He awoke in his metallic room again, but oddly, he didn't remember falling asleep, or if he even dreamt. Ignoring this fact, Roxas exited his room, making his way to the Grey Room without getting lost. Strolling into the rightly named room, he watched with sullen eyes as Saix strolled up to him, appearently awaiting his arrival.
"Roxas, your work begins today," Saix spoke in a monotone voice, acidic lemon orbs devoid of emotion as he stared down a Roxas with a air of authority and arrogance."I will issue missions, which the Organization expects you to carry out. Thimk of these early missions as exercises. You still have much to learn before we put you to a real test."
Saix turned his head to Xigbar, who waited with his back against the massive glass window, arms crossed while he stared out into space, oblivious. "Xigbar will be joining you you your first time." Saix annnounced, and the latter looked over lazily."Isn't that right, Number II?"
"Well, damn. " Xigbar snickered, rolling his eye."You makin' me the kid's babysitter, are ya? Ass..." Xigbar muttered the last part under his breath, before sauntering up to Saix, standing a full head and more above the blunette.
"Surely you don't mind showing Roxas here the ropes?" Saix said, slightly perterbed at his superior's attitute towards Roxas, who may hold the key to their futures as a Keyblade wielder. 'How insolent...' He snarled to himself. "Roxas, come see me when you're ready to go..."
He walked away, shaking his head. Xigbar turned towards the dwarfed teenager next to him, smirking.
"Ya heard him, eh? Seems startin' today, I'll be your regular ol' babysitter. Will I need to change your diaper, now?" Xigbar said with mock disdain, crossing his arms. 'Babysittin' job? This sucks, what an suck-up asshole...First de-throned by that asswipe, now this? C'mon... Gimme somethin' better to do..' Xigbar thought.
Roxas looked down with a touch of irritation and spite, huffing.
"Come on, kid, it was a joke. Lighten up, ya lil' zombie..." Xigbar gave a disarming grin, and ruffled Roxas' hair before walking away, letting Roxas stare at him with a urge to smack him, yet with a wondering gaze; The latter took his place resting against the massive window. Roxas continued to stare at Xigbar, who ignored him and everyone else in favor on spacing out. He in turn huffed and walked up to Saix, who simply sighed and shook his head.
"You're ready to go, I suppose?" Saix didn't even acknowledge Roxas.
"Okay..." Roxas gave a soft reply; When Xigbar heard Roxas speak, he strolled over.
"Teach him well, Xigbar." Saix said in parting.
"Yeah, yeah.." Xigbar scoffed."I'll be sure the kid makes the grade. C'mon Roxas, le's get outta here."
Roxas didn't say a word as the sniper opened a oily black and purple portal, too enthralled by the tiny girl standing near Saix; Xigbar looked over with a smirk, tapping Roxas on the head.
"What's up? You worried 'bout the new kid?" He asked playfully, crossing his arms."Damn, what was that name again..."
"Number XIV, Xion." Saix butted in the conversation, making Xigbar glare at him.
"I knew that."
"Xion." Roxas muttered softly.
"Got it down pat, don'cha?" Xigbar said with a grin.
"...Yeah.." Roxas nodded, and looked down again.
"Ya sure? Hrm...How 'bout my name?" Xigbar inquired with a raised eyebrow, grinning like a hyena.
"It's Xigbar." Roxas responded as quiet as ever, not even looking up at the much taller man.
'C'mon, kid, I don't bite. 'Least not too much," Xigbar chuckled and ruffled the teen's spikey hair again, evoking a 'hmph' from the latter."How 'bout our boss's name?"
"Xemnas..."
"Very cool, Roxas. Ain't gonna forget, now are ya? Let's get this show on the road." Xigbar beckoned for Roxas to follow him through the portal. With a flash, dull light dazzled them as the pair strolled into what appeared to be a sallow tunnel made of golden bricks and sorrel colored wood. To his right was a silver, steel gate and in front of him was a small platform, connected to a larger one. It was alot different compared to the castle with its monotone greys and whites, marked only by metallic blues every so often, with ornate patterns carved into the walls with, guess what: Grey and whites, the only colors. For nobodies, they could at leats have some color in the castle, maybe a dash of red or a splash of green, lighten up the dank atmosphere.
"Now," Xigbar turned to the teen behind him with a smirk."Lemme tell ya what we do on missions. So, Missions are...uhh...Well, all ya gotta do is...huh..."
Roxas watched with a sense of confusion as the man who was supposed to be teaching him, was tittering to himself as he attempted to explain what missions are. For a man who looked so interesting and shrewd at first glance, he certainly failed in those catagories... He gave a small, humorous 'huh' at the man, who simply scowled and scratched at the nape of his neck, muttering.
"Hey, you don't know nothin', so...Eh, y'know what?" Xigbar exclaimed suddenly, smirking."Talking is stupid. How 'bout we get our hands dirty, eh? Least you ain't gonna laugh when you start working'yer ass off like the rest'a us. Follow me."
Roxas raised a eyebrow and as the sniper abruptly turned and dashed, executing a acrobatic front flip to reach the top of the platform. Xigbar turned with a smirk, crossing his arms. Roxas frowned at the silent challege, and charged at the platform, leaping as high as could. He only succeeded in barely grasping the foudation before he pulled himself up with a flip, landing on feet, but falling squarely onto his backside with a groan; He heard mocking clapping and he looked up.
"There ya go, kid. Good job." Xigbar said, bending down with a grin to tap the teen on his head."Too bad I ain't got'a prize for ya. Oh well."
"Thanks." Roxas said with a small smirk at the tiny triumph; Said triumph was slighty crushed when Xigbar spoke again with a laugh.
"But don't think all ya gotta do is run'n jump through all yer missions. It'd be nice, but nothin' would ever get done. Since ya don't gotta do that, you need to BE AWARE!" Xigbar said, making exagerated hand movements as he spoke as if this was a pantomime."Heartless'll eat'cha up if you ain't payin' attention. Got a scar ta prove it."
"What...What do you mean? Heartless?"
Xigbar slapped his forehead,"Exactly that, but you hafta look around. Sometimes what'cha lookin' for is, like, right their next to ya. Memorize this kid. And Heartless...eh, you'll found out."
Roxas stared into a playful golden orb with wonder. This man obviously had been through alot...He wondered what else the man knew. The only thing was...why did he move his hands like that? To help him get the point? It was as if the man couldn't help it, like he had Tourette's Syndrome...
"Y..yeah, I think so." Roxas smiled.
"Cools. Time for a test." Xigbar smirked."Get that brain workin' in there lil' zombie. There's a treasure chest here, and I need ya to find it."
"That's all I have to do?" Roxas questioned, slight confused. He thought he was going to do more than find a simple treasure chest...
"I know, don't hurt yerself. Them treasure chests are feisty lil' things, ain't they? Anyways, don't forget ta look. I'll follow, so go wherever." Xigbar let out a empty laugh as he stared at a expectant Roxas.
Roxas nodded and decided to go left first, following the pathway down golden stairs. Oddly, there were a few boxes, but he ignored them, continuing past the closed off arch. A blue number '4', outlined by white poined towards the left, so Roxas followed, with Xigbar smirking.
"Dead-end, ain't it?" Xigbar read the teen's mind.
"Yeah.." Roxas huffed.
"Gotta be aware..." Roxas ignored the man's chiding remark, and turned around, heading towards their starting point; He scowled at the chuckles behind him. Passing where the portal lie, he ran into the next opening where he saw a switch. It seemed if he flipped it, a shortcut to the portal was unblocked; He flipped the switch, and the gate adjacent to him creaked and slid upward.
"Good eye, that's bein' aware kid." Xigbar said, following Roxas, who jumped down to another section of the tunnel. He poked around the corner, where the latter was attempting to figure out the strange barricade.
"Xigbar...What's this?" Roxas questioned as said sniper strolled up to him lazily.
"A barricade. It means you ain't supposed to go this way, duh. " Xigbar mock sneered, fiddling with his ponytail.
"You mean there's nothing down there?" Roxas asked another question; Damn kid asked alot of questions... Wasn't Xemnas or Saix supposed to explain stuff like this? Wow, he really was a babysitter...
"'Course there's stuff down there, it don't just lead off to empty space and aliens. We just ain't supposed to go down there, them barricades keep us on track." Xigbar chuckled again.
"Empty space and aliens?" Roxas remarked with confusion.
"'Course not." Xigbar ignored the implications of him being crazy in the teen's statement."Also keeps us outta trouble. I mean, big freaky lookin' X? If I didn't know it wasn't gonna hurt me, I'd take the beaten path, thanks."
"They don't hurt?"
"Nope."
"Huh, they look like it."
"Yeah, keep movin' kiddo."
Roxas continued down the path; south was blocked by yet another gate, so he went north where he spied a twinkle of something shiny.
"Hey, look, ya found it. Good job, but no prizes from me..." Xigbar said, congradulating Roxas, who strolled up to the treasure chest proudly.
"Now what?" Roxas questioned.
"Always with the questions, kid.." Xigbar sighed and shrugged."Get yer prize. I never said you weren't gonna get one, eh."
"I thought I was just supposed to find the chest. Aren't I done?"
"Kid, chest's got stuff in'em. Prizes and shit, c'mon."
"So should I open the chest?"
Xigbar merely stared at the appearently ignorant teenager in front of him, before he burst into laughter.
"Duh, 'course ya are!" He guffawed, shaking his head while Roxas pouted and scowled again."I mean, yeah, that's generally what we do! It's a free-for-all, get the prize!"
Roxas ignored Xigbar, and tapped his keyblade on the chest; it popped open with a 'clink' and he reached inside, pulling out a bottle of shiny green liquid: A Potion.
"Good work.." Xigbar had finally stopped laughing at Roxas enough to speak normally. "You got yer prize. Now, it's time to RTC."
"RTC?" Roxas looked at up at Xigbar, whose expression had switched from laughing to still about to laugh, yet slighty annoyed.
"Questions, questions...RTC, return to castle, y'know, home? HQ? No? Awright, just lead us back to the portal, but don't get lost." Xigbar gave Roxas a short snicker.
Roxas nodded, but laughed inwardly, running around the corner to where he knew the shortcut was. He hopped down with Xigbar behind him.
"So bravo," Xigbar broke the silence before Roxas stepped into the portal."Whaddaya think? Got the hang'a things?"
"Uh-huh." Roxas muttered.
"What was that ya said? My pointy ears diiidn't quite catch that." Xigbar said with a grin.
"I said..."
"Hrrm?"
"I could have done that blindfolded." Roxas said with a air of arrogance, yet annoyance at the mission.
"Ha ha! I don' think a blindfolded zombie on the loose is a good thing, kid." Xigbar outright snickered in Roxas' face, ruffling the boy's hair much to the latter's irritation."Awright smart aleck, ya did good. Do you need a prize that bad? Guess I can let it slid, no missions complete without a lil' icin' on the cake. C'mon."
Xigbar turned and began to walk away, but Roxas stopped him. "But...don't we have to RTC?"
"A-ha. Lost the arrongance, did'ja? Later. Don't you remember our hangout?" Xigbar asked jokingly, with with a tone seriousness.
"What hangout?"
"The Clocktower." Xigbar said.
"Oh." Roxas quipped.
"C'mon, I'm buying. But you pay next time." Xigbar clapped his hand down on Roxas shoulder, calling up a portal. "I'll go get the icecream while you wait."
"Buying what?" Xigbar had already left, so he shrugged and headed through the portal in front of. Arriving on pale beige stone, he stared down at the many roof's colored pale blue, greens, pinks, and oranges, relishing the breath taking view of Twilight Town's neverending sunset, green sea and periwinkle train bridge, where a odd purple and golden train traversed the rails slowly. He sat on the edge of the thick railing overlooking the massive clock; This was the clocktower afterall. Fiddling with the metal straps on his coat, he glanced at the worn, golden-brown bricks behind his head, and the train station down below. He turned at the familiar 'whoosh' of a portal opening, and Xigbar stood with two sticks of cyan-colored icecream. Xigbar grinned at him and flopped down next to him, handing him a stick.
"Here ya go, the icing on the cake." Xigbar said with raised eyebrows."Take it."
"..." Roxas was silent as Xigbar bit a chuck of salty sweet ice cream from the bar.
"You r'member what dis ice cream ish called, kid?" Xigbar asked out of the blue, staring at a quiet Roxas as he chewed the firm yet softening substance.
"Umm..."
"It's Sea-salt Ice cream. C'mon, I already told ya once. Try and remember, kid." Xigbar chuckled as Roxas took a bite.
"I's really salty...but sweet, too." Roxas whispered finally, rubbing his tongue along the roof of his mouth to pick up any traces of unique ice cream.
"Ha ha! You said the same thing the other day."
"I did? I don't remember that..."
"Hey," Xigbar ignored the comment."It's been, like, a week since you showed up?"
"Maybe." Roxas stared out into the sunset, confused and silent. Why couldn't he remember anything? There was nothing to give him a reason too maybe, no exceptional events, just...living.
"'Maybe?' C'mon, you gotta remember that much, kid." Xigbar stated with a smirk.
Nothing but silence, so he spoke again, sensing the teens growing anxiety.
"Well, that's a-okay. Today's where it begins anyways." Xigbar ruffled the teen's blond locks again, and his hand with pushed away playfully.
"Yeah?"
"Sure. You're out in the field now, workin'... Today, you're one of us." Xigbar said with pride.
"I guess it's a start..." Roxas muttered.
That was my first day working for the Organization.
They gave me missions, and I carried them out.
But if you asked me what my job was...
I would have just stared at you...
