A/N: Hello everyone! I'm new to the RWBY fandom, and I haven't really caught up with Kingdom Hearts since the KH3 DLCs came out, so I apologize if some of the things I mentioned here are not canon-accurate/compatible. I mean, this is an AU fic after all, so please, if you're looking for canon work, I'm sad to say you won't find that here. Anyways, this is kind of a plot-bunny that's been on my mind for a while now. I'm thinking if I should write the actual long fic I've been planning to, or if I should just stick with posting drabbles from that long fic idea. For now, I've decided to do the latter, so if you guys enjoy, let me know if you'd be interested in reading the full longfic version of this work. Also, I will clarify some details that are marked with bold numbers in the chapter in the AN at the bottom.

Lately the RoxasXWeiss pairing has been on my mind. I think they're an interesting pairing considering how similar they are in certain aspects, aspects that I try to highlight in this first chapter. I have to admit I just came up randomly with the pairings at first, but the more I thought about them, the more they started to make sense to me.

Plus, as a clarification, in this AU, Team CFVY was present during the Beacon Ball, so they actually handle the event in this fic (Team RWBY simply stood in for them in the show iirc). Which means the Team RWBY members are free to participate in the dance with their dates hehe.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy! I'll see you in the closing A/N!

It was almost a perfect evening.

His teammates were dancing (more like swaying, really) slowly to the gentle, romantic music with their respective partners. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

They almost looked like normal teenagers.

And they would have, had he not known of the tumultuous pasts each of them had to endure to reach the present moment.

A few feet in front of him was Sora, his former 'Other', current team leader, partner, and best friend (aside from Axel and Xion, of course). The brunet was, quite frankly, the savior of so many—including himself. If it weren't for his efforts, then those who were lost to the darkness may have never found their way back to the light. Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Xion, Naminé, himself, and dozens, possibly hundreds more, owe the boy a great deal. Sora was the Champion of the Light, the one who was destined to guide people back down the right path should they stray too far from it. But none of that mattered here.

Not at all.

Here, he was just Sora, a sixteen-year old boy who was simply trying to not step on his redhead date's toes on the dancefloor. He seemed to be doing well so far, as he and Ruby appeared to be giggling to themselves. The superspeedster was probably talking about something related to either sweets or weapons again, two things that Sora had grown exponentially fonder of as he grew closer to the redhead. It was nice to see Sora smile again, especially after what happened between him, Riku, and Kairi… (1)

He shifted his gaze to the right until his gaze landed on his uncanny lookalike, Ventus. He could still remember the first time they were properly introduced to each other. They spent a good half-minute just staring at each other, marveling at how much they looked exactly alike—from their hairstyles (including hair color), to their eyebrows, and everything in between. The only blatant difference they had physically was their eye color—Ven's had a light shade of green, while his were the deepest shade of blue that 'anyone could ever imagine'. Out of all his teammates, Ven was currently the only one moving in a manner that could be called 'dancing'.

The older lookalike had an easy smile on his lips as he moved with his raven-haired partner. He sighed to himself. He had gotten to know Ven quite a bit over the last few months. He didn't know him as much as he knew Sora, but he knew enough to know that Ven had a very…forgettable past. He was genuinely happy that someone aside from their teammates accepted him for who he was in one Blake Belladonna. Never mind that he spent ten years 'asleep'. Never mind the fact that he had been fighting his whole life. As he danced with Blake, he looked just as he seemed—a seventeen-year old who was having a lovely time with a young woman he not-so-subtly fancied. (2)

Finally, he turned to his left to rest his eyes on his last teammate—the anomaly, Vanitas. At the conclusion of the battle against Master Xehanort, they found Vanitas' unconscious body in the outskirts of the Keyblade Graveyard. He was taken in by Master Yen Sid, and when he regained consciousness, it was found that Master Xehanort no longer held any influence over the boy's mind, heart, and soul. For the first time in his existence, the boy birthed from anger, hatred, and pure darkness, was finally free.

But of course, things were never that simple.

At first, he couldn't believe that someone who resembled Sora so much possessed so much…animosity. While he didn't necessarily hate him, he was not particularly fond of him at all. Apparently, being free from the darkness did not entail forgetting hardwired beliefs from years of anger and cruelty. It took some time, and numerous incidents where he wanted to do things to the older boy that would've made Xemnas proud, but Vanitas was finally starting to act more like a human being and less like a killing machine. Said boy was currently glaring at his blonde partner, Yang, while she was just smirking at him teasingly. His teammate was moving as stiff as a penguin, but the brawler, with a surprising amount of grace, was leading the dance to make the pair as elegant as they could possibly be. It was hard to believe that months ago, Vanitas and Yang tried to beat the Dust out of each other whenever they could. But somehow, in their own, short-tempered, violent way, they had grown close to a point where their entire team knew that Yang was probably the one person outside the team that Vanitas had some semblance of concern for. It didn't matter that Vanitas was a vessel of darkness just almost a year ago. On the dancefloor, he looked just like any awkward, teenage boy did during a formal dance event. (3)

Right there and then, he began to understand why Master Yen Sid sent the four of them to Remnant.

They were sent to Remnant, because in Remnant,

Sora is not the Saving Grace

Roxas is not the Bereaved Warrior

Ventus is not the Broken Boy

And Vanitas is not the Destitute Vessel

They were simply boys. Boys who were finally getting to live the lives that were stolen away from them by unfortunate circumstances. This scene in front of him proved just that. (4)

It was almost a perfect evening.

Almost.

He shifted his gaze, and he resisted the urge to frown at what he saw.

The young woman he wanted to ask to be his date, and the young man that she actually asked to be hers.

He couldn't quite comprehend it himself. When he first met her, she was as condescending as Xigbar, as pompous as Larxene, and as cold as Saix. All in all, she was the exact kind of person he absolutely wanted nothing to do with.

At least that was the case at first.

Eventually, she saw that her arrogant, proud persona was just a front…for the most part. From offhanded comments from her teammates and their peers, he eventually discovered that her initial behavior was the result of her father's influence. After some clarifications with Sora and Ven, he came to understand that people were normally 'raised'/mentored by their parents. Given his experience with the Organization after his 'birth', he was not surprised to find that there were 'parents' who mentor their 'children' in not-so-good ways. What he didn't expect though, was for her to have a similar experience. After all, wasn't her family supposed to be noble, or honorable, or renowned, or something along those lines? So why would her father treat her like that? Either way, he was in no position to judge her.

He first met her during the day of orientation, where she was yelling at Ruby for tripping on her luggage. One thing about Roxas was that he despised bullies. All kinds and sorts of them. His days with the Organization were to blame for so. With that, the normally reserved boy interrupted the heiress on her tirade and politely asked her to calm down. When she started snarling at him and talking him down like he was vermin, he let her have a piece of his mind. Long story short, hurtful words and blatant threats (on her part) were exchanged between them. By the end, he thought he'd never see her beyond the kind of attitude she displayed that day.

How wrong he was.

He eventually got to know her. Things progressed—from scathing remarks, to snide greetings, to passive-aggressive comments, to cold stares, to begrudging interactions, to indifferent nods, to civilized exchanges in class, to games of chess, to small talk, and finally, to 'friendly' conversations.

The more he spent time around her, the more drawn he became to her. Maybe it was because of how similar their goals were—to turn their pasts, something that was decided by others for them. into something that was truly, solely theirs. The Organization purposed his life as soon as he gained consciousness, as her father did with her. She never spoke much about her past, but she didn't have to. He had always been a perceptive one when it came to body language—the rampant obsession with the heart and its nature during his time with the Organization facilitated that. He could tell, from their time together, that she was trying her hardest to reform herself from her father's manipulations.

It was not difficult to see, if one was paying attention. The most obvious instance being her attitude towards Faunus. She went from being a prejudiced bigot, to at the very least being merely indifferent towards them in the span of months. It was not that big a change, and perhaps others could do better, but he knew she was really trying her hardest if the books about Faunus culture she would read in her little secluded section in the library after classes were anything to go by. (5)

She was not fond of her past, but instead of running from it, she accepted it and strived to ensure that her future would be different.

Which was exactly what he was trying to accomplish as well.

After his rebirth, Roxas became a much more grateful person in general. He was grateful for the second chance at life that he was given. He was grateful for the people around him who strived to make the realms a better place. And most importantly, he was grateful for his friends being given the same chance that he was at being 'whole' people.

Be that as it may, Roxas also accepted that no matter how hard he tried, the past will always be in his heart. The pain, the sorrow, the anguish…they were all real, and they will forever be real within him. As thankful as he was for being able to live again, he can never bring himself to forget everything Xehanort and his personas put him and his friends through. No matter how strong a person is, he/she cannot survive the ordeals he had and come out unscathed. It was just impossible.

So instead of forgetting, he remembered. And now, he strives to shape his future differently. Which was why he had chosen to retain and nurture his connection with the dark realm when he formally began his journey to being a Keyblade Master. He embraced the darkness, the very thing that brought so much pain and ruin to his life.

Very much like her.

As he stared at the dancing couple, his thoughts unconsciously drifted back to what transpired earlier between him and her date.

"I don't understand why you'd do such a thing" the blond commented with a frown, his forehead creased in confusion.

"I, uh…it, uh… it just didn't work out, you know?" Neptune stuttered.

The blond tilted his head slightly to the side. His knowledge on social matters was limited, but even he knew that was a rather weak excuse "Somehow I doubt that's all there is to it"

Neptune sighed before looking shamefully down the ground "I…I can't dance!"

The blond blinked "What?" he blurted out before he could organize his thoughts.

The blue-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck "I try really hard to, ya know…look the part of being cool and all. I wouldn't wanna let my hard work go to waste now, would I?"

The blond paused, digesting the new piece of information "So," he began with an utterly bewildered expression on his face "you'd rather let a girl down just to protect your image?"

"Pretty much, yeah" Neptune answered with a nod.

The blond slowly exhaled and mentally reminded himself that he was from another world and has gone through quite a lot for someone his age. He calmly replied "Life's too short to be worrying about petty thing. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but who's going to care if you had one night of being 'uncool' in your late teen years?"

"B-but-"Neptune stammered.

The blond interrupted him before he could form a coherent thought "Do you like her?"

The question made the blue-haired boy pause for a moment "Yeah, I mean I don't know her too well yet, but she seems pretty cool"

"Then just go talk to her" the blond advised, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe "She doesn't care whether or not you're cool. She asked you to this dance. She just wants to have a good time with you, that's it. She didn't invite you so she could judge you or anything like that. It takes a lot for her to personally initiate things with other people, so don't take her asking you to be her date lightly" he lectured "Honestly, how bad can one night with someone who clearly wants to spend time with you be?"

Neptune furrowed his brows as he considered the blond's advice. After a few moments, he sighed and met his gaze "You're right. I should at least give her a shot"

The blond nodded "I guarantee it'll make her night"

Neptune shot him a smile "Thanks. You're a great guy, ya know?"

He simply dismissed the boy's compliment with a shake of his head "Nah"

Neptune's expression suddenly turned into one of curiosity "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"You seem to know an awful lot about her" Neptune commented before carefully asking "Why didn't you ask her to be your date then?"

To his surprise, the blond just gave him a small smile "I'm not the one she wanted to go with" he replied easily.

Neptune raised an eyebrow "You could've asked her when I didn't show" he grimaced at the last part of his sentence "I don't think she would've minded going with you"

The blond shrugged "That's not for me to decide" he wasn't going to tell him that he did plan on asking her, but found out she already had a date before he even had a chance "You better get going. The dance should begin soon" he said as he began to walk away.

"Y-yeah, I guess" Neptune replied lamely.

Before the blond could go any further, he halted in his steps "And Neptune?" he called out without turning back around.

"Yeah?" Neptune acknowledged.

"Treat her right" he turned to meet the blue-haired boy's gaze and offered him a small smile "I didn't give her up just to see her not have a good time" he finished before continuing his walk, not bothering to wait for Neptune's response.

The feeling of his vibrating Gummiphone (which was disguised as his scroll) snapped him out of his thoughts. He pulled out the device from his pocket and read the message displayed on the screen.

Green light.

- VI

He schooled his features to ensure that anyone watching him would think he was merely browsing his scroll. A few moments later, he got up from his seat and casually made his way to the restroom. All the while, he was very mindful of the keen eyes of two particular individuals who were inconspicuously keeping track of every guest present in the event. He almost smiled. It was times like these that made him glad he became a member of the Organization.

When he arrived in the men's comfort room, he paced to inspect the area. After confirming was alone, he chose the cubicle furthest from the entrance and entered. Upon locking the door, he closed his eyes and imagined the exact destination he wanted to go to. Seconds later, a corridor of darkness emerged in front of him. He took a calming breath and stepped in.

As soon as he arrived in his desired spot, he pulled out his scroll and quick-dialed his 'teammate' for this particular operation. The call was picked up before the first ring could even finish.

"Zed, I'm in position. What do I need to do?" he murmured as he began walking. (6)

"The countermeasures you uploaded beforehand should give us enough time to complete the virus redirection process. Just follow my lead"

"Roger that" It was going to be a long night for him.

Good thing no one was looking for him

…right?

A/N: How was that? Feel free to leave a feedback guys, any sort of comment is always appreciated (even flames!). For those of you who found it vague, by the way, Roxas used the corridor of darkness to travel to the CCT in Vale (the one that Cinder infiltrated during the Beacon Ball). Now on to some detail clarifications:

(1) As I mentioned this drabble came from a KHxRWBY long fic I've had in mind of doing for a while now. In my planned long fic, Sora does NOT disappear after KH3, and Kairi and Riku get together after they return to the islands. Sora's a bit down about that, but in the end wishes his two best friends well. I have several reasons on why I think RikuXKairi can work, but I'll save those for another time, or when I actually do the long fic hehe.

(2) Continuing off of the first clarification, in my long fic AU, Terra and Aqua decide to remain in the Land of Departure. Terra, out of guilt for falling into the darkness (which lead to the death of his master), and Aqua out of her sense of duty of being a Keyblade Master. They both decide to train new apprentices and prepare the future generation of keyblade wielders. Ven on the other hand, wanted a more 'active' life after being asleep for ten years.

(3) In my long fic AU, I decided to let Vanitas live instead of completely dying. I've always personally liked his character, as he made an interesting villain especially in BBS. Plus, I've sort of imagined him with Yang, where it'll be a kind-of-toxic sort of pairing, but one that can possibly work out well in the end. I tried to provide as much details about Vanitas in this chapter as you may have noticed, but even that is not enough to fully illustrate my ideas for his character as far as my planned fic is concerned.

(4) The premise of my long fic is that basically, Yen Sid allows Sora, Roxas, Ventus and Vanitas to take their Mark of Mastery exam, as the possibility of KH4 is heavily implied in KH3 and the DLCs. My idea is that, given how the four of them really didn't have a 'proper childhood' (except maybe Sora), that Yen Sid would arrange for them to train in an environment where they can live as close to normal as possible. I also have reasons as to why I chose the world of Remnant as the world they get sent to (aside from the details I mentioned in this chapter), as I plan to make Remnant the sort of "key world" for the events after KH3. And tbh, I really think the idea of making Sora and Ventus "whole" with their counterparts is pretty underused in the fandom, so I'm trying to change that here hehe. Also, in this fic, I decide to make Ven and Vanitas 17 years old, as Sora and Roxas were 16 at the end of KH3. My explanation for this is that the magic that protected Ventus slowed down his aging (instead of completely stopping it).

(5) This particular detail I'm actually not too sure about if it really happened in canon? But a lot of RWBY fanfics detail this, that after Blake and Weiss' argument about the former's identity, that Weiss' views on the Faunus started to change. So I mentioned this detail of her reading books about Faunus customs to account for that.

(6) 'Zed' is not actually a name, but a phonetic for the letter Z. If you look at the message Roxas received on his scroll, it was sent by 'VI', which is basically Zexion, or in this case, Ienzo, as his Org XIII number was VI. I made Roxas call Ienzo Zexion so that in case anyone overhears him, they would never know the actual name. Just a little detail I wanted to add for more 'mystique' hehe.

Anyways, thanks for reading guys! I can't promise when I'll be able to upload the succeeding chapter/s (at this point I haven't decided yet if this is going to be a two-shot or a three-shot, so please help me decide via review or PM), but I hope you enjoyed. See you guys next time!