Organization

I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Studios. This is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way.

Here we are, my dear readers! Enjoy!

The world of Twilight Town, existing in the exact center of the Realm Between, was, with the possible exception of Radiant Garden, perhaps the second most knowledgable world in regards to Keybearers. Three made this world a permanent home, and there were others who were frequent guests. Twilight Town being what it was, what had been long-held rules regarding World Order were much more like "suggestions."

And it was at the ubiquitous Clock Tower, the tallest, most iconic building in Twilight Town that one of the permanent residents and one of the guests were meeting.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised," Axel said. "Don't usually see you on the Clock Tower."

"I wanted to speak to you privately," Aqua said. "And check in on my students."

"Right, Master Aqua," Axel said. "So, what is this, a parents-teacher's conference?"

"I don't know what that is," Aqua said, and for a moment, Axel was reminded that Aqua was almost as clueless as Roxas and Xion when it came to regular stuff. "But I need your help."

"About what?" Axel said. "Stuff that's common knowledge?"

"Tell me about the Organization," Aqua said, and this was in her Master voice. "Don't leave out any details."

"Why would you want to know about that?" Axel asked. "That's about as icky as you can get. And I'm happy to put that stuff behind me."

"That's the point," Aqua said. "I need to know what to do to make sure I put even more distance between the Organization and the others."

"Others?" Axel said. "Ah, you mean my kiddos."

Far below the Tower, Axel could see Roxas and Xion running around with Ven. Their regular friends were there too—Hayner, Pence and Olette. Axel wasn't sure what they were playing—judging from their positions, whatever it was, it was Boys Against Girls. Xion and Olette still looked like they were winning.

"Yes…I've had concerns," Aqua said. "I'm worried about them. And about Terra. I don't want to drudge up old memories, even by accident."

"Yeah…" Axel scratched the back of his head. "I didn't realize Terra had Xemnas's memories. I figured most of it went back to Xehanort."

"It's not just what he has leftover from Xemnas, however much that might be," Aqua said. "You might have forgotten, but Terra's heart was trapped in that awful Guardian…he saw an awful lot of awful things."

"Alright, you've made your point," Axel said. "Well…I'll tell you this much. The fact that you're worried about this in the first place is a credit to your character."

"I appreciate the compliment," Aqua said. "But I prefer specifics. Tell me, what steps should I take?"

"Well…the Organization stifled us," Axel said. "If we didn't do everything perfectly, we'd be lectured. Sometimes badly."

"Master Eraqus would lecture us…" Aqua said. "He was strict…but he loved us."

"I'm not saying correcting someone when they make a mistake is wrong," Axel said. "The trick is to not embarrass them. Xemnas and Saix were awful to Roxas and especially Xion. They'd make huge scenes of telling them how they messed up. And I lost count the number of times that Xemnas threatened to turn Xion into a Dusk."

"They…they could have done that?" Aqua gasped, horrified. "But the Dusks…they're barely sentient."

"Oh, they're aware enough of their surroundings," Axel said. "One of them even made friends with Xion, back in the day. He would get her flowers…but that's not really the point. Don't scare 'em, don't embarrass them. Don't hurt them. Your Master ever hurt you when you messed up?"

"Never!" Aqua said forcefully. Too forcefully. She wasn't being entirely honest. "The Master never hurt us…"

"Then follow that example," Axel said. "No kiddo should ever be afraid of their teachers."

"What else did the Organization do that was…bad?" Aqua asked.

"Well, we only had one vacation day a year," Axel said. "Which sucked. Eventually, you work so much, you burn out, you know?"

"Yes…" Aqua said. "Master Eraqus was always careful that we not over-exert ourselves. He became more demanding as we grew older, but it wasn't until…"

"Everything went to hell that you actually realized that saving the worlds is really stinking hard?" Axel said. "Yeah, I figured that one out the hard way too. There's no amount of training that really prepares you for the real world."

"Master Eraqus said the same thing…" Aqua said. "It was one of the reasons he wanted Ventus to stay home."

Axel had never gotten the chance to meet Eraqus, but he'd heard the stories from Aqua and Ven. In spite of his zeal to destroy the darkness (and really, considering how Xehanort was such a bastard, could you really blame him), he had done right by his students.

"Just…let them be," Axel said. "Remember that Roxas and Xion…they're kids. They're younger than Ventus, way younger really. And that goes for Ven as well. Let him be."

They stared out in silence for several minutes. While they were silent, they took in the sounds of Twilight Town. The electric clanking and hum of the trams. The chugging of the trains. The chatter of shoppers and storekeepers. The cries of excitement from children playing Struggle matches. Axel inhaled deeply, and then found…a blue sea-salt ice cream being waved in his face.

"You guys!" Roxas said. "You came all the way up here, but you forgot the best part!"

"The icing on the cake!" Xion said. "We brought enough for everyone."

Roxas and Xion sat on either side of Axel, Xion squeezing between him and Aqua. Ven sat on Aqua's other side, with two ice creams in his hands. Heh, usually it was Roxas who dual-wielded.

"Yeah…" Aqua said. She reached out her free hand to ruffle Ven's hair. "Let them be."

The potential for a dynamic between Aqua and Axel is one that isn't explored very often, so I decided to give it a shot.

Thank you for reading my dear, dear readers. Leave a comment if you're so inclined! I appreciate each and every one of you!