Day 162

Axel sat precariously on the edge of the clock tower, one leg propped on the edge, the other dangling freely toward the tram station below. A baby-blue ice cream bar rested in his hand with a single bite taken off: sea-salt ice cream. They never even bothered to look at any other flavors; maybe because a different flavor would ruin their routine. The sunset's about to enter its prime time, Axel thought. Those two better hurry...

"Hey, Axel." His thought was immediately interrupted by Roxas's voice. He turned his flaming mess of a head to see the boy approach and sit on the edge next to him.

"About time," Axel retorted with a grin. "What kept you?"

"Oh, please, this is when we're supposed to show up!" the boy teased. "You're just early." Roxas also held the stick of an ice cream. They held a wordless toast with their sea-salts and took simultaneous bites. The two friends sat silent for a while until Axel tried to break the ice.

"Sooo...how was your mi-"

"Axel, what's a kiss?" the boy said suddenly. The question startled the senior member a bit.

"What kind of a question is that?" he asked.

"I dunnow...I saw some people during my mission in Agrabah and it didn't really make much sense. They pressed their lips against the other's...and said something about how they loved each other's kiss," Roxas explained. "I know you know a lot about how and why people act, so I was just curious."

Axel brushed the back of his flared hair with his hand, looking for the right words. What WAS a kiss? Axel-or rather, Lea-had never actually kissed anyone before he became...well, what he was now. "Well...um...what you saw? That's a kiss."

"But why would anyone want to do that?" the younger questioned, puzzled.

"See, when two people care about each other more than anything else and would do anything to keep themselves from losing the other...then they show it by kissing and hugging and such."

Roxas thought about this. "Well...I care about you and Xion...and I don't know what I'd do if I lost either of you..." he said slowly.

Axel quickly caught his implication and upon realization, scooted a few inches away and held his arms to keep the distance. "WHOA, whoa whoa whoa whoa! No! I mean, not us!" Roxas only tilted his head, still confused. "The thing is, you have to reeeeeeally care about them. As in, have a heart. And besides, it mostly happens between a guy and a girl. I mean, I've seen exceptions, but still...Not us! Got it memorized?" Axel exclaimed.

"So...like me and Xion, or you and Xion?"

"Look, there's a lot more to it, a lot more rules involved. There's gotta be a really special connection for it to happen. I, in particular, do not have said connection with No. XIV, okay?" Axel took another bite and made a facepalm. "What am I saying? This implying that we actually have hearts!"

Roxas stared back to the sunset, his blonde locks swaying in the twilight breeze. "Okay, I think I kind of get it," he stated, also taking a bite of his ice cream bar.

They sat in silence again until Axel broke the ice again. "Hey, Roxas. Betcha don't know why the sun-"

"Hey, guys," Xion greeted, turning the corner onto their hangout.

"Hey, Xion!" Roxas said happily.

"Some other time then..." Axel said to himself. The girl sat down next to Roxas, her coat dangling partway over the side like the rest of theirs. Axel eyed her for a second. "Hey, where's your ice cream?"

Roxas noticed it too: her gloved hands were bare. "Huh?" she said. "I thought I asked Roxas to grab me one earlier."

The blonde-haired kid thought for a second. When the memory came around, he hung his head. "Aw man. Sorry, Xion. I forgot..." he apologized.

Xion frowned, but grinned again. "It's fine," she reassured. "At least I didn't miss the sunset."

A few more minutes went by, Roxas still bummed out and Axel finishing his sea-salt. Staring at the sunset, the boy suddenly felt a cold drop send a shiver up his leg. A melting drop of his half-eaten ice cream had snaked its way into his shoe and to his bare skin. He held up the stick to the gorgeous sky background. There was still a decent amount of ice cream on it...He had an idea. Roxas turned to the girl with short, ebony hair. "Here," he said, holding out the stick to her.

Xion didn't know what to say at first. "But...Roxas, that's yours. I can't take what isn't mine," she stated.

"Not if I'm giving it to you," Roxas replied. "Take it," he added with a smile.

The girl was uncomfortable, but smiled at the gesture and took the ice cream from him, their hands briefly touching for a moment. She bit into the remaining sea-salt, sending chills down her stomach and up her brain. "Thanks...Roxas," she muttered.

Her expression suddenly twisted to confusion. She put her free hand against her temple. "Huh?" she thought aloud. Xion brought her hand down to her cheeks, feeling that they were hot and slightly red. Roxas watched this, suddenly realizing his cheeks were warm, too.

"What's this?" Roxas said. From behind his back, he heard Axel trying not to chuckle. The boy turned to face him. "Axel, are you doing this?" he asked, his cheeks growing redder. Axel couldn't help but start to laugh.

"Axel!" Roxas and Xion shouted in unison. Axel wouldn't answer, so the younger two sat and watched the sunset in silence as it fell. No more words were exchanged as they returned to the castle...

Day 163

Roxas woke up the next morning like every other day. It couldn't really be called "morning" though. Twilight Town had a sun that rose and fell each day, but the castle had nothing to signify a new day. Vexen had explained there was some sort of aura around the world that woke them up and put them to sleep in place of "mornings" and "nights." Then again, he might've just said it to get Roxas to leave him alone. He never found out.

The blonde boy had wondered how their coats stayed clean all the time after all the missions and nights slept in them. On the other hand, they protected the Organization against the darkness of the Corridors and they somehow perfectly fit to anyone wearing them, so cleanliness wasn't the biggest of his questions. After adjusting his gloves and ruffling his hair up again, the thirteenth member exited his bedroom into the hall. Thirteen rooms lined the corridor, seven and six on each side respectively, though five of the bedrooms now lay collecting dust, their owners lost to oblivion. He had been told Lord Xemnas had no use for a bedroom, instead meditating in a room near the peak of the castle. Traversing through the castle to the Grey Area, Roxas came across Xaldin, the No. III, approaching from the opposite direction. In the moment of their passing, Xaldin grinned down at the young teen. "Enjoy the flowers," he whispered, not even breaking his stride. Roxas stopped and turned to question it, but the man had already turned the corner, ceasing whatever potential there had been for conversation.

Roxas scowled and crossed his arms, continuing on his way. "What was that supposed to mean?" he said aloud to no one.

On entering the Grey Area, Saïx stood at his normal post, ready to bark orders at anyone who dared near him. No. IX, Demyx, lay sprawled across the couch, strumming away at his sitar. No. II, Xigbar, stood off to the left of the panoramic window, staring off into the dark sky. "Time to get this over with," Roxas muttered, gathering the courage to talk to Saïx. Something about the dead gaze from his yellow eyes or his expression of absolute nothingness made Roxas uneasy. At least everyone else mimics the memories of their emotions. This guy didn't even bother pretending to have any.

"Roxas!" Xion called from behind, entering the room. She walked up to him, her bright, blue eyes looking into his. "I asked Axel again just now what it was that happened yesterday. He only called it a blush, but wouldn't say anything else about...Weird, huh?" she explained.

"Doesn't sound like anything to worry about," Roxas added with a smile.

"So, good luck on your mission!"

Xion seems pretty enthusiastic today, Roxas thought.

The girl was about to go when she added, "Oh...and thanks for the ice cream yesterday."

The boy suddenly felt himself beginning to "blush" again, but tried to stop it. "Heh heh, no problem," he managed to say, holding up a hand to one cheek.

The thirteenth and fourteenth approached Saïx together, preparing themselves for his inhuman, monotonous voice. "You two...I have a mission that requires you to team up today," he said in his usual, unusual calm. "A large horde of Poison Plants have invaded the Destiny Islands. We need the two of you to dispatch them before they get out of hand." Roxas couldn't quite place it, but there was something odd in the way he said "invaded."

"Oh, good. We get to team up today," Xion said with a big grin towards Roxas.

"Yeah, we're unstoppable together," Roxas put in.

Saïx summoned the Corridor of Darkness, ready for use. Xion was about to take the first step inside when the No. VII suddenly said, "One moment please."

Ugh, what else do you want from us? the boy thought.

"This is no ordinary Heartless horde. The Poison Plants have been growing in very peculiar-and hidden-areas. And you realize we want them ALL destroyed."

"Yeah, so?" Xion asked. Saïx glared at her, and continued.

"We only want to make sure you take care of them all...which is why I want you two back no earlier than three hours," he stated.

"What!" Roxas exclaimed. "Our missions never take that long!"

"Four hours it is," Saïx added. Roxas was about to argue again when he was cut off, "Do we want to make it five?"

Having lost the battle, Roxas hung his golden-haired head. "No," he muttered. The duo stepped into the portal, Saïx calling back to them, "If I catch you back here within four hours, you will very much regret disobeying your orders. And don't forget: destroy every...last...one." A brief smirk covered his face as he called out these last words...