he could see the fabric resting at their necks.
A wave of coldness washed through him, and he completed his own sentence.
"…Nobodies."
"Organization XIII sends its greetings," the lead figure said calmly, crossing its arms across its chest. The voice sounded female, pitched low and with a certain cadence that would have been lilting, had it contained a trace of emotion.
Lea glared at the three Nobodies, raising his hands in a gesture that was meant to be peaceful. "Look, tell Xemnas that I'm not interested in whatever he needs me to do. I'm done with the Organization."
"I'm afraid you're mistaken," one of the other figures said, in the same calm tone. This voice was male, and reminded Lea faintly of Zex—Ienzo's voice.
"Xemnas no longer commands the Organization," the boy said. "Organization XIII is all-new; new leadership, new membership, new tactics."
Lea raised an eyebrow, lowering his arms and crossing them defiantly. "Then what do you want?" he said sharply.
"We're here for recruitment purposes," the last figure said. This one was another girl, but unlike the other two, her voice possessed a brash, outspoken quality that lent itself to an illusion of emotion.
"Or rather… re-recruitment," she rephrased, and Lea could almost hear the smirk in her tone.
He shook his head. "Not interested."
"We didn't ask if you were interested," the first girl said. "The Organization needs a veteran."
"Why me, then?" Lea asked calmly, keeping his arms folded and endeavoring not to let his growing tension seep into his voice. "Why not Braig, or Dilan? Or even Ienzo?"
"Axel." The boy's voice was measured and steady. "We need someone revolutionary. The original six greater Nobodies were too cautious in their mindset. We need someone who will assist us in reaching greater heights than they did."
"Why not Rould, then, or Lumaria or Arlene?" Lea's voice was beginning to show the anxiety, now, however hard he fought to control it. "And don't you morons have a Superior for this, anyway?"
"Of course we have a Superior, you idiot," the last girl's voice snapped out at him. "She's the one who sent us here."
Lea's eyebrow shot up once more. "She? Your Superior's a woman?"
"Got an issue with that?" the same girl replied, an eerie tone overcasting her voice.
"No," Lea replied, challenging the girl's shadowed face with a calm stare. "I have an issue with whomever she is sending you three greenhorns out here to recruit me when I already finished my time with the Organization a long time ago."
"Tough," the girl replied. "You're coming with us, whether you like it—"
"—or not," Lea finished, rolling his eyes. "Heard it before, let's just get on with this." With that, he removed a small charm from around his neck, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger until it began to glow brightly and grow at a rapid rate. The new chakrams, exact replicas of his old summons, the Eternal Flames, were in his hands in an instant, and he held them with easy familiarity.
"I'm already late for dinner," he said with a cocky smirk.
He wasn't expecting an archer.
Sure, Xigbar had had his guns, but for crying out loud, those were guns. Easy to spot, easy enough to deflect when you had fire and ninja reflexes.
Bows? Not so much.
The first shot caught him completely off-guard, the metal arrowhead clanging loudly against one of the Flames' sharp blades. He raised the chakrams instinctively to shield his face; the next shot took him right in the side.
Lea collapsed to the ground, wincing as he held his side. The arrow was in deep, which meant that it wasn't bleeding very much, but it hurt like Hades.
"Pathetic," the last girl, the one with the most emotional voice, laughed at him.
Lea glared up at the Nobodies. "Do the three of you enjoy being heartless?" he spat at them.
"We're Nobodies, not Heartless, moron," the girl replied.
"Don't antagonize him, Thexsil," the boy reprimanded. "And to answer your question," he said, turning back to Lea, "no, we don't enjoy it."
"Then why," Lea said, his eyes locking onto Thexsil, boring into her with all their might, "would you want to inflict it on someone else? I don't miss it, at all. I like having a heart."
He could feel her staring back at him, but she didn't answer.
It was the first girl who answered him. "If we swell our ranks, we'll be that much closer to achieving the return of all our hearts," she told him quietly.
"What, by finishing Kingdom Hearts?" he asked, looking up at her instead of at Thexsil. "Do you all really believe that you'll get your hearts back by doing that?"
"Of course," the first girl replied, although she sounded a little shaken by the question.
"He's just trying to mess with you, Mixu," Thexsil said.
Lea shook his head. "My Organization never finished Kingdom Hearts. We got our hearts back after both our Heartless and our Nobodies were destroyed." He looked straight up at Mixu. "That's the only way. Trust me. Kingdom Hearts being finished is not a good idea."
Mixu bit her lip, glancing back at her two companions.
"He's lying," Thexsil said instantly.
"He doesn't sound like he's lying," the boy replied.
"I agree with Zanex," Mixu said. "He sounds honest to me, and his mind isn't giving me any signs that he's lying."
Thexsil shrugged. "I still say we take him," she said. "He'll be useful anyway, and if he's telling the truth, we'll just kill his Heartless. And then I can kill him," she finished. Lea did not like the tone of relish that tinged her voice as she discussed his demise.
"Whatever," Zanex shrugged.
"Weirdo," Mixu added.
"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Lea asked. The arrow wound was beginning to pulse with burning pain now; red spots were swimming in front of his vision.
"No," Thexsil replied.
"You don't even know that I'll get a Nobody!" Lea protested. "Just because it happened once doesn't make it a guarantee!"
Thexsil shrugged. "Worth a shot. If anything, it'll get rid of you; you're getting on my nerves." She smiled evilly.
More whooshing sounds erupted as Heartless materialized throughout the alleyway, their hungry yellow eyes immediately locking onto Lea.
"See you in the World That Never Was… Axel."