He was worthy.

Roxas couldn't take it in anymore... It was so strange... Breathing in the hot, fresh air, he ran his hands over his stomach as he shook his head again in disbelief- and ran.

He couldn't believe he was actually capable of being a keeper- not to mention he already was chosen to be one. His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. His feet pushed against the ground even harder as he used all the strength he could to get away from everybody. Even his brother and sister. Everyone. He didn't look back; he only looked ahead of him, expecting his house to pop up at any moment, ready to let him in and hide him from those... strange people. He finally found the Strife Mansion and ran inside, slamming the door behind him.

Roxas absentmindedly ran toward the closet, where he found a corner to sit and slip away from view. He didn't whine or exaggerate his feelings- but a million tears streamed down his face as he rested his head on the wall. He was so afraid to give in to something so new- all he wanted was his mother back. He wanted his life back. He was just a 17 year old boy- most boys at his age went to parties with their friends, had their parents or somebody who was there for them, had a school to go to, had an interest for electives- and had a life. All Roxas felt he had though- was a house. A house without a family though; a house without someone living their life and achieving what they wanted instead of being forced to hold the world in their hands for the rest of their lives. His house was not as well the title of a home.

He heard voices yelling out at him: "Roxas! Where are you? Please come out!" All he did though, was ignore them. It didn't matter now. None of anything mattered now. Everything slowly drifted away from his mind and his eyes closed. He wanted to let everything go. He was so confused about where to venture on in life- he just had to let go... He fell into a deep sleep, having the same dream about his mother's lullaby and the beautiful land he was laying in.

Mansion of Strife, A Day Later.

His blue eyes had finally opened as he saw morning light shine upon him, a misty essence floating above his body. He got up slowly, his cloak still over him as he stared at the door. Without any need to make an action, the door opened. Roxas didn't even want to pay attention to that. He slowly left his room, aware of any presence that would have been waiting for him down at breakfast. He looked back one last time at his room- wait... his room? He remembered falling asleep in the corner of his closet... He just silently stared at the blank door before turning around once again toward the main living room.

Roxas slowly started toward the dining room- he only wanted to be alone. However, as he reached out to silently pull out a chair, he realized that a pair of blue eyes stared at him. They were a girl's- Oh... Wait- Kairi's.

She stared at him concerned. She then looked down and softly whispered, "I feel the same way."

He sat down in front of her and suddenly got interested in his shoes once he learned what she felt the same about. He realized she wasn't ready yet either. She wasn't prepared to go running down at a giant monstrosity and fight it with only a rusted sword. Roxas felt like he finally had someone he could relate to.

Her eyes shifted back over to Roxas's as they both worriedly stared at each other. Roxas though, was the first one to walk over to her from his chair and hug her. She was his little sister- he loved her, and she loved him. The fact that they lost their only parent and was left with an older brother coming from a powerful ancestry- was sad. Both sad and frightening, in fact. They were both- ordinary. Why couldn't they complete their education and join the real world? Why couldn't they run out into the sunshine for another purpose- besides training for being a keeper of some random land? Roxas kept wondering and wondering... Just... Why?

Kairi shed soft tears as she broke the hug and said "I'm okay." She then held out her hand as it illuminated. Roxas left his chair to duck and cover. As soon as the brightness came to a halt, he looked up to see if his sister was okay.

She was indeed unharmed... But she was holding on to something huge. It appeared to be a giant key.

Roxas's eyes widened as even more questions crossed his mind. How?.. How did she do that?

Kairi nodded as she quietly and formally demanded, "Think about this blade. Think about your deepest desires. Call the blade, Roxas."

He gulped as he slowly held out his hand. He stared at the keyblade, determined. He examined every part and color of it's flawless and shiny surface as he thought about his desires. His biggest goal he wanted to achieve...

"Call the blade."

He remembered the dreadful sight... Walking into his house expecting to see a smiling face... and instead getting blood... blood... He saw blood on his mother... everywhere... He saw that shadow... It was horrible... a mischievous and evil sight that would kick in pure, hot temper... He was feeling that... He wanted to run at all the windows and open them to show the sunlight... though he knew it wouldn't help his mother any more...

"Call it."

He wanted revenge. He wanted to kill the shadow. The murderer of his mother, and, from stories he heard but never believed- many more people... He was going to avenge the innocent. He wanted to kill The Shadow.

"Call-!" Kairi was interrupted by a sudden flash of blinding light.

After covering her eyes, she stood up to see her brother standing in front of her, a keyblade grasped tightly in his hands as he determinedly held his head up.

The streets of The Order of Hearts, 3 hours later

"Hmph," Cloud sighed as he walked along with a nervous Roxas. Today's walk sure wasn't jaunty. He looked up at Roxas and asked him, "It looks pretty mundane today, are you sure you wanna go walking by yourself?"

Roxas nodded. "Mhm." Though it seemed like a strange day to be walking along the streets of The Order of Hearts, he had to be by himself. He had to sort out his thoughts and he had to have some time to be alone. So many situations had occurred all at once. Roxas couldn't just sit there and cry. He had to stand up and think. Then he had to do something about it.

Cloud came to a halt as he nodded at Roxas, then walked the opposite way they were strolling along before. Roxas was left behind to start his walk.

He felt a cold breeze swiftly draw by as he walked along the never driven streets. He pondered.. He pondered and wondered and wandered along in his thoughts. It felt like he was in a whole different world as he kept asking questions inside his mind. Where is the shadow? I want to learn more about this blade. Why me?

Why am I worthy again?

He immediately snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a loud, piercing scream coming from somebody. He turned toward the direction that the scream was coming from as he ran over toward the sound.

He arrived to see a girl his age reaching over for what appeared to be a sketchbook. She looked awfully desperate to grab it as she was forced to the ground on her stomach by purplish figures. Her attempt to escape them was fruitless, though..

Not anymore.

Roxas didn't even know what he was doing, but he called his keyblade and put his hood up as he hid in the darkness...

She struggled against the strange figures as she held her breath. She whimpered as it was hopeless to grab the only thing for defense. What followed along with her whimper was a loud slice from above. She felt like there was nobody on her anymore as she quickly stood up, alarmed.

"You okay?" A voice spoke formally and alarmed. The girl turned around to see a hooded boy with a keyblade in his hand.

She was beautiful. Every aspect of her face was flawless. Her eyes were a crystal blue and her soft blonde hair accentuated her light, perfect skin. She wore a white dress and a pretty smile. Roxas was in awe as he saw her.

"Th-thanks. I was about to take defense but I couldn't reach the item," the girl said, relieved. She then introduced herself. "I'm Namine."

Roxas pulled down his hood as he smiled and replied. "I'm Roxas."

He was handsome. Everything about him was perfect. His orangish blonde hair gave color to the rainy day, and his black cloak made his skin look light. His eyes were charming and compelling..

Namine then looked down at what Roxas was holding in his hand. She gasped at the sight of it... She couldn't believe her eyes...

Roxas wondered what was going on in Namine's mind as he noticed her staring at his keyblade. "What, this?" He held up his blade as Namine clasped her mouth shut with her hands, whispering, "Oh my god..."

He asked, "What? Oh, I only learned.. I don't even know much about it..." He then turned red realizing how stupid he sounded.

She then calmed down and concluded, "You're the last and 50th keeper of hearts. You can wield a keyblade!" She sounded like she was in awe at the last words she said. "Wow!"

Roxas sweetly smiled at Namine before picking up the sketchbook she was trying to grab earlier. "I'm pretty curious... What makes this your weapon? Is it enchanted?"

She nodded and tuned in, "Sorta. I'm a witch. Not a bad one, but just someone who can enchant stuff. I'm usually known as a good artist and publisher, so I can make specifically my drawings come to life."

Roxas was fascinated by the power she had. "Hmm.." He locked eyes with her as he realized something familiar in her look. She smiled- but her eyes looked... sad. It felt like he was in a mundane vicinity when he was looking into her eyes. Out of concern, he asked her, "Do you have a home to go to? Any shelter?"

Namine's eyes widened as she looked down at the hard ground. "I don't really think I have one.. My mother abused my brother and I when I was little.. I lived alone until I was chosen by the queen to come here. I don't really have a family anymore. My brother hates me and keeps the house all to himself."

Was that what was so familiar about her? That look in her eyes had the same reasoning for such an expression; she had no family.

He sadly smiled and said, "Same here. I do have a home but my mother was killed when we lived in a normal neighborhood, and my dad..."

She looked back up at him waiting for his last words.

"Well, I never met him."

Namine nodded and looked to the side, blushing. She looked like she was generally a shy person to other people.

Roxas then, after pondering about it, said "Want to live with my brother, sister and I? We're on good terms and the house is pretty big."

Her eyes started to twinkle as she worriedly looked into his eyes, her mouth open ready to spill out another word. All she could do though was turn a rosy red while staring down at her sandals. She then smiled and sweetly gave an "Okay!" look on her face. Words didn't always have to tell Roxas things.

They both looked back at the street Roxas was taking as it started to rain. Hard. Roxas put his hood up as he smiled confidently. The only thing that was visible- was his smile.

Namine looked up at him as they stood in the pouring rain.

She was soaked- Roxas was covered and protected. But he pulled her to him closely, holding her hand as he shouted, "Come on!" to her through the loud pounding sound of the rain.

The teens desperately raced over to the house as the angel's tears fell upon their skin, the lightning though looking less scary as he walked inside with Namine, both panting for air as he put down his hood to let in fresh air. He smiled at Namine, receiving a tired and attempted one back.

Roxas realized he had someone to relate to.

Someone to relate to.

Thanks, mom.