A/N: Oh my God, guys, you are seriously awesome. OVER 5,000 HITS!!! That is the most I have ever gotten for a story, so thank you. I can't believe how popular this story got--I wasn't even expecting it to be as popular as it is. Then again, me putting out the first chapter before 358/2 Days came out may have had something to do with it. XP But, sigh, Xion's chapter next, and then it's over. I get somewhat bummed out just thinking about it. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 13: Roxas the Chosen One

Ah, I can now move on to someone I hold in my esteem. Roxas is just a joy to talk to, and he cracks his clever jokes every time he gets the chance. Only the truly evil, bitter members have anything bad to say about the guy. He's just not someone everybody can bash. In that way, he really is lucky Number Thirteen, the Key to Destiny. I sometimes feel like a clone of him since we wield similar weapons. But, actually, we're like brother and sister. We tell each other everything that either bug us or make us happy. I don't know how my friend Roxas and I click so well—we just do. It's like we knew each other in a past life or something like that. Still, he and Axel get along way better since they're guys. I ensure to avoid interfering with their friendship, because they need guy time.

The higher-ups often whisper about Roxas, who they associate with a kid named Sora. I have no idea who the heck that guy is, but he's apparently a big deal. I wonder what he's done to make himself so special to separate himself from other kids his age. Oh well, I'll find out some day. I don't know when, but I will. Now, I doubt that Roxas will thrill too much at the idea of me talking about Sora. So, Roxas has blond hair and blue eyes. As I said before, he has a Keyblade, which is also a big deal, too. Apparently, a Keyblade is a very rare weapon to have in possession. The purest people usually have one, though Roxas doesn't have a heart.

It's interesting. Maybe he's just a rare exception to the rule like me. He prefers to forget he's the subject of such mystery, though. I'm assuming he occasionally wonders what Sora is like, like I do. The thing of it is, I think he cares more about actually meeting him than I do. Well, even if we both have Keyblades, we can't be exactly the same. It's the differences that separate us and make us unique. I hope we're different anyway. Honestly, I don't ever want to have to find out that he's my clone. OK, I'm getting too confusing and off track here. All I'm saying is that I assume it's more than coincidence that we both possess the same type of weaponry. And for some reason, the older members seem to be counting down days to something important, something big. What are they doing, counting off days until we die? To think, Roxas brought about this confusion.

I would like to dwell on the good times I share with my friend Roxas instead of talking about all this crap I know isn't making a bit of sense. I won't really reveal the circumstances of how we met, because that's getting repetitive now. Instead, I will speak of a time that proves how genuine our friendship is. Before I do that, however, there are some things you ought to know about Roxas. For one thing, he's very stubborn, more stubborn than any mule I've seen. Then again, I haven't seen many mules, but oh well. Another trait that he possesses is the jokester one. Axel pretty much implanted that one, I'm afraid. His mischievous ways always manage to land him into some kind of trouble. Lastly, he can be quiet sometimes, though only when relaxed.

I think I can come up with which story to tell now concerning him. It includes all three traits I just mentioned, or else I'd make a crappy storyteller. All right, let's see... Once, Saix caught all three of us spraypainting the door to his room. Needless to say, our punishment wasn't pleasant at all. After all, he squealed to the Superior, who treats him like some sort of second-in-command lapdog. No surprise that our venerable leader would pick favorites—he seems the type. As punishment, we had to paint a fresh coat of white on the walls of the headquarters corridors...as if they already weren't white enough.

Roxas opted to be the one to devise a revenge plan. "Let's steal Saix's weapon, guys."

Axel and I exchanged looks, for once doubtful of that idea. We were already stuck painting, therefore carrying out our punishment. To think up something new would surely put us in worse trouble than ever before. Even we were unsure if we wanted to take that risk.

"Pfft, sorry, buddy. We can't do that, cuz after all, we are stuck painting. If we do what you say, we'll be painting the whole castle next," Axel commented cynically just as he accidentally splashed paint on himself. This lead to a two minute cursing scene that caused Roxas to cover my ears.

"Now, now, Axe, there are ladies present," he warned.

Axel merely shrugged. "Xion's technically not a lady, got it memorized?"

"Thanks, Axel," I muttered sarcastically, splashing more paint on him, and that resulted in more swearing.

Meanwhile, we wasted more minutes painting but found that Roxas refused to. He made that obvious by plunging his brush into the bucket, sat down, and crossed his arms. Axel slapped himself in response to all this.

"Roxas, come on, it's a risky idea!"

"Yeah, do you want us to get busted again?" I asked, irritated at this point.

He only smirked calmly as he informed us, "And this is coming from the two most reckless pranksters I've ever known. Guys, we've never cared about the consequences before, have we?"

"No," Axel said at the same time I replied, "I suppose not."

"Then let's steal a claymore!"

Eventually, we were all in agreement as we abandoned our punishment to metaphorically find bigger fish to fry. And that came in the form of stealing. Go figure. But, we had fun snatching Saix's claymore from his room, where he hadn't even hung out at yet. Good thing he was off training somewhere. While we strode down the corridor victorious, Roxas resolved to add something extra to his original idea.

"How about we frame somebody for theft? Any ideas?" he asked, his eyes aglow with mischief.

"Marluxia," Axel and I stated in unison. We both detested the guy due to his arrogant ways, so we figured why not let him take all the blame? That would be unbeknownst to him, of course.

Roxas, being the mastermind behind the whole prank, tossed Saix's claymore into Marly's empty room. That would give us afternoon entertainment for sure. Once this was accomplished, we retreated to the hall which we had started painting. We whistled innocently, as though we had never left our spots. Enjoying the camaraderie we shared, Roxas hardly spoke once we did come back to our work. The ensuing roar we heard two hours later made our collective victory all the sweeter.

"Number Eleven, how dare you steal my weapon!" Saix shouted, and his bellow echoed throughout the whole castle.

Shortly after, we casually glanced over our shoulders to observe Marluxia frantically running away from the blue haired Nobody. It took our combined efforts not to laugh.

Roxas, in this respect, is definitely a clever guy. He can get us out of trouble just as easily as get us into it. In fact, we pretended to be innocent witnesses that day when Xemnas later questioned us. Beforehand, Roxas told us all to say that we had seen Marluxia steal Saix's claymore with our own eyes. That had Pinky busily doing kitchen duty for a month after our incriminating testimony. Meanwhile, we sat back on the living room couch, watching TV as though our punishment had never existed. Xemnas even lifted it due to our willing assistance in naming Marluxia as a thief.

"Roxas, we owe you big time, buddy," Axel declared, opening a can of Quash.

"Yeah, without you, we'd still be painting," I agreed enthusiastically.

The blond chosen one (as me and Axe jokingly call him) only leaned back further into the comfortable cushions and smirked. "Well, where would you guys be without me in the first place? Probably bored, that's what, hahaha!"

"Don't get cocky now," I warned, softly punching his arm. "Just because you're our hero doesn't mean you have the right to do that."

Of course, I knew that Roxas joked, because that was basically all he did. Still, I think I should blame that on Axel's poor influence. Then again, maybe I had something to do with it, too. I was Roxas' other friend, after all, so I was just as responsible.

But, he did have a point: Axel and I would be bored without him to entertain us. Sure, the redhead does his fair share, but Roxas is Roxas. No one can ever take his place, even as the older members insist he's connected to Sora in some way. Sora is probably some lame guy who I couldn't carry a decent conversation with. I doubt I would get along with him all that well. What do I know, though? Maybe I'll meet him one day, and we'll hit it off. Until then, my friend Roxas is there to do whatever he pleases whether it be pretending to be innocent or goofing off as usual. He serves as the link that kind of connects us, in a way. All of us members know him in one way or another. His presence can be keenly felt by everyone, probably due to some light that might exist inside him. The light within the darkness—that's what he is.

A/N: Well, Roxas is just a bucketload of fun, isn't he? Well, I'd imagine he would be around his friends, even though he was depressed through pretty much all of KH2. But, hey, who can blame him? Technically, in case any of you are wondering if what was mentioned were spoilers or not, they're probably not. They were just educated guesses written before the game even came out. So, I highly doubt they spoil anything. However, I did look at Wikipedia before writing this chapter.

OK, this is important: THE LAST CHAPTER WILL BE OUT FRIDAY...since it is Xion's favorite day. XD Seriously, though, I got a KH AU Christmas fic to type up, so that's why I'm rushing. OK, sorry for the long A/N's. Later, til Friday.