I couldn't sleep at all last night. Roxas was on my mind. How was he going to get along with the others? So far, he only ever talked to me (and, to a lesser extent, Zexion). Was this week going to be worth it for him? Why do I care? I can't remember the last time I cared this much about anyone. So much for always asking people, "Got it memorized?" Look who didn't remember! I needed to turn off my mind. I turned to my left — I was still in bed — and grabbed my music player. While I loved Shosty and Tchaikovsky, I wasn't in the mood for excitement. I wasn't sure what I wanted, except that I wanted it to be something different.

So, I started searching. My music player had access to a database where I could find anything I wanted as long as it was musical. I supposed I could spoil myself and buy some music — I had plenty of munny just waiting to be spent.

"Sibelius… Schubert… Oh, what's this?" I stumbled upon a rather unassuming name — "Schmidt." Franz Schmidt, to be exact. The database didn't have much on him. The guy wrote this opera about Notre Dame, so he must've been familiar with that world. It was two hours long, though, and I wasn't sure whether I could listen to that much in one sitting without getting bored.

Additionally, and what most interested me, Schmidt wrote four symphonies. The fourth was his most famous. Schmidt dedicated it as "a Requiem for my daughter," who died in childbirth. Heavy stuff, but still… intriguing. What would make this piece stand out? I had to give it a listen.

It began with a solo trumpet. If you've ever heard of "Taps" — dah, duh-DUH, dah, duh-DUH… — it sort of reminded me of that, only slower and more graceful-sounding.

Dah… duh, dah, DOH…

When the trumpet finished playing, the strings slowly joined — first, the violins and violas, continuing where the trumpet left off, followed by the cellos and basses plucking away somewhat menacingly in a slow, march-like tune, along with a low drum — a timpani, I think it's called — pulsating methodically. More instruments joined until the timpani banged loudly, and all the brasses sang in a blaze of glory before everything stopped and continued quietly.

Dooh… dooh-DOOH, dooh… How creepy the brasses sounded, now muted, the lower strings plucking again, the woodwinds developing the theme initially stated by the solo trumpet.

Dah-DUH-duh-DUH, dah-DUH-duh-duh-DUH, duh…

So went the violins as the harp arpeggiated. Bitter, but sweet. Tender. This Schmidt guy had me hooked.

Forty minutes passed. After much tenderness (particularly in a solo cello) and violence in the second movement, unease and collapse in the third movement, and the solo trumpet's return in the final minute of the symphony, I think it was safe to say I was satisfied. If only I didn't have these damn markings below my eyes. Then, I might have cried to this, like I wanted to for Shosty's Leningrad Symphony. All I have are memories of crying, and vague ones at that. Back when I was still Lea… Lea was such a crybaby. Fiery and passionate though he was, Lea was always sensitive. Didn't he have a crush on a boy? Damn it, my mind is back into overdrive. I can't wait until we complete Kingdom Hearts. Then, just maybe, I wouldn't have to deal with—

"H-hey there. Axel, right?" A girl's voice. Young. Innocent. No bite like in Larxene's. Act cool.

"That's my name. Xion, I take it?" I asked with a forced smirk.

"Yes."

"What brings you here?"

"Sorry. I guess I got a little lost. But I recognized you by your spiky red hair."

"Smart girl. Though it's not like anyone else has my flaming locks!" I said smugly. That made the cloaked girl giggle a little.

"Hehe. By the way, what were you listening to?"

"Music," I answered tersely.

"What kind of music?" Curious — and a little sassy.

"A symphony. Ever heard of that?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Right, you wouldn't know. You've only been around for a day. Have you met Roxas?"

"R-Roxas…"

"Short kid with kinda spiky golden hair. Our resident Keyblade wielder before you arrived. You can wield the Keyblade too, can't you?"

"Yes. Well, in theory. I haven't been able to summon it yet." Oh?

"Really? I'm sure you can do it. All it takes is a bit of concentration."

"Right. I'll keep that in mind." Suddenly, I had an idea: I wanted to give her a tour of the place, just like I did with Roxas. Roxas… I hope whoever was with him treated him right. If he didn't —, no, give Xion a tour.

"How about I show you around the place, so you don't get lost again in the future. Sound like a plan?"

"Sure," Xion replied tentatively. Never once did she pull down her hood. Xion didn't need to keep it up all day, but I supposed that was just her style.

We toured around many of the same areas that Roxas and I traversed on his first day at the Organization — the Round Room, the training grounds, and so on. Along the way, I asked Xion about her previous life. Like Roxas, she had no memories before becoming a Nobody. Suddenly, I thought of Zexion — it'd been a while since I last spoke with that cute little nerd. Our Keyblade wielders would make interesting subjects for him. But then I thought of Demyx. When was the last time we talked? Were it not for him, I would've shown no interest in music. And Xion seemed curious about it too.

"Hey, Xion, let's see Demyx!" I said excitedly.

"Who's that?"

"Slightly shorter than me, he's got dirty blonde hair, and his weapon's called a sitar. He's a music buff." Despite her hood concealing her eyes, I could tell that she stared at me blankly.

"Just come with me. You'll know him when you see him." I opened a Corridor of Darkness, through which w both entered, ending up in Demyx's usual spot: the Grey Area, the Castle's lounge.

"Hey, Axel. Long time no see. What have you been up to? And who do you have with you?"

"Demyx, you were at the meeting yesterday. This is Xion. Xion, meet Demyx, our resident slob."

"Hey!" I loved teasing him. Everyone did, really, and I was going to encourage Xion to do the same. Xion gave out a halting impression of a chuckle. She definitely couldn't do the "pretending to emote" thing quite as well as the rest of us. Even Roxas could — no, stop bringing everything back to that kid! He's not the center of the universe!

"Uh, Axel?" Demyx asked, eyebrow rising.

"What?" I answered a bit sharply.

"I'm… not gonna ask. Anyway, you want me to meet the new girl."

"Yes. Maybe you could introduce her to music like you did with me."

"Sure, but it'll probably not be your genre."

"No matter. Anything's fine. Xion's pretty curious, right?"

"Yeah, that sounds right. What's a 'genre,' though, Demyx?"

"A kind of music. Music comes in many genres. Axel over here likes 'classical music,' which I think is very long and boring. Lots of instruments, long songs that can go on for, like, thirty minutes or something. Not my genre. I like anything featuring this baby." Demyx summoned Arpeggio, his sitar, and showed it off.

"Is that what Axel meant by 'sitar'?" Xion asked.

"Correct!" we both chimed in, which made all three of us laugh. Xion's laugh sounded more genuine this time. She was learning fast.

"Watch me do this!" Demyx exclaimed as he began an improvisatory riff on his instrument. You couldn't deny the fact that he was talented at something. Soon, waterworks started appearing (Demyx's attribute was water). You'd think fire and water never share anything in common, but sometimes, opposites do attract, even if over one thing. And sometimes, they don't — the soon and moon rule over day and night, and never the twain shall meet for a reason.

Xion seemed genuinely wowed by Demyx's display, and who could blame her? There was a time when I thought this stuff was cool too.

But, suddenly, I felt… off. I couldn't quite sustain the feeling of "impressed" anymore because something else had come to replace it. Demyx seemed to notice and slowed down his playing. No need to ask — I think he could sense it, too. Tension. But where was it coming from? I excused myself and tried to leave the Grey Area when I bumped into someone, causing both of us to fall.

"Ugh, watch where you're going, you — Roxas?" My eyes weren't deceiving me; he was back! But so soon, though?

"Axel! Thank goodness you're here. I need your help. Marluxia — he attacked me!" WHAT? Oh, I'm gonna kill that flower boy! Just in time because a Corridor of Darkness had opened, and in came Marly. I lunged for that fucker's throat and pinned him against the wall.

"Ack!" Marluxia cried out, too stunned to say anything.

"So, I've heard a little rumor going around about you," I said acidly, my voice darkening in tone to pitch-black, which surprised even me. I liked it. It made me feel… powerful — in control.

"I heard you attacked a member of the Organization," I continued. "You know that's a big no-no, Graceful Assassin."

"And I heard… that that Organization member… wears the face of a murderer," Marluxia managed to quip.

"Bullshit!" I snarled. My grip on his neck tightened, and it began to singe.

"What's going on?" Xion asked, genuinely flummoxed.

"Stay out of this," Demyx told her, his own voice darkening. "Axel, let him go."

"You're hurting him," Roxas managed to say almost pleadingly. But I didn't listen. It takes a lot to douse a fire, especially one burning a fire.

"AXEL!" Sharp, pointed, condescending — Saïx. "What is the meaning of this?!" The Luna Diviner had his claymore Lunatic drawn, ready to kill anyone daring to disrupt the Organization's harmony, so precious to him.

"Ask flower boy over here," I answered sarcastically, refusing to loosen my grip on his neck.

"Marluxia attacked me on our mission together, and I returned to the Castle to ask Axel for help, but when Marluxia came back, Axel just… snapped," Roxas explained.

"Snapped…" Saïx echoed almost unbelievingly. "Axel, release him."

"What? Are you crazy? He tried to kill one of our Keyblade wielders!"

"Not on my fucking watch, he isn't!" Saïx snarled wolfishly.

"Ack! Let go of me, fucker!" Marluxia cried out pathetically. I still held my grip on him.

"Now," Saïx commanded, his voice dripping with venom. That did it for me.

"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. I released Marly.

"Good. Now, I could have Xemnas turn you both into Dusks, and it wouldn't especially bother me, considering you both tried to kill a member of the Organization, an unacceptable breach of conduct." Saïx gave a grim pause. "Or… we could make a deal, with Demyx, Roxas, and Xion as our witnesses. On pain of death, none of you will ever speak of this. Do I make myself clear?" The other members nodded along. "I said, 'Do I make myself clear?'" Oh, he wanted us to say it.

"Yes, sir," we all replied in unison.

"Good. Starting today, I will never assign another mission with Marluxia and Roxas together again. Whatever led you to attack our first Keyblade wielder, I don't want to hear about it. Am I clear?"

"Loud and clear, boss," Marluxia replied smugly before coughing a bit.

"And as for you, Axel. Never attack another Organization member, even if they attacked one of our won. Vigilantism is strictly prohibited. Understood?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I mumbled half-heartedly.

"What was that? I couldn't quite catch it."

"Yes, o luminous Luna Diviner, lapdog of Xemnas!" That made Demyx and Marly giggle and snicker, but Saïx's icy glare shut them up pretty quickly.

"Very well. To reiterate: This incident never happened. Roxas, come with me. I will assign a different member to you for tomorrow."

"Okay," he complied.

Well, that was quite the spectacle. I can't say I enjoyed all of it, but on balance, I think it was worth it. More than anything, I was glad Roxas was back.