Dear Roxas,

All right, so…I guess this is it. Day one. The first day I met and knew you. The greatest day of my life. Well, second greatest day, maybe.

Either way, I was twenty-four. You were twenty. We met through work. We worked for a company called the Organisation. Talk about a boring name, right? But hey, at least it was easy to get memorised.

Well, it started off as a normal day. Marluxia, Saïx—my roommates—and I all woke up at the same time to get ready for work. It was one of those few days when the boss wanted us all in for the mission. I still can't believe they called the work days missions just to make them sound more enjoyable. Tch. I digress.

"Do either of you have any idea what's going on today?" Marluxia said as the three of us ate breakfast together. A rare occurrence in and of itself. "I mean, when was the last time the boss had us all come in?"

"I haven't the slightest," Saïx said.

"You really don't know?" I said. "Damn, I figured at least you might."

"What? Why me?"

"Because the boss favours you," Marluxia said.

"He does not."

He shrugged. "At least we can carpool today."

So, we finished getting ready and drove to work. The Organisation was, in a sense, an amusing place to work. After all, none of us even really understood what the point of the job was. We just did the work we were assigned and never asked any questions.

Maybe we should've.

I had been working at The Organisation for eight years at the time. It had been up and running for thirteen years. It was owned by three brothers: Xemnas, Xigbar, and Xaldin. Although, it was Xemnas who actually called all the shots; he was the one we called Boss. And he rarely ever checked with his brothers so there was almost always a lot of fighting. But no mission ever went incomplete. They'd have us out on our asses before we could even say our own names if that were the case. So, I was always sure to get my missions done. Especially after you came around. Although, you made concentrating a lot more difficult.

"Know what sucks about everyone being called in today?" Marluxia said once we arrived at the office building. "This means we'll have to see Larxene. And any day you have to see her is a bad day."

Saïx and I laughed at this. "Can't argue with that," I then said.

So, the Organisation had a select few leaders. Marluxia, Saïx, and I were some of those leaders. Then Larxene was another one of those leaders and she was the only female leader. And she was a leader despite the fact that she was an awful employee. Now I have nothing against women, but she only got that spot by sleeping around. And she didn't care who knew. I swear she was proud of herself for that.

Either way, I digress. So, we walked into work and were first greeted by Vexen.

"Nice of you three to finally join us," he said.

"We're on time," Saïx said. "No need to go berserk."

"You're just barely on time."

"We're still on time, Vexen. Get off our case."

He sneered and returned to his desk.

"I'm sorry, but it's still funny how that man has it out for you, Ax," a voice said from behind. We turned to see Demyx and Zexion walking over to us. Demyx was chuckling. "You've been here longer than him and he still thinks he's better than you."

"He's a coward," I said. "He never even speaks to me directly."

"Just don't try starting anything," Zexion spoke up.

"Now, why the hell would I do that?"

"Oh, good, you're here," a female voice interrupted. That was when Naminé joined us. "You three have to start showing up on time; I can't keep punching in for you guys. Vexen almost caught me today."

"You'd never be fired, though," Marluxia said. "You're the best assistant the group has ever had."

"That doesn't protect you three."

He smiled. "Look at you, getting all worried."

"Oh, shut up, Marly."

"Marly," Demyx and I said, snickering.

His smile dropped. "Shut up."

Now Naminé laughed. "Relax, they're just teasing. That's what friends do."

"No, it's not."

"Well, I guess you chose shitty friends, then." And with that, she kissed Marluxia on the cheek.

"No public displays of affection, little sister," the most annoying voice in the world said. Larxene stopped beside us, her arms folded across her chest. "You're not one to break rules, so don't break that one."

"You're just jealous," Zexion said.

She laughed. "Please, like little Nami here has anything for me to be jealous of."

"At least she earned her position in the company due to her intellectual skills and not her abilities on the mattress," I said.

She glared at me. And, man, if looks could kill I would've been dead a hundred times over.

"You know it's true," Saïx went on. "We all do. Plus, it's not like Naminé got the job because you referred her like a nice, normal sister would do. Then again, she didn't need your referral. Not that it'd be worth much anyhow."

Larxene turned her glare on him. "You little—"

"All right," Naminé spoke up. "Enough of that or I'll have to report each and every one of you."

That was all it took to make Larxene walk away.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" she said as soon as her sister was back at her desk. "You know what? Never mind. All of you get to work on your missions for the day. The boss has an announcement for us around noon." And she walked away.

"Was that wrong?" I said.

"She doesn't need us to fight her battles for her," Marluxia said. "Especially not the ones against her sister. She grew up with Larxene so she knows how to handle her."

"Doesn't change the fact that she's a bitch," Demyx said.

"Enough of that," Zexion said. "C'mon, let's get to work."

So, we all separated to our individual desks to do missions that none of us understood. Each of us had a particular theme, though. Xemnas did…well, nothing. Go figure. He just sat around in his separate, secluded office all day long. Xigbar's missions always had something to do with space. Xaldin's with wind. Energy, maybe? I dunno. Saïx's always had something to do with the moon. Marluxia's with flowers. Especially roses, for some odd reason. Zexion's always had something to do with illusions. Demyx's with water. Luxord's with time. Lexaeus's with the earth. Preserving it? Doubtful. Vexen's always had something to do with ice. Larxene's with electricity. And then yours always had something to do with light, while mine always had something to do with fire.

In a way, I found that coincidental, since fire and light go hand-in-hand. You always thought I made too many weird connections like that. But it was those weird connections that led me closer and closer to you.

Anyway, we all worked the morning away. When the afternoon finally rolled around, Naminé returned to the office area.

"Attention, everyone," she said. "The boss would like us all to gather now for a very important notice."

So, we all got up and met with Xemnas in the conference room. We sat in our assigned seats and just waited, watching him. After about five minutes, he finally turned around in his chair to face us all, and he rose to his feet.

"Today is a special day," he began. "Today the workload decreases for you all. Today we add a new member to our team for the first time in three years."

Everyone exchanged glances and murmurs of the news.

Xigbar jumped out of his seat. "We never discussed this."

"Oh, but I believe we did."

"As if."

Xaldin had remained seated, but his arms were folded across his chest. "We don't need a new man on the team."

"And I thought otherwise," Xemnas said.

"You can't keep doing this," Xigbar went on.

"He's already here. He's already an official member of the Organisation."

Xigbar sunk back into his chair, defeated. He and Xaldin knew their brother well enough to know when not to pick a fight. Xemnas then gestured to Naminé and she walked to the door in preparation.

"Please, welcome our new member," he started, nodding for her to open the door, "Roxas Sinclair."

And that was the first moment I laid eyes on you. Your blue eyes scanned the room in an almost cautious manner. I felt them sweep over me and resisted the urge to jump to my feet. Because from the moment I saw you, something inside me was eager to hold you. I never understood that feeling. Even after all we went through, I still don't understand it. I just know that it was one of the best feelings in the world.

"Starting tomorrow, the lot of you will take turns training him," Xemnas said as he sat back down. "Just show him the ropes of the company and make sure he's aware of all the rules and his responsibilities as a member."

"Shouldn't that have been done before you hired him?" Xaldin said.

Xemnas rolled his eyes. "Are we still on that?" He then faced you. "Mr. Sinclair, this is your team. They will introduce themselves."

Xigbar sighed. "My name is Xigbar Heart. I'm one of the co-owners of this business, even if it doesn't always feel that way."

"Xaldin Heart. I'm also one of the co-owners of the corporation."

"I'm Vexen Winter."

"Lexaeus Greene."

"Zexion Grey."

"Saïx Foster."

It got to me and I choked. I felt as if I had forgotten my own name. But before it became noticeable I managed to pull myself together. "Yo, the name's Axel Rizure." And the pressure was off.

"I'm Demyx Nathanson."

"Luxord Cardholder."

"Marluxia Jenison."

"Larxene Bishop."

"And I'm Naminé Bishop." She smiled wide. "I'm the assistant here and I'm free at all hours if you need any sort of help."

"And these are the only people in the business who matter," Xemnas said. "Don't worry about anyone else you see around the building. They're nobodies." He straightened his tie. "You'll start your first official day tomorrow. As for the rest of you, you're all being treated to the rest of the day off. But I need each of you to come back in again tomorrow. Dismissed."

You were quick to get out that day. I couldn't blame you. We were a pretty intimidating group of people. And on the way back to our apartment, Marluxia and Saïx both made simple comments about you. I just nodded along. I couldn't open my mouth because I knew that if I did I wouldn't be able to shut up about you.

And I started feeling all of that just by seeing you for a single moment.

Yours Truly,

Axel