Summary: When Axel is brought back to life to be with Roxas, they start searching for their other friends from the Organization. Through much difficulty they eventually achieve this goal, but what happens when the superior comes back mysteriously one day? How will Xemnas cope with having to live among normal people and being social? And will love find this man who seems to have a giant stick up his ass! lol. Yeah, better than it sounds. Eventual XemnasxSephiroth. Other pairings include akuroku, cleon, soriku, zemyx, and marluxiaxsaix.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own kingdom hearts cuz if I did the organization would totally be a sex club.lol.i'm horrible. :D

Genre: Romance/humor/angst/action/tragedy

Rating: T(possibly M in much later chapters)

Warnings: Shounen-ai/yaoi, language.

Author's Note: One more chapter down, who knows how many more to go. This chapter turned out longer than I expected it to, as usual. And more Yuffie is in here for Natalie. I think she'll enjoy it. XD Or at least I hope she will and the rest of the chapter for that matter. Now read and enjoy!


End Of Chapter Eleven: Drunken Nights and Confessions-

"Now hurry up and get dressed. Everyone's waiting for you downstairs." Sephiroth said as he quickly turned to leave.

"Waiting for me? Why-

"We're having a meeting to discuss some final plans for next week." Sephiroth said from the doorway before rounding the corner and disappearing from Xemnas's vision.

'The meeting…' Xemnas thought. He had just now remembered that in a weeks time they were leaving. Leaving to face all of the fears he had tried to forsake years ago.


Chapter Twelve: Old Faces-

It seemed like a perfectly normal day in Radiant Garden. The kind where families and couples spent time either enjoying the solitude or going out with friends. But, unlike most people in Radiant Garden, Xemnas and the others didn't have time to enjoy the gorgeous day. They would be leaving in less than an hour. In truth, Xemnas was a little nervous about this new journey. He knew he wasn't fully prepared to face his past, but he also knew that there would be no turning back now that he had made his choice. He wondered about how their journey would start out, but somehow, he had a feeling that it would start off bad.

"I want to go with!"

"You're not going Yuffie!"

The yells were followed by several bangs and crashes.

Or was it a certain someone(s) that gave him a bad feeling about this expedition?

"It isn't fair! Everyone else is going! Why can't I?!" Yuffie screamed.

"You're just not strong enough to handle it Yuffie!" Leon screamed back.

"Says who?!"

"Says everyone! You'll just get hurt!"

Oh yeah, that was definitely it.

"You're being so unreasonable! I should be able to go to!"

"No Yuffie. You'll just get in the way." Leon said sternly.

"Get in the way?! I will not!" Yuffie whined.

"Yes you will. That's how its been the past few battles. Everyone's had to save your ass countless times. I'm sorry Yuffie, but these guys are just too powerful for you. You'll get killed out there. I hate to leave you behind, we all do really, but we're just looking out for you. We don't want you to get hurt." Leon said a bit more gently.

"Fine! I'll just ask Tifa! She'll let me go!"

"No she won't." Cloud budded in. "I already talked it over with her and she felt that it would be best if you stayed behind with Aerith and Cid." Yuffie's eyes narrowed as she pouted angrily.

"Fine. I'll stay." Yuffie huffed as she stomped up the stairs. Leon sighed and rubbed his temples. Yuffie often mistook his protectiveness of her for unnecessary meanness.

"Don't worry. She'll understand one of these days and she'll thank you." Cloud said as he hugged Leon from behind.

"I hope you're right. I hate it when that kid's mad at me." Leon said as he leaned into Cloud's embrace.


Everyone was inside doing some last minute packing before they had to leave. Everyone except Xemnas. He had already finished packing the night before and wanted some time alone. He was sitting in his usual spot at the Castle Gates staring out at the bright blue sky, wondering what was lying beyond, waiting just for him. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a light shuffling behind him, like someone was indecisive about whether or not to grab his attention. Xemnas turned to see a none to familiar brunette woman with green eyes and a pink dress.

"Aerith?"

Aerith didn't speak to him often. Even when she did, she only muttered a few soft spoken words.

"May I sit with you?" Aerith asked quietly. Xemnas nodded as the young woman sat down next to him, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin there contently. Both sat there for a minute staring out at the seemingly endless, clear blue sky before a soft feminine voice spoke up.

"There's a long journey ahead for all of you."

"I know. I still can't believe that I'm doing this."

"I'm sure that you'll all do fine." Xemnas got the impression that something was bothering the young woman.

"Aerith…if you don't mind me asking…why aren't you accompanying us."

"…I feel as if I won't be needed on this journey."

"What makes you think that? You're exceptional healing skills would be quite useful to all of us."

"The last time I checked, you were much better at healing than I am. You're the one that was almost a doctor."

Xemnas laughed to himself quietly at the girl's accusation.

"That may be true, but you're a much better cook than I am. You've spoiled the others too much. They'll starved to death without getting your home cooked meals every day." Aerith laughed at Xemnas's serious tone to a statement that should have been a joke as she turned to him.

"I'm afraid you might be right about that, but it's all right. I don't mind staying behind. Besides, if I leave Yuffie and Cid together for too long, we would probably come home to find half of the house blown up and both of them dead." Aerith said jokingly as she stood up.

"We should leave. The others are probably waiting for you." Aerith said as she started to walk away. Even though the brunette couldn't see him, Xemnas nodded and began to walk-or maybe it was stumble- into their new journey.


Many of the rooms in the house were bright and full of life. Everyone was still trying to get their last minute packing done. Most rooms were bustling with voices and the shuffling of feet, except for Demyx and Zexion's room. The room was dark for it being a sunny day and its two occupants were unusually quiet. Demyx hummed to himself as he continued to pack while Zexion sat on the bed with his arms crossed disapprovingly.

"I'd really prefer it if you sat this one out." Zexion said quietly. Demyx continued to pack as he spoke.

"I'm not staying Zexy, so just give it a rest already."

Zexion stood, sounding impatient this time.

"You just don't get it, do you?! I could have lost you a month ago! Don't you know what that means to me?!"

"Zexion I-

"Don't you dare say anything Demyx! You're not fully healed yet and you just want to go and risk your life again on some journey that will probably be twice as dangerous as anything we've faced before!" Tears began to run down the slate haired boys cheeks. Demyx's eyes softened as he embraced Zexion tightly.

"I know you don't approve of me going with you, but, there's no way I could just stay here not knowing if you were hurt or not."

"But what if the battles get worse Demyx? I wouldn't know what to do if you got hurt again. If Xemnas hadn't known what he was doing, right now you would be-

"I know Zexy, but I stepped in front of that attack knowing the risks. I love you enough to die for you. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I stood by and let something bad happen to you."

"That's what scares me! That's so selfish of you Demyx! I'd be so lost if you just went and got yourself killed for me one day! I can't live without you anymore. I no longer know how to. So please…instead of saying that you'd die for me…I want you to promise that you'll live for me." Zexion finished quietly. Demyx smiled at his lover and kissed his forehead.

"All right Zexy. I promise, but that doesn't change my mind. I'm still going with you and the others no matter what you say." Zexion sighed at his boyfriend's stubbornness as he kissed the boy on the cheek.

"Fine, but you better not die one me or I'll kill you." Zexion said as he chuckled at Demyx's look of confusion. "Now hurry up with your bags, we're supposed to be leaving in a few minutes."

"Okay Zexy."

Demyx watched Zexion swing his bag over his shoulder and leave the room. He smiled slightly.

"Silly. For someone that's so smart, I thought you would realize that I'd die for you anyway, if it came down to that."


Everyone was ready to leave. Well, almost everyone. There were still a couple of stragglers, such as Sora and Riku. The two were in their room making sure that they weren't leaving anything that they would need behind.

"Are you sure you've got everything?" Riku asked as he looked through his own bag for at least the eighth time.

"Yeah, I think so."

"All of your clothes?"

"Yep."

"Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant?"

"Got it."

"Boxers and hair brush?"

"Yep. Not that the hairbrush will really help very much…"

"Keyblade?"

"No Riku, I would never dream of bringing that." Sora said sarcastically. He had his back turned, so he didn't notice the smirk that had formed on his lover's face.

"Condoms?" Riku whispered hotly in Sora's ear as he wrapped his arms around the smaller teen.

"W-What?!" Sora stuttered as he turned to face Riku. The brunette couldn't tell if his silver haired lover was being serious or if he was just messing with his head. Sora gulped and cleared his throat.

"Well of course I did…I just wasn't sure if we would be using them or not…" Sora's face turned a bright shade of red.

"Of course we'll need them. I brought some too." Riku said as he moved to close the space between him and Sora. But, before that could happen, a certain loud red head interrupted from downstairs.

"What the hell are you guys doing up there?!" Axel yelled from the foot of the stairs. "C'mon, we're all waiting for you two to get your asses down here so we can get moving!"

"What are they doing up there?" Demyx asked as he stood at the bottom of the stairs next to Axel.

"I don't know. Probably making out or something." Axel said casually as he shrugged and walked away. Demyx followed him.

"Damn it." Riku said as his eye twitched. The silver haired teen sighed as he took his hands off of Sora and picked up his bag. Riku's ice blue eyes scanned the room one last time, stopping when they landed on a bag in a far corner of the room.

"Sora, don't forget that bag." Riku said as he left the room, assuming the bag was an extra that Sora wanted to bring along.

"Wait…Riku? This bag isn't…" Sora trailed off, not bothering to tell Riku that the bag wasn't his, considering the other was already out of hearing range. The brunette shrugged, figuring that the bag was Riku's and picked it up. It was surprisingly heavy. Sora heaved the bag down the stairs, wondering what the hell Riku could have possibly put in the damn thing.


Everyone was (finally) outside. They were standing in front of Aerith and Cid, who were standing in the doorway. Yuffie was nowhere to be found.

"Well, looks like we better head off." Leon said hesitantly.

"Yeah. The sooner ya leave the sooner ya'll can get back in tiny pieces." Cid said jokingly. Everyone knew that it was Cid's way of telling them to be careful and come home safely.

"Please be careful. We want all of you to come home in one piece." Aerith said. "I'm sure you'll all be fine. You have Xemnas to help you if anything goes wrong after all."

"Aerith?"

"Yes?"

"…Tell Yuffie that I'm sorry. I know she doesn't understand why we have to leave her behind right now, but I hope she understands that we aren't trying to treat her like she's a child. We're just trying to protect her." Leon said softly. Aerith nodded.

"Of course. I'll be sure to tell her. I can't promise that it'll be anytime soon though. I'm sure she's being fussy in her room right now." Aerith said. Leon looked up in the direction of Yuffie's room and smiled slightly.

"I bet she is." Leon muttered before waving goodbye and turning to leave with the others.

Everyone had been walking for a good hour. No one was really tired; they had had to deal with more perilous tasks that required much more energy before. Sora-as energetic as he was-was the only one showing signs of tiring. No one had noticed that the spiky haired brunette was falling behind, nor did they realize the extra bag that he was holding. Riku, the first to notice that Sora was lagging, looked back to make sure that his boyfriend was okay.

"Are you okay back there Sora?"

"Bag…heavy…" Sora panted as he dragged the bag across the ground.

"It's not my fault. I told you to pack light."

"Are you trying to say this is my fault?!"

"Well….yeah…it is your bag."

"No it's not."

"What do you mean it's not yours? Why did you bring it then?"

"I assumed it was yours."

"No…it's not mine…"

"But if it's not yours…and it's not mine…then who's is it?"

Sora and Riku stopped walking simultaneously.

"Hey guys! Does this bag belong to any of you?!" Riku asked as he pointed at the bag. Everyone turned around and looked at the extra bag. There were several nods of rejection and an occasional mutter that sounded like "no" that signaled that the bag didn't belong to anyone in their party.

"It must belong to Yuffie, Aerith, or Cid." Cloud said.

"Then how did it end up in our room?" Sora asked.

"Don't know." Leon said as he put a hand to his chin in thought. "Come to think of it…that bag looks a lot like one that Yuffie owns…"

Leon and Cloud's eyes widened when they put two and two together.

"You don't think she would…" Cloud trailed off as he looked at Leon.

"No…she couldn't…"

"She didn't…did she?"

"Only one way to find out." Leon said as he stalked over to the extra bag that could possibly contain an extra passenger that was strictly told to stay home!

Leon slowly unzipped the bag and took a look inside. The bag was completely dark on the inside, but he soon found out that what was inside was not going to stay hidden in the darkness for much longer.

"…The hell?" Leon asked himself as he looked further into the bag. He could see something moving inside of it.

"Surprise! It's the great ninja Yuffie at your service!" Yuffie popped out of her bag enthusiastically, most of the contents in the bag flying out with her.

"Yuffie! What the hell are you doing here?!" Leon screamed as he flailed his arms around hysterically, taking the time to notice that one of Yuffie's bras had flown out of the bag and landed in one of his hands. Leon shuddered and blushed at the sight of the undergarment and threw it back in the direction of Yuffie's bag. It landed on the female ninja's head. Yuffie looked at one of the straps cross eyed--it had landed right in front of her nose--and threw the item back in her bag.

"Jeez Leon, you like guys. Didn't think you'd have such a big problem with one teensy weensy bra."

"Teensy weensy is right." Axel muttered snidely.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she threw a kunai at Axel. The red head moved out of the way easily. The ninja was about to pester the other further when Leon began to speak again.

"Stop it you two. Go home Yuffie." Leon pointed in the direction they had just come from.

"What?! No way! You can't make me go home after I went through all that trouble to stuff myself in this bag and get dragged across rocks and the dirt floor for over an hour!"

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before you did it. Now go home!"

"Tifa!" Yuffie whined. "Make Leon let me stay!"

"Eh…Yuffie darling…I know how much you want to come with us, but I'm afraid that Leon's right. It would be better if you stayed home."

"You can't be serious! You guys need me here! Think about it Tifa! You'd be the only girl on the team if I leave."

"That's never held me back before."

"I know that. But think about what could happen to the guys when you're on your period. Someone's got to make sure they don't all get castrated." Tifa laughed nervously as all of the guys shuddered. Xemnas was the only one that was confused. He had yet to see Tifa on one of her bad days.

"What are they talking about?" Xemnas asked Sephiroth curiously. The taller of the two twitched.

"Lets just say that Tifa turns into a reincarnation of the devil's bride once a month for a week."

Xemnas knew he didn't like the sound of that.

"I understand that Yuffie, but I'm sure the boys can fend for themselves when that time comes."

'Lets hope we can.' Leon thought as his inner self shuddered in fear.

"You heard the woman, now go back home. I'm surprised Aerith hasn't found out and called us yet." Leon said as he picked up Yuffie's bag and handed it to her. The young ninja pouted and crossed her arms as she headed in the direction of the house.

"Fine, I'll go, but you'll be sorry you didn't let me stay."

Luck must have been on Yuffie's side, because that was the only thing that could explain what happened next. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, a rockslide came and crashed to the ground, blocking the path completely.

Everyone stood in shock as they stared at the huge rock pile that had almost killed Sora. The rocks had landed just behind the brunette; one rock even came within two inches of him. Sora turned shakily to see the pile of rocks. His eyes widened when he realized just how close he had been to getting hit. The boy whimpered as he ran into Riku's arms

"That hit would have been a doozy. Probably would have killed you on impact." Axel said as he looked up at the pile nonchalantly.

"Probably?! Sora could have died just now!" Riku yelled as he ran his hands through Sora's hair in an act of reassurance.

"So I guess that means I'm staying." Yuffie said as she gave a triumphant grin. Leon shook his head.

"No, you're still going home. There's another path up ahead you can take. You won't get back as quickly, but it'll have to do."

Leon walked away without another word. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at the grumpy man behind his back as she and the others followed him.

One hour later…

Leon could see the small narrow path in the side of the cliff coming into view.

"The path's right up ahead." Leon said as he started to walk a little faster. His face fell when he came face to face with the trail. He found something he was not expecting.

"You have got to be kidding me."

The path looked like it had recently been hit by a rock slide as well. It was blocked completely, allowing no entrance to anyone who wished to cross.

"Yay! That means I get to stay!" Yuffie shouted ecstatically as she pumped her arms in the air.

"Not so fast Yuffie, we may be able to find a way around this." Leon said, causing the female ninja to pout yet again.

"I don't know Leon, this is a tough one to get around. None of us can climb up those rocks or destroy them without risking the possibility of serious injury." Cloud said as he observed to rocks, making sure to keep a safe distance in case any of them decided to slip and try to kill somebody.

"Maybe me or Sephiroth could fly her back home?" Cloud suggested. Leon shook his head.

"No, we need both of you here. We don't have time to wait for you to get back and you would have a hard time finding us if we continued without you. Besides, there's no way I would let you go."

"Why?"

"Because we both know you aren't quite as good at flying with your one wing as Sephiroth is with his four." Leon muttered so that only Cloud could hear. The blonde sighed, knowing that Leon made a good point. His wing would probably tire out before he could get Yuffie home. Leon turned to the ninja, lips pursed in a tight scowl as he spoke.

"Look, since there's no other path that will take you home and no one else can get you back safely…"

"Yes! I'm staying!" Yuffie yelled. "Come on guys, it's a good thing. You know you guys need me to-

"Just stay out of the way during battles." Leon inserted. "You could get hurt really easy out here." With that, Leon walked away, arms crossed in his normal brooding ways.

"Butthead." Yuffie grumbled as she continued to walk with the others.

Another hour later…

Everyone had been walking silently with no disruption for the past hour. So far, this journey had proved to be pretty boring. The most excitement they had gotten all day was Yuffie popping out of her bag and the rockslide that nearly killed Sora. (Though he probably didn't find that very entertaining.)

"We should find a place to camp out for the night. The sun's going to set soon." Marluxia said as he stopped and noticed the setting sun, its pink hue making his hair look a shade darker and his eyes lighter.

"He's right, knowing how quick the temperature changes in this region, we'll need to start making a fire soon." Zexion said. Marluxia turned to tell Saix something, but stopped when he noticed how tense the bluenette was.

"Saix…is there something wrong?" Marluxia noticed that his golden eyed lover's pointy ears were twitching. Saix suddenly lifted his head and seemed to sniff the air with a touch of curiosity. Saix's eyebrows furrowed, seemingly done with his assessment, yet troubled by it.

"We've got company." Saix said as a growl began to grow deep in his throat. Everyone looked up when they heard growls that couldn't have belonged to the bluenette. Saix's accusations were correct, they now had to deal with--unwanted--company.

"Shit, they're already back for more?" Riku said through gritted teeth. The question was rhetorical, but he got an answer anyway.

"Yeah, and it looks like they've got the same strategy as last time." Cloud answered. The others looked around to notice that the dogs did have a similar formation as they did the day Cloud and Leon had been singled out. The dogs were surrounding them on all sides, except for one because there was only air. It was a disadvantage, unless someone decided it was a good idea to jump off. The dogs also had the advantage of being at a higher view point than there human enemies. Everyone was there, and there were a fewer number of dogs, but there was much less space to work in. This meant that they would have to be careful. One wrong move could send someone flying into the rocks, making it possible for a rockslide to occur that could kill them all, or the small space could send someone to their death on the ground far below if they took a few too many steps backwards.

"At least this journey's starting to get interesting." Axel said with amusement as he and the others drew their weapons. The savage dogs seemed to take this as a signal that the humans were ready to fight. The dogs on the same level as Xemnas and the others stalked closer as the dogs standing on the cliffs above jumped down, going straight into battle.

Thirty minutes later…

The rabid dogs were as relentless as they usually were, but the others had spent a lot of time training after their first experience with the giant dog.

Leon was currently in a fight with one of the biggest, and fiercest, looking mutts that was in the latest pack of pesky savages. Even though Leon and the dog were on opposite sides, they had one critical thing in common: stubbornness. Neither one of them would give up until the other was dead. Leon was so engrossed in his battle with the large, vicious dog that he didn't realize that another one was sneaking up behind him. Luckily, Yuffie spotted the dog and threw a well aimed kunai at its head. The beast fell over with a loud thump as blood poured from its ugly head and pooled on the ground. Leon heard something make contact with the ground just as he killed the red eyed beast in front of him. He turned to see another dog already dead, but didn't realize who had killed it until Yuffie came into his line of vision.

"See! I told you! You do need me!" Yuffie said triumphantly. Leon just huffed and turned his back to her.

"Whatever." The stoic man grumbled and continued to fight. Yuffie puffed out her cheeks and glared at the brunette.

"Stupid jerk." The ninja mumbled as another dog spotted her and decided to have some fun with the seemingly easy prey. Yuffie gladly went into battle. The only problem was, she didn't realize how close to the edge of the cliff until it was too late. The dog had already provided no room for escape.

"Yuffie!" Sephiroth screamed. He knew the girl was about to fall, but there was nothing he could do to help her. He was surrounded by several of the savage mutts and couldn't get to the girl. Sephiroth's scream caught the other's attention and saw him staring at something in horror. Their eyes followed to see Yuffie's dilema. They all froze as Yuffie seemed to fall in slow motion. They waited for the girl to go right over the edge, but became confused when it didn't happen. A figure that none of them recognized seemed to come out of nowhere and saved Yuffie from death's clutches while the same person knocked the dog off of the cliff with a…guitar? The rest of the demonic dogs seemed to realize that something odd was going on and began to sniff the air. The sounds of curious sniffing soon turned to deep, guttural growls. It was like the dogs knew the scent of this mysterious savior and weren't too happy about the person being there.

The enigmatic being had landed on top of a nearby cliff, one hand clutched around the neck of the guitar while the other arm was wrapped securely around Yuffie. The figure let go of the girl as she looked up to find out what her savior looked like. Yuffie's mouth fell open and her eyes widened. It was clear that she had seen the person before, but it was still unclear to everyone else who this person was because they were wearing an old, tattered coat that hid their face from the other's vision. They waited expectantly for the being to reveal themselves.

The figure spoke suddenly.

"Xemnas, never thought I'd see you again."

Xemnas's amber eyes looked at the man questioningly.(It was obviously a man as indicated by the voice.) He knew the owner of that voice, but he couldn't put a face to it. He had heard it so long ago…

The man unbuttoned the ratty coat and threw it to the side. The coat blew off in the wind, momentarily covering the man's face again before blowing away and revealing it fully. Xemnas gasped silently as his eyes took in the sight of a man he'd assumed to be dead.

'Haydn…'


Author's Note: DON DON DON!! Cliffie!! Lol. Well guys, it looks like this is the end of another chapter. So review and tell me what you thought about it. This story is just starting to heat up. Trust me, there will be many more odd little twists to come. I hope you enjoy every single one of them!I've been writing this story for a year now!!Isn't that insane!!XD