Author's Notes: I'd like to thank each and every person that leaves wonderful comments. I understand my grammar is a bit iffy in places, but usually that's because I type how I speak, and where I come from 'Cos kick a bow against a wo?' is something of a local lingo. For those of you that have no clue what I typed it actually means 'Can you kick a ball against a wall?' Luckily, that form of lingo is used mainly by old residents where I live. But still, few people where I live talk 'properly', so I do apologise for my mistakes. Plus, I'm a very lazy proof reader x3

Disclaimers: While Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy are amazing, I do not own them. I do however, own a Bahamut (FFVIII) figure and try as I might, I cannot seem to find an Irvine figurine. I nearly bought Auron though (: But instead I bought the Kingdom Hearts manga xP

Story Notes: Roxas, his twin brother Sora and older brother Cloud attend a summer camp called Camp Kingdom Hearts where a member of a group of 'elitist kids' wants Roxas to join them. Roxas is put through a series of trials by each member to see if he is 'Organization' material. Contains slash themes, total and utter rambling, and try as I might, will most likely contain tomatoes.

Down the Barrel of a Gun

Chapter Two

The Organization:

Ever had that feeling that you would rather be anywhere else but where you are right now? That deep, inner desire and need to just be somewhere else, even if it was a place where you felt as lost as a needle in a haystack, but wish as you might, you'll never actually be there, because you're stuck here, exactly where you don't want to be.

"Why so blue, panda bear?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Red hair, green eyes and a child-like and mischievous grin. He'd stopped in his search of flammable things when he noticed Roxas had noticed him, and wanted to know more about this rather glum looking blond with spiky hair that looked almost identical to the brunet that sat beside him. He'd moved from his spot with the large group to take up the vacant spot on the log beside Roxas, and now had his green eyes fixed upon the younger male.

"You look kinda depressed. You stick out like a crayon in a box of matches," explained the redhead.

Roxas sighed, blue eyes giving up on their search for his older sibling and now focusing on the pyromaniac. "I just don't want to be here is all," he explained.

The male chuckled. "Don't see why, this place is great!"

"Obviously you don't mind the name, or the fact that you have a total of zero friends," replied Roxas glumly.

Redhead pouted, then grinned, offering out his hand. "My name is Axel!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

"I'm Roxas," Cautiously, Roxas took Axel's hand and shook it lightly, quickly pulling back his hand once it was released as if he'd been burned. "So what do you want?" Roxas asked curiously.

"To increase the total of friends you have from zero to one!" Axel announced happily. "Now you don't need to be so blue, panda bear"

"Will you quit calling me that?" Just as he suspected, Camp Kingdom Hearts was not only populated by girls, but gays too. No self respecting straight male would call another male 'panda bear'. At least this Axel wasn't calling him 'studly' or 'hunk of burning man meat'. Roxas shuddered inwardly at the thought of being known as 'man meat' throughout the camp. Sora would probably laugh himself half to death.

There was another of those pouts from Axel. "Aww, don't be such a meany. You just remind me of a panda"

"I don't have black circles around my eyes," Roxas explained, drawing a circle around his eye with his finger. "Although you don't seem to mind make-up. What are those things under your eyes?" he asked, pointing to the strange, red triangular shapes decorating Axel's face, just below his eyes.

A finger rubbed over them, proving that they were more than make-up. "I'm a teen rebel," he stated proudly. "You should of seen my mother's face. My father blames the crowd I hang out with, but what he doesn't know I did it as a dare. Larxene said that I couldn't handle the pain of a facial tattoo."

"Larxene?"

Axel grinned, then swinging an arm around Roxas' shoulder, used the other to point to the group he'd previously been with, pointing out the only female in the small group. Shoulder length blonde hair, with two bangs swept back either side of her head, and cold, hard blue eyes. She was chatting to a young male with light brown hair that seemed to have a pink tint and yellow eyes. "The blonde girl," he said. "Or number Twelve if you ask any of the others. Except Demyx, he calls her 'Woah, Scary Lady!" he added.

"Why is she number Twelve?" was Roxas' next question.

This caused Axel to grin proudly. "Well, most of us have been coming to this camp for a few years now, and we've kinda made a group comprised of regulars. Most of us don't see each other during the rest of the year, but we still keep in touch. You came with that guy who was here a few years ago, right? I'm sure I've seen him before"

It took Roxas a few moments to figure out who Axel was referring to, then he nodded quickly to confirm that he indeed knew the one who had previously been here. "You mean Cloud? He's my older brother. He came here when he was fifteen," Roxas explained. He still hadn't found his brother, and by now Port was announcing various staff members. His brother was currently not among them. "He's here as a councillor though now"

Axel nodded knowingly. "I was here for my first year back then. Been coming every year since then. My parents like ditching me here so they can be alone for a whole month"

"My parents have gone to Europe and we couldn't go along," explained Roxas. "What's your number?"

"Hmm?"

"You said that Larxene was number Twelve. That must mean you all have numbers. What's yours?"

"Eight"

Roxas chuckled. "Eight of Twelve. Sounds like something from one of those sci-fi programs"

The grin brightened, and Axel found a twig near his feet, tossing it with expert ease into the roaring flames of the fire, causing sparks to fly up into the night sky. "Be careful then, panda bear. I might just assimilate you"

Truth be told, Roxas didn't seem to mind too much if Axel did 'assimilate' him. The group of twelve seemed an interesting bunch of individuals, but Roxas was still a little unsure. He was used to a small group of close friends, a large group like that one would probably overwhelm him. Axel didn't seem too bad though, even if he was a little strange.

- - - -

Cloud was finally revealed with the rest of the councillors. He didn't have to wear a pair of shorts, but he did have one of those white t-shirts with blue trim and the logo on the back and the small chest pocket. He also had his name printed on the back above the Camp's logo. He had to stand at the front of the group and explain a little about himself to them all.

Once the bonfire was over and all the campers were sent to their cabins, Roxas moved away from the group of boys heading to his cabin and followed the form of his older brother that had wandered off with a young brunette AERIS printed on the back of her shirt.

"Cloud!" he called after his brother, running up behind him. At the sound of his voice, Roxas' older brother stopped and turned around slightly to see him racing up. The young woman with him also paused, smiling brightly at him. "Cloud, wait up!"

"What's wrong, Rox?" Cloud asked once his brother had caught up with him.

Panting in the attempt to return his breathing back to normal, Roxas' eyes looked up into his brother's face for a few moments, before briefly looking to the female. Brown hair pulled back and held in place with a pink ribbon, the thick locks curling down her back. She had a pair of green eyes that Roxas thought were clear and sparkly. So much different from the vibrant emerald that he'd seen belonging to Axel. "How come you were away from the bonfire for so long?" Roxas asked, the question having plagued him for most of the night, even if Axel had managed to keep hold of his attention.

Cloud smiled, knowing his brother sometimes worried about him too much. As the older brother, it was supposed to be Cloud's job to worry about his younger siblings, but for some reason, Roxas was the one that did more worrying about him. "I had to go through a separate orientation," he explained. "You worry too much, Rox. I'm fine"

The female chuckled softly. "I think that is rather sweet that your little brother cares about you so much,"

At this, Cloud blushed. "Aerith..."

She focused her attention on the younger sibling, holding out her hand to him. "My name is Aerith. How about I take some of that responsibility you have about your brother from you?" she asked while Roxas shook her hand. "Here," she 'plucked' the invisible responsibility from Roxas' shoulder, then straightened up and placed it into her pocket.

Roxas gave her a sceptical look. "I'm not five,"

She giggled, patting the pocket in her pink skirt. "Don't grow up too fast. Enjoy your time here. Now, I think you best be getting to your cabin, it'll be lights out soon"

"Yeah, get moving, Rox. Don't make me kick you all the way there,"

Grinning, Roxas turned and began running back to the blue cabin he was to be staying in, waving to his brother as he went. He heard them both calling out their own goodbyes, and shouted his own back to them.

Riku was standing at the entrance to the cabin like some sort of doorman; arms folded across his chest, aquamarine coloured eyes focused on the last occupant of the cabin as he raced up the steps. "Do you want to get us into trouble on the first night?" he asked, sounding far from impressed about how late Roxas was in returning. The fact that they didn't even know he was gone before it was too late didn't impress the silver haired boy much either.

"I was only talking to my brother," Roxas spat out, pushing past the other male and heading to his bunk. Sora was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to theirs, tongue peeking out the corner of his mouth while his fingers fumbled with what looked like were twisted pieces of metal. "What're you doing?"

"Its a puzzle," explained the lilac haired youth that sat opposite Sora, his own fingers absent-mindedly working on another. There was a large collection of twisted metal on the bed between the two youths, and several other boys were gathered around with metal in their own hands. "The aim is to separate the pieces." To further prove his point, the male held up the two bent and twisted nails in each of his hands.

"I've nearly got it!" announced Sora, his own body twisting as he moved and jingled the interlocked puzzle pieces in his hands. He made a sound of delight once the two came apart, holding them up for all to see. "I did it! Zexion, look, I did it" Grinning triumphantly, he held out the two pieces to show the other.

So this was Zexion.

Axel had mentioned something about one of the members of his group being called Zexion. Plus, Port had said something/ignored the shouts from someone named Zexion when they had first arrived.

Zexion smiled. It wasn't one of those smiles that held a happy emotion – it was more of a reflex smile. It seemed like he had barely ever had a genuine smile on his face. "Now try to get them back together again,"

Sora's blue eyes widened in shock and his mouth hung open. Somewhere near him, Roxas heard Riku snigger. "Back...Together?"

Zexion nodded. "Getting them apart is the first part of the puzzle – and usually the easiest. Putting them back together involves you thinking backwards as you retrace your steps"

Groaning in defeat, Sora slumped backwards onto the bed, covering his eyes as he mumbled his complaints about how hard the puzzle was.

"Lights out, gentlemen!" came a shout from the doorway.

The sound of metal hitting metal resounded around the cabin as many of the boys flung their little twisted nails onto the pile on Zexion's bed and ran to the bunks, climbing in and snuggling up beneath the blankets as if they'd been there the whole time. Sora had leapt up from Zexion's bed and was scrambling up the ladder into his own bunk. When the sound of boots upon the floor came, many more heads ducked beneath their pillows.

Zexion remained seated on his own pillow, the one eye left unshielded by his hair looking towards the man walking through the cabin. "Biggs? Again?" the boy asked, seeming almost smug.

The man, dressed in the camp's t-shirt, turned to look straight at the young teen, eyes narrowed. "Well, nice to see you back again for another year, Zexion"

He nodded his head calmly in reply, taking his time in packing up his little puzzles. "Did Wedge force you to return for another year?"

Biggs scoffed. "I do not follow his orders," he began. "And I expect you to hurry up and get into bed. Lights out was called five minutes ago"

From his position in his bunk, Roxas watched this Biggs person intently. He acted like he was an army general of sorts; especially the way he stood. Back straight, arms folded behind him, eyes focused upon the young Zexion.

Zexion was still taking his sweet time about things, further irritating Biggs. It was at least ten minutes later when Zexion had finally got into bed and Biggs' eyebrow was twitching like mad. Roxas was sure the man was going to snap, but thankfully all that happened was the man cursed under his breath and stomped out of the cabin, switching the lights out as he went.

There was an united sigh of relief sweeping through the cabin like the waves sweep the shore when Biggs left. There was a lone chuckle from someone, but in the dark, Roxas couldn't see who they were. He presumed it was Zexion.

- - - -

Morning came as a short, sharp shock.

Well, it was more like a constant banging type of shock, but morning was flung upon him rather suddenly.

Sitting up and narrowly missing banging his head on the bunk above, Roxas caught sight of Biggs marching up and down the cabin banging a soup ladle against a metal pot. In the light of the morning Roxas was able to see the man more clearly.

Biggs was tall and stocky with short cut brown hair that was gelled in that messy yet spiky style. He wore the camp t-shirt and a pair of camo pants. His black boots were polished and clunked upon the cabin's wooden floor nearly as loud as the ladle against the pot.

"Time to wake up!" he bellowed, banging the pot harder and close to one of the boys that was trying to ignore the man and his horrible wake up call. "The sun is up, and so should you boys!"

"I'm up! I'm upupupupupupup!" came Sora's voice from above Roxas, and the blond could of sworn Sora literally fell off the bunk with the speed he came crashing down at. Running to the end of the bed, the brunet stood with his back straight and his hand saluting the older man. "I'm awake and ready, sir!" he called.

In the bed next to theirs, Riku was sitting in his bunk laughing. Looking over, Roxas could see Zexion was chuckling as he climbed out of bed at a leisurely pace. Seeing how they reacted, Roxas found it best to follow suit and not make a total and utter fool of himself like Sora.

"Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria in fifteen minutes!" Biggs called out. "And I expect to see each and everyone there with as much enthusiasm as this kid here!" He pointed to Sora, who had been looking rather embarrassed about the way he'd woken up, despite the fact several others had done the same. Obviously those that had visited the camp previously knew about Biggs and were either not fussed or trying to wind him up. Being mentioned had Sora grinning like an idiot.

Roxas rubbed his eyes as he stood beside his bed, then stretched and yawned. If this was how he was going to be woken every day that he was at the camp, Roxas was sure he was going to hate it even more. He was hoping breakfast wouldn't be so bad.

- - - -

Hope doesn't go a long way at Camp Kingdom Hearts though...

As he approached the designated food hall, there was chaos ensuing. Several girls ran screaming from the building, and even a few boys joined them. Curiously and cautiously, Roxas headed inside the building to see what was happening.

He wished he hadn't though.

Tables had been pushed over, chairs were scattered everywhere. Luckily the food was safe – apart from the few bowls and plates the campers had that were now scattered among the mess in the food hall. There were still some people inside, one of which Roxas instantly recognised, chasing a youth about his age with dusty blond hair in a rather strange style.

"OHMIGAWD! NO!" shouted the blond as he was tackled from behind by Axel, the pair crashing to the ground. "Sir Squirrel-kins!"

"What's going on in here?!" shouted Port as he raced up the main steps to find out what all the noise was. "Demyx! Axel! What is going on here?"

"Sir Squirrel-kins!" whined the youth beneath Axel who had promptly sat upon him.

"Demyx caught a squirrel this morning," explained a blue haired youth that stood off to one side, watching everything happening around him with bright yellow eyes.

Port sighed, bringing a hand to his face. "And where is the squirrel now?"

Demyx reached out a hand, motioning towards the rafters where a furry grey squirrel sat, looking to be in mortal peril on one of the beams.

With those pair trying to catch it, Roxas thought if he was in the squirrels place he'd be in fear for his life too.

"Biggs, Wedge! We have an emergency!" Port shouted over his shoulder.

"Don't worry!" exclaimed Axel, bouncing off the other teen and quickly pulling a box of matches from his pocket. "I'll smoke him out!"

There was a long and drawn out "No!" from Demyx as he watched Axel moving towards the general vicinity of where 'Sir Squirrel-kins' was hiding out. Not wanting to see the furry little creature come to harm, the teen quickly snatched up a bucket of water that had somehow managed to survive the little act of chaos and tipped it all over the redhead that was trying to start a fire using napkins beneath where the squirrel was.

By the time that Biggs; accompanied by another man, arrived, Axel was soaking wet and Demyx was bouncing up and down on his heels, arms outstretched while he attempted to coax the squirrel down from it's hiding spot.

Wedge sighed softly, patting Biggs upon the shoulder. "At least its not a newt!" he said cheerfully.

"You're an idiot, Wedge"

"Aww, stop picking on me" whined Wedge as he walked over to Demyx's side. He was slightly shorter than Biggs, and not a stocky, but he still had the frame of a man that held strength in his slender frame. His dusty brown hair was about shoulder length, soft and silky looking. Green eyes and a soft smile, he was almost an exact opposite of his friend. Patting Demyx lightly on the shoulder, the man found a chair and climbed up, trying to capture the frightened animal. "What happened to Newty Newtington?" he asked conversationally.

Demyx pouted. "He died," he replied sadly.

"What a shame," Wedge replied, grabbing the little squirrel. "What happened to him?"

"My mom stood on him," whimpered Demyx, holding out his hands towards Wedge once he'd stepped down from the chair, acting like a little child with the 'grabby hand' motions until the squirrel was passed to him.

Wedge smiled as Demyx clutched the little thing to his chest. "Now take him outside and let him go," he advised. "We don't want another incident"

"Do you know how much of an ass you are?" Biggs asked, moving to wedge's side as Demyx rushed past.

Wedge pouted. "Come on, stop picking on me"

Roxas couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. He also couldn't believe that the sopping wet mass of red hair has chosen to stand next to him. Glancing up at him through the corner of his eye, Axel grinned back at him.

"Morning, panda bear"

Rolling his eyes, Roxas turned on his heel and headed back out of the hall. He didn't need this now.

- - - -

Author's Notes: Heeheehee (:

I'd like to thank my good friend Roxy for the squirrel idea