Xemnas sat in his chair looking down at the hooded figure in a black cloak. Others, also in black cloaks, sat in chairs. Not all the chairs were taken.

"I would like to welcome No. IX, our newest member."

"Great, so we got nine members now. Big whoop. I just want to go back to my room," Axel thought as he slouched in his chair. The hooded figure removed his hood to reveal a dirty-blonde mohawk.

"Great, my name's Demyx. Oh oh, do I get one of those chairs too?" Demyx said excitedly.

Everyone was dismissed from the meeting and Axel went back to his room. It wasn't long before Saïx walked into his room. "Ever hear of knocking?" Axel sluggishly sat up.

"You will be working with No. IX until he understands how things work around here," Saix said plainly.

"Why do I have to babysit him!?" Axel complained.

"Because you were new not too long ago. You can teach him the ropes."

"You haven't been here that long either."

"Yes, however, I'm not the one giving the orders."

"Thanks, you can leave now," Axel said sarcastically. He flopped back down into bed and turned his back to Saix. Saix left without a word, closing the door behind him. "Has it really not been long? It feels like I've been here for years," Axel thought as he lied on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He let out a sigh and rolled onto his stomach before dozing off.

Axel made his way to the grey room. Demyx was already there sitting on the couch playing an instrument.

"What's that?" Axel asked as he walked over to Demyx.

"It's my Sitar," Demyx smiled brightly as he continued to play.

"It sounds weird."

"Take that back!" Demyx pursed his lips and his eyes began to water.

"Hey, no need to cry, man! All I said was that it sounds weird." Axel started to back away from Demyx.

"Axel, quit fooling around and get started on your mission!" Saix called from the center of the room.

"Alright, alright..." Axel walked over to him.

"You have a recon mission with Demyx in Twilight Town. Be sure to teach him the ropes."

"Yeah... I got it. Come on, Demyx. You're with me today," Axel said unenthusiastically. He opened a dark corridor and Demyx followed him wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. They walked into an alleyway in Twilight Town.

"This is my first mission. I can't wait. So, what do we do?" Demyx asked.

"Well, we're on a recon mission so we just have to check things out and fill out reports when we're done." Axel started for one of the town squares.

"Oh... Reports..." Demyx's smile went away and he sloughed his shoulders. "I don't like reports..."

"Yeah. Well, recon missions are the easier ones, so you can't really complain that much."

"I guess... Hey, what's that?" Demyx started to run into the square.

"Demyx, wait! We're not supposed to be seen..." Axel started after him. Demyx ran into the square were a tournament was happening.

"Wow. Check this out, Axel!" Demyx stood by the stage. Two people stood ready to battle. Axel walked over to Demyx.

"Demyx, we can't be seen. We have to get out of here, now," he whispered.

"Oh, come on. Can't we at least watch what happens? Please?" Demyx begged.

"No, we can't. We have a mission to do." Axel was starting to worry. He didn't want to be seen. He was hoping to get out of there as fast as possible, but Demyx wasn't going to leave.

"Alright, begin!" the announcer said. The two people began to fight for the title of champion.

"Wow, look at them go! Who do you think will win, Axel?" Demyx watched with eagerness. It wasn't long before someone was knocked down.

"Our new champ. Liya." The crowd cheered in excitement. Axel quickly turned to look at the girl. He was surprised to what he saw. The girl look to be about his age. She had long, straight dark brown hair that came to the bottom of her shoulderblades. It almost looked black, but Axel knew that it wasn't. Her eyes were blue with a small ring of brown by her iris. She had a kind smile, one that could mend a broken heart.

"It can't be her…" Axel stared at Liya

"What are you talking about?" Demyx broke Axel's focus.

"It's nothing…" He looked at the ground. "Let's just get out of here and continue our mission."

"Ok…" Demyx followed Axel towards one of the alleyways. Liya smiled as she scanned the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of something red and turned to see two men in black cloaks dart around a corner.

"That looked like… Lea…? But it couldn't be him… could it?" Liya stepped off the stage, made her way through the crowd, and started to run after the men once she reached the alleyway. She ran down several streets until she hit a dead end. "It really looked like him…" She headed back towards the square.

"Alright, what was that about. Who was she?" Demyx demanded. Axel had opened a dark corridor at the dead end street and brought Demyx to the top of the clock tower. Axel sat down on the ledge and let out a sigh.

"I used to know her… and I can't let her see me." He scratched the back of his head. "I thought she was back in Radiant Garden. How did she end up here?"

"So was she a friend?"

"You could say that." Axel looked down at the square below.

"Won't she be happy to see you though?"

"I don't know about that... It's getting late. We better report back." Axel stood up and opened a dark corridor.

"Alright..." Demyx followed Axel back to the gray room before Axel started to head for his room.

Axel was lying on his back, with his hands behind his head, looking up at the plain white ceiling when Saix walked into his room. "Again..." Axel sighed. "Knock first before you walk in. Got it memorized?" He pointed to his forehead.

"I need you to teach No. IX about mission reports." Saïx said

"He can't do it on his own...?" Saïx just stared at Axel. "Fine... I'll do it." Axel got off his bed and headed for Demyx's room. Axel knocked on the door before entering.

"Oh, hey Axel!" Demyx smiled. "I need some help with this thing." He held up the report paper.

"Demyx... It's not that hard to do. It literally tells you what to write. Look," Axel took the paper and put it on the desk in front of Demyx. "Your name goes here, and your member number goes here." Axel pointed to each spot explaining to Demyx what to write. "Ok, do you get it now?"

"Yeah I think so. Thanks man!" Demyx smiled as Axel started for the door.

"Sure... No problem..." Axel said plainly rubbing the back of his head. He reached for the door when Demyx spoke.

"Hey, I know it's none of my business, but that girl we saw today. You said you knew her..."

Axel cut in, "Look, it's best we just leave it and forget about it. It's not important." Axel left the room before Demyx could say anything else, instead he just picked up his sitar and started playing forgotten/abandoned love. After Demyx sang the first few measures, Axel stormed back into Demyx's room. "Hey can it will ya!" He slammed the door before heading off.

"Wait..." Demyx thought. "She is important to him." Demyx smiled happily as he started to think of a plan.

Thanks for reading I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter.

I will try and have a new chapter up every other week.

Please review/follow/favorite. I'd like to hear what you think. Thanks again :)