Since Nunas The No Name asked me about the titles of the members, I'll be showing them to you immediately as an intro (Especially now that we know n°14's identity) and I'll also give you their descriptions:
I\ Takeharu= The Superior
The leader of the organization, he uses spells to nullify the gravity. His weapon is still unknown
II\ Takaya= The Killer
The second member of the organization, he is known for his killing experience with guns
III\ Akihiko= The Lightning Fists
One of the first members of the organization, he fights bare handed and his punches are as fast as the lightning
IV\ Koromaru= The Loyal
A clever dog which can either fight with his fangs and his little knife, he's very loyal to Takeharu
V\ Shinjiro= The Moon's Hero
A silent and though guy. He fights using an axe and can create an earthquake only be hitting the ground
VI\ Jin= The Nerd
His title describes him well. He passes most of his time reading books or on his computer. He's very skilled with mental controlling abilities and illusions
VII\ Mitsuru= The Ice Queen
An elegant woman who seems very calm. But never get on her bad side if you want to avoid her execution. Her weapon is rumored to be a rapier even though no one saw her in an actual mission due to her high grade.
VIII\ Junpei= The Don-Juan
A happy-go-lucky man who is very much of a daydreamer and a flirter. He put all his trust in his fire attacks. In battle, he fights with a Katana.
IX\ Chidori= The Goth Girl
A very shy and cold girl who don't like being the center of interest. She's more of a spell-caster than a fighter
X\ Fuuka= The Gatherer
This girl got a weak constitution, but she is one of the most important tools of the organization: She's the one controlling the hearts' direction to Kingdom Hearts
XI\ Ikutsuki= The Infiltrator
A middle aged man who controls sleep spells which helps him to access some very well-guarded places. Actually, his 'jokes' are more than enough to make you sleep. He seems to have leadership ambitions…
XII\ Yukari= The Pest
A girl who don't even try to watch her manners. It's like she is doing her best to be hated by everyone. She remains a skilled archer and wind-user
XIII\ Minato= The Chosen of the Wild Card
A new member who is revealed to be the Wild Card's chosen: He can invocate mystical monsters to help him. He also is a skilled swordman, so he can use his Evoker to both fight and summon (Here, the Evoker will be a blade instead of a gun).
XIV\ Minako= The Puppet
A girl, it seems. She still never took off her hood and never said a word. She seems to be another Chosen of the Wild Card and yet no one saw her use an Evoker. The why she is called 'The Puppet' is still an unknown thing
II\ Shadows, Nobodies and Friends
As I entered the common room to receive my mission from Mitsuru, I found her talking with Ikutsuki and waiting for me, surely.
"Minato, today you will be working with Ikutsuki. He will teach you about our main 'targets'. Go whenever you feel ready." She left me with him.
"Well, welcome to the fold, Minato. We should be going, as they say: early birds catch the bookworms!" What was he saying? It didn't make sense at all… Anyway, we moved on and found ourselves in Twilight Town again. This time, we were in the market place and I dared ask.
"Ikutsuki, what is our mission today exactly?" he looked at me with an interrogative expression.
"Oh. Didn't Mitsuru tell you? We are here to show you our main 'targets' which will give us hearts."
"And what are those 'targets' actually?"
"You will see. Minato, could you summon your Evoker for me, please?"
I did as he asked and here was my Evoker; a sword that looks like a giant key. For the first time since I met Ikutsuki, he wore a serious face
"Lucky number XIII… An Evoker-user in our ranks, at last." I didn't understand what he was mumbling and then, something appeared out of nowhere "What is this?"
Ikutsuki answered me simply "Those are Shadows, precisely Cowrdly Mayas. They will release hearts if you can defeat them. That's your mission: to defeat them and release those hearts so they can go to Kingdom hearts. That's why you're special: you're the only one who can do that!"
I looked at him for awhile "Isn't it number X's job to control their direction?"
"You mean Fuuka? She is here so if some hearts can't find their way, she takes care of them. As they say: Follow—" Quick! I have to ask my question before he says another random stuff!
"Ikutsuki, can you tell me what are those Shadows actually?"
It seems my thing worked; he stopped in the middle of his sentence and answered my question "Shadows are dark thoughts of people that they keep deep inside them. With time, they grow into something more troublesome."
More of those Shadows things appeared so I went to destroy them, seeing the hearts flying and disappearing each time I hit them with my Evoker.
In the end, we RTC, my head instead of being lighter of questions was the complete opposite.
The next days, other members of the Organization tutored me about my job and the organization's goal: We were actually a group of people called Nobodies: a bunch of people who are supposed to be dead, but kind of stayed alive, losing our hearts, and we need those hearts to be complete and my Evoker is the only weapon that can release the hearts from the Shadows.
Speaking of which, we share some common points with the Shadows: we both lack hearts, but the difference is that the Shadows are slaves of their 'somebodies' thoughts while we have some independence.
I thoughts that was all I needed to know about them, but Shinjiro told me that they also were divided into two kinds of Shadows, but it was still too complex for me to understand…
I also learned how to: use some spells, fight with my weapon when I'm in my 'last legs' and investigate the areas. But most importantly, I learned that there were many other worlds than The World That Never Was and Twilight Town.
If I was asked what I thought of the other members, I would say that we had our good apples and our bad ones. But we all seek the same thing: Kingdom Hearts.
One day, as I got to the Grey Room, Junpei told me that we were on a common mission for the second time. At least, he's not as strict as Jin or Shinjiro and not as annoying as Yukari…
Also, today was my first day of 'actual mission'. Mitsuru told me that the goal was to fight a certain number of Shadows to get some hearts.
We arrived in Twilight Town and began searching for Shadows. They didn't take too much time before showing up. I summoned my Evoker and attacked them, they weren't that strong… AAwww! One that I didn't noticed launched a fireball behind me and sent me flying backward.
He was about to repeat the action when Junpei shielded me, apparently not affected by fire-based attacks. He used a potion on me and I got on my feet quickly to continue with the task.
At last, we released a certain amount of hearts, more than we were asked to since I wanted to apply what Jin told me about 'being diligent with my missions'.
"So Minato, how about we go and have some ice creams?" asked Junpei out of the blue.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because we're friends, right dude?" He said simply. Do I have to understand that 'friends' are people who eat ice creams together? I asked him this exact thing and he answered.
"Well, sort of… That or, laugh at some stupid stuff that doesn't make any sense." Stuff that doesn't make any sense…
"You mean things like Ikutsuki's weird sentences?" He looked at me with a horrified face.
"H-Hold on! Not thatmuch of stupidity." With this, we ended up laughing. Wait a sec!
"Junpei, we just laughed, right?"
"Yes, so what?"
"Then we're really friends!"
"Well, you can actually say that."
Then, we went to the top of the tower and ate ice creams like last time. We kept eating until Junpei spoke.
"Hey Minato, how 'bout we meet up here again after your next mission? I mean, who wants to live only between missions and the Castle?"
"Not me!" And we laughed again. That's how I passed all the following days' after mission period eating ice creams with Junpei, my first friend.
~Some days later~
Junpei and I were assigned for a common mission today, it's been a while. Our mission was to defeat a Shadow called The Magician. Destination Twilight Town again.
As we proceeded through the town of the eternal sunset, we found nothing but usual Shadows, no Magician. Until we reached the Market Place, there was waiting a huge Shadow with multiple hands, 13 after counting them. It was holding swords in six of them while six others were maintaining it on balance. The last hand was holding a blue mask with black holes as eyes and mouth.
"Looks like it's show time!" said Junpei while summoning his Katana.
He rushed toward the monster and slashed him which caused the later to make a jump backward. But he had his guard down so the thing hit him with two of his sabers making him fall on the ground and scream in pain. What was I waiting for? I should be helping him!
"Hold on Junpei!" I used a potion on him and blocked another of the Shadow's sword attack with my Evoker. Meanwhile, the fire-master got on his feet and launched a fireball right on the heart bearer's mask, making him roar, surely of pain.
"Thanatos! I summon you!" My Persona appeared and launched at the enemy ripping apart three of his arms.
"Nice one, dude!" said Junpei while charging another fired assault on the Magician which, this time, dodged it by jumping on the other side. It then used a wind based spell to reject us backward making us crash on the nearby wall.
"Tsk! He's though…" I managed to say.
"Maybe we should try a trick." I frowned at the suggestion.
"And what kind of trick?"
"How 'bout we team up for real, this time?"
"Team up… for real?" I repeated, not knowing what he meant.
"Yeah, up 'til now, we've been fighting separately. We must try something else: Drive it crazy if you see what I mean. Got it memorized, dude?"
We didn't have more time to speak since the Shadow tried to charge at us once more. We managed to escape the assault and retrieve our balances.
"Whenever you're ready Minato!"
"You bet I am!"
We got ready for the second round of the battle and charged the Magician with all what we've got.
I ran towards it, evading some of his dangerous swords attacks, the more I evaded them, the angrier the monster became and its attacks were fiercer and harder to dodge.
At a certain moment, he launched a powerful attack and I was unable to get out of the way so I prepared to try and block it, or at least to reduce the damage it would cause. All until the sword collided with something else than my Evoker.
Number VIII used his Katana to shield me from the enemy's strike, but I could tell he wouldn't last long. I looked at this with big eyes and my mouth wide open.
"W-What are you waiting for?! Act, quickly!" he managed to yell before focusing again on the Shadow.
I shook my head to wake up from my confusion and held my weapon with both of my hands to put an end to the struggle between 'my friend' and the shadow. I cut the arm holding the sword and it fell to the ground, shaking a little before stopping from moving completely.
Now, he was left with only two active arms. We easily got rid of them, since the fight got easier now. I wouldn't be able to describe the way we did so: all I know for sure is that we've been 'teaming up'.
Once he was left without any offensive way of riposte, he used what was left of him to try and escape the battlefield.
"Hey, you're not going anywhere, monster!" the my partner said before looking at me. We nodded to each other before reuniting and we prepared to combine two of our skills.
I summoned one of my Personas and ordered him to use a basic wind spell. Junpei, on the other hand, launched one his fire spells. It resulted in a gust of burning wind that made the monster fly and burn to aches. In the end, we won!
"Huh… huh… We did it!" I yelled as loud as I could raising my hand that was holding my weapon to the sunset sky of the town.
"Yeah… *pant*… This one sure was though, but we managed to kick it ass!" He looked at me for awhile longer and then he said.
"Whew! You really got strong Minato! Maybe your even stronger than me—Wait! No! You still have a lot to learn before keeping up with me!" Hahah! He won't admit it, but I think I somehow surpassed him.
"Oh really? I don't think so…" He starred at me for a while, pretending to pout, but we ended up laughing as usual.
After that, we went to the tower to see the sunset and eat ice creams. "Hey Minato, I wanted to tell ya that starting tomorrow, we won't be able to eat ice creams together." His words surprised me, a lot! I wasn't expecting him to say this.
"Why?"
" 'Cause I'll be away from here for a while… Well, since we're buddies, I'll tell ya where I'll go. I'm off for Tartarus: The nest of the Shadows."
I gave him an interrogative look "The nest of the Shadows?"
"Yes, we'll be there to investigate a thing or two. So half of the organization will be left here, including you."…
"Well, take your time now! I must prepare for tomorrow."
With that he left, and I finished eating my ice cream. Then, I noticed something: on the stick of the ice cream was written 'WINNER'.
The next day, I searched for Junpei in the common room to ask him what I won, but I didn't found him.
"If you are searching for Number VIII, you won't find him: He already left." said Mitsuru who just arrived.
"By the way, starting today, you will be executing missions alongside Minako." She added before walking to her usual spot, near the windows.
Minako and I went the Twilight Town and began the mission: Killing a Shadow plant. The monster was pretty hard to find; it was hiding in the town's station's undergrounds. But, it was easy to defeat since it weakness was fire.
After that, I told Minako to RTC and went to tower and have some ice cream. During the whole mission, Minako didn't say a word nor took of her hood, weird… Other than that, I was beginning to feel a little something in my chest: maybe it was because I was alone today.
I was paired with Minako the next day too. This time, we had to defeat some specific Shadows that weren't strong at all, but man! They were fast! And after the mission, I told Minako to RTC alone again.
"M… Minato…" Am I dreaming? Or did she actually say something?
"Y-Yes, did you say something?"
"Your name… Is Minato… isn't it?"
"Yes Minako, I'm Minato." I answered, still surprised. It felt… Awkward, not only the conversation, but also the resemblance in our name: only the 't' and the 'k' were making them different.
She disappeared into the dark corridor and I went to have and ice cream. Alone. Was my name the very first thing she ever said? Whatever, I wasn't enjoying my ice cream at all when I was alone.
As I entered the Grey Room the next day, Mitsuru gave me the mission immediately
"Today again you are teaming up with Minako. Get ready ASAP, the monster you're facing today is a Dark Side; a giant Shadow that is very strong."
We both got ready and went to Twilight Town. When we arrived, Minako finally took off her hood.
She had a face that looked like mine, but her eyes and hair had a scarlet color and she was smiling.
"Good luck today." She said
"T-Thanks. You too Minako." I was at loss of words. Was it because of our common appearance? Or because I finally had a conversation with her?
We made our way to the top of the hill and there was the enemy. For a giant Shadow, it was a giant one. It was all dark and had a hole in his chest which looked like a heart.
"Get ready Minako!"
"All right!" I launched at the Dark Side and slashed his left hand repetitively, as for Minako, she stayed back since she didn't have a weapon and used fire skills.
The giant Shadow itself didn't stay like a fool here; he was giving strong punches on the ground, creating earthquakes and impacts on us. After a moment, he prepared a strong punch which I blocked with my Evoker, but I lost the control of the later and it fell to the ground, to Minako's feet. It disappeared to reappear in her hands!
"M-Minako…" I was stun here, looking at what happened next. I was told that she had the ability to hold an Evoker, but it was witnessing it with my own eyes. Right now, right here.
She rushed toward the monster and slashed it with a strength that I recognize to be Thor's, killing it with this single strike.
"Wow! Minako, so you really can wield an Evoker!"
"Yeah. At first, I wasn't sure about it…" at that moment, I remembered the day of my first mission for the organization, when Junpei took me to the tower to reward me…
"I guess I should reward you with the icing on the cake!" I said, still remembering how Junpei said the exact same thing to me.
That's how I brought her to our special place; the tower.
"How did you find such a great place?" she asked me.
"I'm not totally the one who founded it… Well, here you go!" I handed her a sea-salt ice cream.
"It's sweet. But kinda salty too." Hahah, that make me think of my first time eating this…
"I meet up with Junpei after each mission here. He, apparently, took me here on my first day in the organization, but I don't quiet remember. Then he brought me here again on my first day of mission, saying this was the 'icing on the cake'." She looked at me with a smile.
"A reward?"
"Yeah, exactly!"
"You must be close…" Well, I don't know, but one thing's sure… "Junpei is my first friend."
She turned to face me again "Friend… Minato, do you think I could be a friend?"
"When Junpei is back, let's ask him. So the three of us can eat ice creams together!" she smiled and agreed.
"Okay." We continued eating our ice creams, watching the sunset.
(A/N: Minato is a guy and Minako a chick. They're on the top of a tower where no one can see them, eating ice creams and watching the sunset. Am I the only one have a M rated feeling about this or… is this the harsh reality?)
Whew! Finally done! Sorry for the long wait, but I wanted to rewrite this chapter to make it sound better (make the paragraphs shorter, detail the fights and the characters' expressions more...)
Anyway, I decided that there would be no Castle Oblivion here… But, I never said I wouldn't put Tartarus! Anyway, do tell me if you liked it, and if not, I'll ask you to voice the thing or things my story lack of. With that: read, enjoy and review!