Christopher And Roselina

Starting: (Christopher)

Chapter 1: My New Life

If you love someone, how far would you go for them? Would you go against your own organization just to make sure they're out of harm's way? Fight impossible odds, betray your leader, be stripped of everything you own only to get the chance to see them again? If so, then you're exactly like me then.

What my cousin, Roselina, sister, Aero and I, went through in order to be together without impending danger looming down on us... It was horrible.

How we survived it all, the answer eludes me...But somehow, we all made it out in one piece.

This...this is the story of our love.

(Main Story)

It's been one thousand years since my sister, cousin and I were struck down in the massacre called the 'Keyblade War' back at the vast expanse of mountainous desert at a world my master, the Keyblade master, Invi, called 'The Keyblade Graveyard'. Before it started, many of my fellow comrades questioned her on why it was given that peculiar name, though not once was the secret ever revealed to us. However, now that the war is over...and all of us have moved onto the 'supposed' paradise called the 'Afterlife', we know full well...

Many said every time someone was struck down, their hearts are reformed in the 'Heavens' and they come down to watch over us. Though, the 'Heavens' I went to, along with everyone else, was basically torture. The scenery fit the name perfectly, a beautiful ocean beneath us, clear skies as far as the eye can see, a blinding, sunny orb illuminating the waves I somehow walked on, but...to all of us, it meant nothing.

My female cousin, the only person in the world I've ever loved and cared for, she killed herself after Master Aced, one of the strongest Keyblade wielders out there, and the leader of an opposing union to mine, plunged his broad iron sword right through my chest, and pierced my heart, directly in front of her. I hoped with all my might that I'd get to see them again once I died, yet when I got there, the only thing in my sight was...absolutely nothing. I wasn't even given the chance to visit my home kingdom. Was that all there was to the 'Afterlife' everyone talked about?

Not even once did I see my family again over the thousand years I mindlessly wandered the hell we were sent to...did I even deserve this? My memories, everything we did together, it was for the sake of our Kingdom, 'Scala Ad Caelum' . The monsters we fought, people we were forced to destroy, it was all to protect the innocent civilians of our home. Did we do something wrong? Why can't we see each other? And could someone tell me why upon arrival, I lost my power to summon the weapon Roselina gave me for my fourteenth birthday?

...Why do I even bother...

I'm aware that none of these questions I have would ever be answered, cause everyone I saw were just as baffled as I was.

Is this what I'd be forced to put up with for the rest of eternity..?

...

...

Out of the blue, as I aimlessly strutted around the 'Heaven' I made it to, I was suddenly engulfed in this...light, and somehow, I found myself outside of what seemed to be a large, red mansion, which possessed a stunning, outdoor garden, complete with a small, stone fountain in the middle.

The clothes I wore were much different from the ones I had on before I died. Instead of my typical adventurer's clothing, my muscular, slim body abraded a up-to-my-feet long, plain black, hooded coat, with an 'X' shape in the middle.

While I viewed my surroundings, I found my kid, medium pitched voice uttering out, "What...why am I...here..?"

On cue, another voice sounded from behind me, "So you're finally here."

Startled, I turned around and attempted to summon my scarlet saber, the one my beloved cousin gifted me. Luckily, it came out, "*gasp* Who are-"

"Restraint"

"W-What-?!" In the blink of an eye, a single word came out of his mouth. All my bodily movements ceased, and there I stood, open to any attack he had up his sleeve.

"Hmph, and you call yourself a keyblade weilder..."

"W-Why can't I-"

"You can't move because I've put you under my spell."

"Y-Your sp-spell?! W-What kind of spell restricts a person's movements so much?!"

"None of you business. Now calm down, I am not an enemy."

"H-Huh?" Directly following his statement, I felt my body lose its stiffness, then I somehow regained my ability of movement. Still, I found it tremendously difficult to comprehend the situation I found myself in...what did he mean by he's not my enemy. If he wasn't, then why'd he use that damn spell on me?!

Before I said anything, he spoke up, his voice sounding deep, hoarse, plus pure unfriendly, "Tell me, what is your name?"

"My...name?"

"Yes, or do you even have one?"

"U-Um..." 'That's funny...why can't I remember..?' Was there something wrong with me? Just a second ago, I knew full well who I was, but all of a sudden, my mind went blank. I found myself unable to answer his question.

A couple seconds passed, I remained silent, even though I did, he continued, "I see...you have no memories..."
I gaped up at him, "Ah-"

"Don't worry, from now on, you'll be called 'Mizu' and your new place of residence will be at my castle."

"You...have a castle?"

"Yes." His right arm went up, then a large, pitch black, portal like thing opened up, triggering me to call my weapon to my hand once more.

"Through here, you'll be taken to it. Now, come with me, Mizu. I'll-"

"Wait!" I possessed no intention of willingly going with him, cause why would I go with somebody I didn't even know the name of yet?!

"Hmph, is there a problem?"

"Heck yeah there's a problem!"

"Well then, tell me, what is it?"

"W-Well, first, who are you?! I don't even know your name and you're telling me to go through that...thing with you!"

The stranger remained silent, then chuckled...what part of what I said was funny?!

"My name is Xemnas, I'm the leader of a group of nobodies called 'Organisation XIII'"

"Organisation...XIII?"

"Yes, you may not have heard of that since the world you come from is now destroyed."

"Its...its destroyed?! That...that can't be!"

"Its true, everything, including all your friends and family, were wiped from existence."

"Gah..." Xemnas's words sent shivers down my spine... 'He has to be lying...there's no way Scala Ad Caelum was destroyed...its just impossible! A kingdom that big...it would take something much worse to destroy it...right?'

"Do you remember anything that happened to you before you found yourself here?"

"...I" For some reason, as soon as I reached to the area I was currently in, all my memories from where I was before and what happened...vanished. I'm not sure how but...it just did, and each time I tried to get them back, a stinging pain would enter my head, giving me an unbearable headache. Effectively, whatever made me come here gave me a severe case of amnesia.

"Ahh, so I see...you have amnesia, don't you?"

"Y-Yes..." I stated, my eyes darting down to the ground beneath me.

"B-But...I...I think I could...just-"

I blurted this out with the intention to say something meaningful, but all I could come up with was...an awkward stare.

"Yes?" He said mockingly.

"..."

"Finish your statement. I don't have all day, y'know."

"U-Um..."

No words could make its way to mind, as a result, I ended up saying, "Uh...do...do you know how I got here cause...I can't remember..."

"No. Are you done yet?"

I honestly didn't want to go with him...Nonetheless, since he was the only person within my eyesight, I made the decision to just go, though reluctantly. "Okay, fine, I'll go."
"Good, now lets go, or we'll be late for the organization's meeting..."

"M-Meeting?"

"Yes, I have arranged a ceremony for your official registration into my Organisation XIII. It will begin the moment you make your way into the base."

"Hold on, I don't remember saying that I'll be joining you..."

Xemnas immediately turned to face me. "You refuse?"

"Yeah, why in the world would I join something if I don't even know the first thing about it?!"

"Hmm...you're right. I've neglected to explain to you what it is we do..." The man stood directly in front of me, and removed his hoodie...revealing the craziest hairdo I'd ever seen.

His hair was long, spiked straight up at the front, silver in colour, the back combed straight, plus reached him up to the middle of his back. Skin, a...medium brown. Height...well, all I could say is I only reached up to the start of his chest. To me, he possessed a seriously abnormal height. Like...really, I don't think I've ever seen anyone so tall. But I've got some weird amnesia so...

Finally, he went on to explain, "The organization you will be working for, its ultimate goal is to collect enough hearts to complete the deity known as 'Kingdom Hearts.' Once its completed, we will use its brilliant light to purge the worlds clean of darkness, and everyone here, will at last be safe from its clutches."

"Umm...so, basically, the members who you choose to join you, would be working together to banish something known as the darkness from the world and let everyone live in peace?"

He nodded, "Yes, that's correct. Glad to know your amnesia hasn't affected your ability of learning, Mizu."

I had no idea if what he just uttered was a compliment or an insult. Maybe a bit of both..?

"Well anyway, since your group or whatever sounds like its doing something good...I guess I don't see any reason to not join it..."

"You agree to join it then?"

"Yeah, totally! Sign me up!"

"Alright. Come with me, I will take you to meet the others..."

"Others?"

"Yes, you didn't expect us to be the only members, did you Mizu?"
"N-No, I...just...how many other uhh...nobodies or whatever are there?"

"Thirteen, you will be number fourteen."

"Fourteen? Then...shouldn't it be called Organisation XIV then?"

"...Just come with me. You may ask your questions once the ceremony is over."

"Alright..." Xemnas took me through the portal, and when I left, I found myself in the middle of a large, white circular platform, surrounded by thirteen seats, all of them, filled by people hidden in the same coat I wore...

END OF CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2: Introductions, and My First Mission

I stood in the middle of them all, their gazes penetrated my skin, sending cold shivers down my spine. Xemnas, who somehow showed up in his seat, the tallest of them all, grinned mischievously at me, his voice loudly declaring, "Friends, we are gathered here today to commemorate the arrival of our newest member, Mizu Hallowswift. His skills as a keyblade wielder will be a great asset to us all"

"Hmph, that boy a keyblade weilder? Not a chance." One of the hooded persons in the room announced.

"No way! He's way too young to even be using one."

"But Sora and Roxas use one, aren't they like...fifteen or something?"

"R...Roxas? S...Sora? Who are they?" Automatically my voice sounded through all the chatter, catching the attention of all thirteen members.

"Ahh, you'll find out soon enough pipsqueak."

"Hey, doesn't he look familiar to you all?"

"Familiar? In what way, Demyx?"

"I mean like...his face, haven't we seen someone who looks just like him before?"

"Hmmm, now that you mention it...I think I see where you're gett'in at..."

'Someone who looks just like me? What could they possibly mean by that?' I thought to myself.

"U-Um...e-excuse me but...what do you mean by someone who looks just like me?"

"Ha! As if we'd tell you!"

"Hey! Be nice, Xigbar! He's just a kid!"

"Meh, I'll pass on that. Anyway. Boss? Meeting over yet?"

Xemnas glanced over to the man I thought was Xigbar, "Yes. You may all go back to your duties. Roxas, you go show Mizu to his room. Be sure to get him ready for his missions."

Roxas, who also had his face hidden, looked at him, "Yes sir."

Directly afterwards, all of them, except for Xemnas left. To my right, a dark...portal? Appeared, the man who'll be escorting me said, "Mizu, through here. I'll take you to your room."

"My...room? But I just got here, I have a room?"

"Well duh! Everybody does here."

"Oh, alright." I walked up to him, "But how does this place have room for over thirteen people though?"

Roxas scratched his head, obviously confused as to how to answer my question, "Err...you'd have to ask Lord Xemnas about that, sorry."

"Lord?"

"Yeah, he's the boss around here."

"Well...if he's the boss, then why do we call him 'Lord'?"

"....Just come with me."

"But you haven't answered my question!"

'Come on! Its just a simple question!' Well, I saw why he'd have a hard time answering, cause if he answerd with 'Cause he told us to', it'd make that abnormally tall man seem like some sort of tyrant, and if he answered with 'Do you see any reason not to call him 'Lord', then this 'Roxas' person would leave me with the impression he's um...obsessed with him.

In the end, he just told me, "You ask too many questions Mizu."

I snickered at him, "That's not a nice thing to say to a new member!"

"Gah..."

"S-Sorry! I-I'll stop!" My response a hundred percent made him mad, and despite not being able to see his face, I clearly saw his anger.

"Good! Now shut up and come with me already!!" He grabbed onto my arm then pulled me through the portal.

"H-Hey! L-Let me go!"

...

...
Roxas brought me to what seemed to be a pretty large living room. The entire place was painted white, just like the meeting room I came from. Three long couches were situated in the middle, along with the front wall there being a giant wall-sized window, which gave all of us a clear view of the outside.

The floor had a large 'X' shape on it, talking up two thirds of the room in the middle.

Behind me was a corridor, and when I went further into it, I saw numbers stating who's room was who's, mine being the...fifteenth?????

"Hey! Why is mine called the fifteenth?!?!"

Roxas, who walked with me, stated, "Cause they're fifteen members."

I turned to face him, my blue eyes showing obvious confusion, "But I thought there were only fourteen members!"

"Well then you just thought wrong."

"..."

"Could I go see who the fourteenth is?"

"Sure, right after she comes back from her daily missions first though."

"We get missions daily?"

"Yeah, didn't Lord Xemnas tell you?"

"Uhh...no?" Honestly, I completely forgot whether or not he even did.

"Well then now you know."

"Why didn't he tell me though? Did it just...slip his mind or something?"

"Ehh, probably. He tends to forget things at times."

"Hmph, and HE'S your leader?"

"H-Hey! Don't make fun of him you sstupid-!"

"Roxas, are you bullying our new comrade?"

"Huh? X-Xion, no, I was just telling him something."

"...And you do that by shouting right in his face?"

"S-Shouting! N-No! I wasn't!"

Out of the blue, a girl who looked to be my age (fifteen) appeared behind him...with her hoodie down! 'Ugh, finally! Someone who isn't so afraid of showing their face!

The person who Roxas spoke to, Xion, was just a little shorter than us, her height reaching up to my chin. Her face was oval shaped, eyes a stunning ocean blue, skin as white as snow, and hair, neatly combed to the side, and cut short to the middle of her neck. She didn't have any bangs, they were combed to the side, the same as her hair style...

Reacting to Roxas's remark, she giggled her voice sounding cheerful, sweet and high pitched, "Whatever you say. Anyway, its nice to finally get to meet you Mizu! Sorry I couldn't make it to your ceremony, I got caught up with a few things."

I shrugged, then twinkled...'Man, this Xion person, she's gorgeous!'

"Ah, its no problem Xion!"

She smiled back at me, followed by a peer at Roxas, who in turn said, "Oh, Mizu, this is number fourteen, you wanted to know who it was?"

"Wait, she's number fourteen? Wow, she's beautiful!" 'Ha, and I get to room right next to her! I'm so lucky!!!'

"H-Hey! Don't just blurt stuff out like that like its nothing! She's like...way outta your league!"

"Haha, sounds like some-body's jealous!"

"S-Stop that! God, you're so freaking annoying Mizu!"

"Heehee, thanks!"

"Grrr...!" Xion watched as we exchanged insults, though, I noticed a slight shade of red on her cheeks...likely from what I boldly exclaimed!

When we finally finished, Xion stated to the two of us, "Well now that you're finally done, Roxas, don't you have a mission to attend to with Larxene right now? She's waiting for you."

"Oh! Right! I forgot!"

"Wow, you even forgot your own mission? Gosh, you're dummer than I thought you were."

He glared at me through his hoodie, "Says the person who just randomly blurted out a compliment to a girl like it was nothing!"

"Hey! Its called 'flirting'! And its not like you have the guts to do that!"

"I-I do to have the guts! I-Its you who doesn't!"

"But I just did!"

"I bet you do that with every girl you meet!"

"How should I know if I do that with every girl I meet?! I don't even remember meeting one until now!"

"WAIT WHAT?!"

"You don't?!"

My random shout startled, as well as caused the two of them to take a few steps back.

"Wait, did I just say that out loud?"

"Uhh, y-yeah, you did."

'Oh crap.'

"Mizu, do you really not remember meeting any girls at all before me?" Xion asked.

"Ahh...well...y-yeah, I guess..."

"Wow, have you been living under a rock or something? Surely you must've met at least one before, right?"

I pondered this for a moment...nope, not a single one.

"Nope, I don't remember meeting any at all actually."

"Wow...no way!"

Xion implied, a concerned look on my face, "Did you lose your memory or something?"

"That's what Xemnas said, since I don't remember anything at all."

Roxas continued to have an amazed look on his face while Xion, who definitely was my crush by now, replied, "Gosh, no way! You have amnesia?!"

"Why would Xemnas bring someone who has amnesia into the Organisation?"

She turned to him, "I dunno, probably cause he has the keyblade...though if he has amnesia, does that mean he can't use it?

"Well, he's still here so, he definitely can use it still."

"Hmm... Mizu, can I take a look at your keyblade?"

"Sure." I held out my right arm, and 'Bam!' My scarlet saber instantly materialized, shocking my two friends once again.

"Its....its a s-sword!"

"A sword?! What kind of keyblade is that?!"

'What kind of keyblade is that?' He asks. 'Aren't these what keyblades are usually like?'

I didn't at all understand his reaction...like, wasn't this what keyblades usually looked like? What else could it even be?

"Um, is...something wrong with my keyblade? Why're you all staring at it like that?"

Roxas spoke up first, "Because THAT is NOT what a keyblade is suppose to look like you dummie!"

"What? How?! Isn't that what they always looked like?"

Roxas summoned his keyblade, which looked a WHOLE lot different from mine, "No! THIS is what a keyblade looks like!"

"Huh?! That's not a keyblade! That's just a giant oversized key!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is! The handle's square, like how a usual key is, and the blade is basically like how a key is to!" Its true, the weapon Roxas summoned looked just like how I said, a square shaped, orange hilt, and the blade was the shape of a normal key, though silver in colour...and just seeing it gave me a familiar feeling...have I seen that thing before..?

The two members must've noticed how quiet I suddenly was when Xion asked me, "Hey...are you alright..?"

"H-Huh? Of...of course I am! W-Why wouldn't I be..?"

"You were spacing out for a moment there, are you feeling okay?"

"Nah, its okay Xion! He was obviously like that cause he realizes that I'm right of course!" Roxas boldly blurted out.

Xion turned her head in his direction, an annoyed look on her slender face, "Stop being an idiot, Roxas."

'Ha, now look who's the favourtie.' I thought.

"H-Hey! S-Stop taking his side all the time!"

Turning back to me, she said, "Anyway, you look like you could use some rest, go to the mission room and talk to a man with long blue hair alright? He'll fill you in on your first mission."

"Gotcha, thanks Xion, Roxas. You two helped me a bunch!"

Xion snickered, whereas Roxas just grinned.

"No problem newbie! If you ever need help, you could always ask one of us."

"Pfft, come on, don't call him newbie, Roxas! It'll make him feel inferior to us!"

"But he is a newbie!"

"Yeah, but still...its not nice."

"Ahh, whatever. See ya later Mizu. I'm gonna get to my missions."

"You still haven't done your missions yet?" I questioned him.

He answered with a shrug, then soon after, I entered my room.

...

...

My room was...pretty big actually. A normal single bed at the right hand side, a desk and chair right next to it, dresser at the back, along with a large mirror. Basically, it was like your average style bedrooms you'd find in just about anybody's house. One strange thing about it though, why were the walls, plus the floor painted white? Did Xemnas have some sort of fondness for that colour? If he did, then its really starting to weird me out...at least I didn't have to always spend my time here though.

The first thing I did was lay down my my bed, put my hands behind my head, and look toward the roof.

"Ahh...so this is what I'd be doing from now..." Even though I somehow lost my memory, I kind of found this exact thing sort of familiar.

"That keyblade Roxas had...how come it looked so familiar to me...?"

...

...

I left my room around half an hour later.

'Hmm, Xion said to look for a guy with long blue hair to go on my first mission...where could he be...' Honestly, despite Roxas showing me where my room and the living room was, I really didn't know where I was going after I rested.

Soon, I ended up finding myself in a place I didn't recognize at all.

The area itself was about the largest I'd seen so far, the only platforms being stairs, connected with what appeared to be large, floating circular platforms, all of them leading upwards.

I kept walking upwards, until I found a door stating, 'Keep Out'. Thanks to my major curiosity, I disregarded the warning and opened the door...only to be stopped by a heavy hand grabbing onto my shoulder, plus pulling me backwards.

"W-Woah!"

"Mizu. What are you doing here?"

"H-Huh?" The person who grabbed me was the exact person Xion told me to look for!

Relieved I found him, I exclaimed, "H-Hey! You're the guy I was looking for! Where in the world were you?!"

"In the living room, waiting for you. Don't tell me you forgot where it was, did you?"

I stood directly in front of him, and scratched the back of my head, "Haha, of course not, I just uhh...wanted to explore this gigantic castle a bit more."

"Alright. That's all fine, but don't ever disregard that warning, okay?"

"What? Why not, I thought anyone could enter it since we're all part of the same group."

"That's only for Xemnas to decide. Now come, you have a mission scheduled in a few minutes."

Without any further comment, the blue haired man pulled me away from the area...How come I couldn't enter that room though...?

...

...

The mission I was assigned to was to somehow 'collect hearts' for the Organisation and somehow, each time I defeated a monster, a crystalized heart shot out of it, and floated into the sky, where it disappeared.

When I questioned the blue haired man about it, he told me the monsters I fought were called heartless, and they've been around since the beginning. The only way to destroy them and release their hearts is by using the Keyblade, when this is done, the hearts gather together to form 'Kingdom Hearts.'

Somehow, I fully understood this...

...

...

Once the mission was over, I made my way back to my room to rest.

'Man, those 'heartless' really are something...'

To be honest, I wasn't at the least expecting my first mission to consist of defeating monsters, I actually didn't know what to expect, since it was my first day.

Roxas and Xion paid me a visit a bit after I laid down to rest.

"*Knock, knock* Hey Mizu, you awake?"

I got out of bed, then opened the door.

"*Yawn* Hey Roxas, Xion. What's up?"

Xion grinned, "How was your first mission?"

I sighed, "It was...pretty good...Did you guys have to fight a bunch of monsters on your first to?"

"Monsters on your first mission? No, of course not! Why would we..." Expectantly, Roxas's face grew a pretty astonished expression, exclaiming, "Wait, did Xemnas seriously make your FIRST mission like that?"

I awkwardly scratched behind my head, "Haha, y-yeah, was he...suppose to or...?"

"He isn't suppose to do that to a newbie!"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah!"

Xion...I don't really know if what she said backed up Roxas's statement or what Xemnas did, "Well, I guess he's expecting a lot from you then...so you better not let him down Mizu!"

I was really surprised by Xion's both strict and playful tone of voice, immediately stating, "I-I won't!"

...

...

Well, my days in the Organisation continued like this...missions, chatting up Roxas and Xion, accompanying other members on their jobs, meetings about the completion of Kingdom Hearts. It went like this for days at a time, nothing really exciting happened...

...Until three weeks later, a new member was announced during a meeting. A girl, and who she was, none of us knew until her entrance ceremony happened.

END OF CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3: Number XVI

The girl who joined was called Zara, her number, number sixteen. I honestly didn't expect there to be another member, since the Organisation already had two members more than it should...and secondly, there wasn't even a sixteenth room!

However, as soon as I brought this up to Xemnas, out of nowhere, it popped up right next to mine.

"W-What the-?!" Seeing this, I felt absolutely stunned, so much that I fell over backwards the moment I viewed it.

As if it was fate, the newest member appeared behind me.

"Oh my gosh! A-Are you alright?!" Her concerned voice sounded high pitched, teenage and somehow, it made me think she was actually younger than me.

Turning my head, I accepted her extended hand, "Yeah, thanks." I now stood directly in front of her, "You're Zara, right?"

She took off her hoodie, and nodded with a bright smile on her face, "Mhm!"

I grinned, "Nice to meet you! I'm Mizu, I just joined the Organisation three weeks ago."

The two of us shook hands, "Nice to meet you Mizu! Sounds like we're both newbies then."

"Well...I wouldn't say we're newbies...more like...beginners or something."

She tilted her head, "Hm? But isn't that the same as a newbie?"

"N-No, a newbie is someone who uhh...is...just starting something and...since we're technically not...you know what...nevermind. Forget I said anything."

"Err...okay!" An awkward look appeared on both of our faces, until she said to me, "You know...I haven't actually gotten the chance to look around here..."

"Oh?"

"And since you're the first person I've talked to other than Xemnas...wanna give me a tour?"

'Great!' The new girl looked absolutely beautiful, sparkling pink, beady eyes, a relatively tall, slender body, white skin, a great complexion, long, black hair which was tied in quite a large bun, I really found her attractive...

...So I took my big chance and immediately agreed to her request! "I'd love to give you a tour of the castle! Just come with me, I'll show you every part of it!"

I mischievously leaned in close to her ear so nobody could hear us, "Even the rooms we're not allowed to go in..."

"R-Really?!" Zara's eyes completely lit up, and she instantly met my gaze, "You're the best, Mizu! Thanks so much!!"

Seeing her excited face somehow made me blush a little, my voice sounded a little restricted, but I managed not to make her get any suspicion, "N-No problem Z-Zara!"

Unexpectedly, she slanted toward me ear, then spoke in a soft tone, "Are you really gonna show me places were not allowed to see?" A curious gaze entered her eyes.

I in turn, nodded, acknowledging her statement, "Of course, don't tell anybody, okay?"

She put both her hands into a fist at her...sort of small chest, and got a serious look on her good looking face, "I won't! I promise!"

"*Grins* Okay! Then, lets go! First things first, how much of the castle have you seen?"

"Mmmm...only the living and mission room."

"Ah, in that case, I'll take you to all the other rooms then."

She got en eager expression, "What about the cafeteria? Does Xemnas's castle have that?"

"Of course, are you hungry?"

"Mhm, I can't really remember the last time I ate so...I really want to visit it..."

"I see. Follow me then."

"Okay!" Zara went to my side, and locked arms with me, "Lets go!!"

"U-Um...." Her sudden intimate action brought a massive red colour to my face, my body stiffened tremendously.

"Huh? Are you alright Mizu? Your face is red."

"O-Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine."

A finger from her other hand touched my soft face, "Are you sure? Its really hot."

"Y-Yeah...i-its just...I...I haven't eaten for the day as yet so..."

"Oh! You're just hungry!"

"Mhm, j-just hungry!"

"In that case, what're we waiting for!" Zara started pulling against my arm, signaling me to come, "Come on Mizu! Take me to that cafeteria!"

"A-Alright! I'm coming!"

...

...

Zara in my opinion...was definitely a ton more carefree than any other person I've met so far in the Organisation. Her cheerful demeanor brought an immensely excited feeling in the pit of my stomach, not because I liked her or found her attractive, because um...it was kind of like she was a child in a teenager's body...assuming she's a teenager.

We both grabbed a large chicken sandwich each, and took a seat at a medium, circular, white table.

I thought it might be weird if we sat together on the same seat so, I decided to sit opposite to her.

When she took her first bite, she let out a loud, satisfied groan, "Mmm! This tastes SOO GOOD!!!"

I nodded in response, "Yeah, it's the best thing I've ever tasted!"

Zara peered up to me in full curiosity, "Really? I thought the best thing someone would've tasted would be the food their parents made."

'Well, it would be if I remembered what their food even tasted like' Was what I would've said if Roxas asked me this...but since it was Zara, I decided to say, "Well...I guess it would...but I don't actually remember what it tasted like."

My statement brought up an astonished look to her face, as she gasped then exclaimed out loud, "You can't remember what their food tastes like?!"

"Eheheh...y-yeah. I kind...lost all my memory when I came here so..."

"Oh, you're just like me then!"

"Huh?" 'Did Zara just say that...she lost her memory to??? I've gotta find out!'

"Z-Zara, did you just...say you lost your memory as well?" My face showed utter shock when I voiced my thoughts.

"Well...not exactly...I said that you're just like me, not that I lost my memory or anything..."

...She's faking, I saw it all over her face, she really did lost her memory along with me...but why wouldn't she just say it? Could it be that she's too afraid to? If that's the case, then why would she be?

Automatically, I stated, "You're faking aren't you?"

"What? Of course not. Why would I fake it? And if I was, how do YOU know anyway?"

"I could see it all over your face."

"My face?" She took both hands, and passed her fingers along her white, smooth skin, "What's wrong with it?"

I chuckled a little to myself, "Nothing's wrong with it, its just...you're eyes have like... a sort of anxious look in them. So...its kind of obvious to me that you're trying to hide that you really did lose your memory."

Upon hearing what I said, she started to glare at me, her forehead twisting up, and her lips pouting. She folded her arms, then blurted out, "Gosh...you're so mean Mizu! I did my best to hide it you know!"

"Haha, sorry! But, why hide it if you already know I lost my memory to?"

Zara didn't stop pouting while she replied, "Not telling!"

"Aw, come on! Why not?"

"I'm not gonna tell someone as mean as you meanie!"

"Hey! I'm not mean! I'm just...uhh...playful! Yeah, playful, that's all!"

"Hmph! I don't believe you!"

"Gah-" 'This girl...is she seriously being like this...grr...I think I take back volunteering to show her around the castle...yeah, on second thought, I'm just gonna go back to my room and sleep instead. Sorry Mizu-I mean, Zara, I'm outta here.'

Letting out a sigh of defeat, I stood up from my seat, obtaining her attention.

"Huh?" She said.

"Zara, if you're gonna be like this...I'm just gonna go back to my room and rest."

"B-B-But didn't you say you're going to show me around the castle a-and all the areas w-we're not allowed to go to?"

"I did. But you're acting way too stubborn for me to deal with...its kind of like you're a child in a teenager's body or something."

Her brows furrowed, "That's not a nice thing to say. Mizu, why are you being so mean to me? I'm only fourteen you know!"

"Fourteen?" 'She's...fourteen..?' "Gh...O-Ow..."

The moment I heard Zara say this to me, a sharp pain entered my head...'why does this seem so familiar to me...'

"M-Mizu!" Zara dropped her sandwich onto the table, and ran up to my side.

"M-My head...it...it hurts...!" My right hand was locked onto my forehead, pressing against it with major force, which caused me to lean forward.

"Your head?" She placed a hand on my back, plus my chest. "What's wrong with it?!"

"Zara, what's wrong with Mizu?!" A voice from behind us lashed out.

"I-I don't know! W-We were just talking a-and all of a sudden his head started hurting and-"

"His head?" I felt eyes dig into my back, "So I see...What were you talking about?"

All of a sudden, the most unexpected thing happened. While the pain in my head grew, Zara's usually carefree tone grew into one of worry, as well as anger, she shouted out, "Why do you want to know what we talked about in a time like this?! Can't you see MIzu's in pain right now?! Go get him a doctor or something will you?!" I felt her shoot daggers at the individual behind me.

"Don't worry Mizu, you're going to be okay..!" Her worried stare reached me...which I returned, but for some reason, when our gazes met, she gasped and backed away.

"Zara!" The hooded man from behind me went to her side.

"M-M-Mizu he-"

"Go get Vexen, now!"

"V-V-Vexen? W-Who's-"

"A man with blonde hair, he'll be in the living room, go now!"

"O-Okay!"

'She knew where the living room was..?'

"Z-Zar...a!"

"Huh?" She turned around when I painfully blurted out her name.

"Y-Yes Mizu?!"

"Zara!"

The man shouted her name, then she obeyed, completely ignoring my word, "O-Okay!"

The pain in my head...its so much...I...I just can't...handle it...!

The last thing I saw before my consciousness faded was a blurry image of the girl I talked to speeding off in the distance as fast as her legs could muster...'what was her name again..?'

My entire body collapsed onto the cold, hard ground, the colour red splattering onto the ground right where my head landed with a relatively loud, 'Thump!'

END OF CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4: Memories?

Instead of waking up, I found myself unable to do so. My body, what happened to it? More importantly, where was I?

After falling unconscious, I found myself in the middle of what looked to be a large, grassy field, filled with...what were those things...monster corpses? They didn't look like the ones I fought back on my mission. These ones were huge, some orange in colour, others grey, green, and red. All of them had horns on their long, pointed noses. Their body was similar to a rhinoceros's. And a few of the ones to what seemed to be my right were large, floating, grey eyeballs with their wings sliced clean off or body chopped in half.

'Ugh...why...why can't I...speak..?'

"CHRISTOPHER!!!!!!"

'Wha-?"

"OH CHRISTOPHER!!! PLEASE, PLEASE WAKE UP!!!!!! *sob* *sob*"

A girl, whom appearance I wasn't able to view darted up to me, knelt down, placed an arm underneath my neck, and laid my head onto her soft, slender thigh.

'Was...was she...crying? Why would she...'

"Ugh...*-********?"

Out of the blue, a young male's voice sounded out from the exact position I was in. 'Was that my voice? Why do I sound so...weak? Did I say her name? Why wasn't I able to hear it?'

"*gasp* CHRISTOPHER!!!" 'My name...was it Christopher? No, it was Mizu. Mizu is my name! Then...why is this girl calling me Christopher? Most of all, how come I couldn't see her?' I knew she was there, yet all I could see was a light shadowy figure.

When she saw supposedly 'my' eyes open, she shouted out 'Christopher' and embraced him/me with all her might. Her body, I clearly felt it...she possessed a slender frame, relatively small chest, broad hips, plus the hug somehow felt satisfying. I didn't possess any feelings for anyone at the time, so why was I liking this?

'Huh?' I felt my arms wrap around her in response to the hug. 'Why am I hugging her?! I don't even know who this is! Alright, that's enough, wake up me! Wake up!' Alas, I didn't wake up from this weird dream I supposed I had.

"Its okay ********, I'm alright, see?"

She continued to weep into my neck, "B-But the Magneton shot you a-and you f-fell unconscious and...oooh! I was so worried!!! *sob* *sob* *sob*" 'Magneton..? what kind of monster is that..?'

I felt his/my embrace tighten around her, "Its fine...ow...I might have to visit a doctor though...my head is pounding right now..."

"A-A doctor? N-No! I...I'll heal you! You d-don't have to waste your mora on a doctor!" 'M-Mora??? What in the world is that?!'

"You don't have to do that ********, I'll just-"

As if on cue, the girl raised a hand, and placed it on his/my head, "H-Heal!!!"

I immediately felt a soothing energy pass through my entire body, then out of nowhere, none of my body hurt any longer...'did this girl really heal me..?'

After that, I woke up from the dream.

END OF CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5: A...Date..?

When I finally regained my consciousness, I realized, the pain in my head really was gone.

'Mm...my head, its...its stopped hurting...did that girl in my dream really heal me..? And that voice...it sounded a lot like...'

"Mizuuu! Are you awake yet?" The same girl I hoped to see peeked her head through my room's door with a neutral smile. Upon getting me in her sights, her face lit up, "Mizu!!! You're finally awake!"

She threw the door open, then strutted over to my bedside, "Good morning! Did you sleep well?"

"Uhh...Morning?"

"Yeah, you were asleep for an entire week...Honestly, I was beginning to think you'd never wake up."

"WAIT WHAT?! A-AN ENTIRE WEEK?!?!" 'No way! There's no way I was asleep for a whole week! No way!'

But she only nodded, her bright smile fading into a partly grim look, "Yeah...I'm really sorry for what happened...I guess I was just...too excited for my own good..."

"Huh? Oh, you mean that argument we were having before I lost consciousness? That wasn't your fault Zara. I-"

"But I was the one who acted too stubborn for my own good. Isn't that what caused you to bleed and fall unconscious?"

"Bleed?" 'Was I bleeding? I don't remember...'

"Yeah, it...it wasn't really much, but still, I'm really sorry...if only I didn't act so stubborn..."

"Oh..." By how she's acting, it was definitely true that I bled. 'But just how much did I bleed..?' "Zara?"

"Yeah?" Her beady eyes met mine with a worried expression.

"How much did I bleed?"

"Well...just a little. The blood seemed to only come out of your nose and eyes though."

"My...eyes..?"

"Mhm. It kinda looked like uhh...what was it again...oh! That thing where you're under a lotta stress and stuff. Vexen told me about it."

"V-Vexen?"

Her smile coming back, finally perked up, "Yeah! You know, that blonde guy who controls ice, he's the one who treated you."

"Hm...So...he's a doctor..?"

"Well..." She put a finger on her chin, and tilted her head, her body starting to sway a little, "...Sort of. He had to take you to that uhh...secret place we're not allowed to enter to fix you up though."

"Wait, what?! D-Did he really?!"

She giggled a little, both hands clenched behind her back, "Yeah! Weird huh?"

'Wow, man...if only I was awake, then I would've been able to see what was behind there!'

"Anyway, since you're awake, wanna go tell the others?"

"The others?" I honestly had no clue what she was talking about. "What others?"

"You know, Roxas, Xion, Axel, Xemnas and the other members. Don't tell me you forgot!"

'Oh, them...' "N-No, d-definitely not. How could I forget someone as dumb as Roxas?"

My remark made her once again chuckle, "You're funny Mizu. Anyway, you ready to go?"

"Mmm..." I pondered over this for a couple seconds. 'If I stayed in bed...that dream I had...would I be able to figure out more about it? And that girl...her voice sounded so much like Zara's...but come to think of it, the area around us looked almost nothing like how the area I've seen so far was...so it's definitely all just a dream.'

With this in mind, I gave Zara a positive nod, "Yeah. Let's go."

"Great! Everyone's gonna be so happy you've finally woken up! Come on, Mizu" All of a sudden, in a single burst of energy, Zara stole one of my hands in hers, and scurried us out of the room, me shouting behind her,

"W-Woah! S-Slow down, Zara!"

...

The first place Zara dragged me off to was the living room, everything still looked the same as it did a week ago...

"Heyyy everyone!!! Look who's finally woken up!!!"

Roxas, Xion, Xigbar and Siax were all there, and after viewing me, only Roxas and Xion appeared happy. Xigbar and Siax on the other hand only had expectant looks on their faces.

"Well look who's finally decided to wake up. Bout time, y'know." Xigbar said, a naughty smirk on his face.

"Yes. You slept for far too long, Ch-Mizu." Siax followed.

Xion and Roxas approached me, Roxas gave me a timely grin, "Finally...and here I thought you'd never wake up. What even happened to ya Mizu? You had us all worried." Glancing behind him, he continued, "Well...not all of us..."

"Err...hehheh...I uhh..." To be honest, all the attention being drawn to myself was really embarrassing...so my words inevitably came in a stammer, "...Iiiiii'm not totally sure to be honest...one minute I was in a silly argument with Zara, then all of a sudden my head started hurting and...I guess you guys know the rest..." I glanced over to Zara, who wore an apologetic look on her face. When she saw my eyes on her, it quickly changed.

She stated, "Well...maybe it's the chicken burger we were having. The meat we had was processed meat after all. Eating those can give you cancer! Haha!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

None of us had anything to say about that random outburst....but the joke was so stupid I ended up laughing at it, my hand covering my mouth, "Where did that come from?"

Roxas soon followed, then Xion. "Yeah, that...that was just...so random..." He stated.

"Heehee, well they do call me the queen of randomness after all! Right Mizu?"

"Huh?" I wasn't expecting her to call out my name in that sentence, "...Oh, r-right!"

Agreeing gave her a broad smile. 'Hm, was she blaming herself for what happened? It wasn't her fault though...come to think of it...what even was the reason for me passing out..?'

After chatting with the two for a while, Siax approached us...

"Mizu, may I have your attention please?"

"Me? Oh, sure." Glancing over to Zara, I mouthed, "Be back in a minute."

"Okay." She kept her eyes on me as I went with Siax to an area of the room nobody was at.

When we arrived, he asked me, his yellow eyes digging into my skin, "What kind of dreams did you have while you slept?"

"Dreams?" That was a question I least expected to hear, and automatically I questioned back to him, "Why do you want to know what I dreamt about?"

"I'm asking for Lord Xemnas. Now tell me, and don't hold back any of the details."

"Uhh...okay." The way he commanded me to tell him made me extra curious, yet I told him each and every detail I remembered.

When I finished, I found myself thinking more and more about it...

"Hmm...You are certain that's all you can remember?"

Nodding, I replied, "Positive."

Staring at me for a couple seconds, he dismissed me, "Alright. That'll be all."

"Okay." I rejoined Zara, who was sitting on a couch, her eyes fixed on me as I approached.

Sitting down, she implied with a curious, yet happy expression, "So, what did Siax want to ask you?"

"Dunno. All he did was ask me what I dreamt about..."

"What you dreamt about??" Hearing this made her frame all the more excited, "You mean, you were dreaming for the whole time you slept?!"

Meeting her gaze, I found myself slightly intimidated by her cheeriness, backing up a little, "Uhh, I-I guess. It wasn't really that interesting though."

"That's fine, tell me! What'd you dream about Mizu?"

"You want to know it to, Zara?"

She vigorously bobbed her head, "Heck yeah I do! I can't ever remember the dreams I have so, yeah!"

Ultimately, I succumbed to her request, and begun to tell her about my dream. Though, before I reached the part where I saw that girl who seemed to have healed my body, Siax for some reason, stopped me from announcing it.

"Mizu, Zara, you two have a mission waiting for you. Get to it as soon as possible."

We both gaped at him, "Okay!" She merrily stated. Whereas I only stated,

"We?"

"Yes. Xemnas wants to see which among you both is the stronger, so from now until further notice, all your missions will be together."

"I see. Well, good-"

Instead of just being calm about it, Zara seemed delighted, exclaiming, "You hear that Mizu? I bet I'm gonna be the stronger one!"

However, she wasn't just happy at us being paired up, she just seemed giddy at the thought of competing with me.

"I don't think so, I bet I'm the one who's stronger."

"Oh yeah? And what makes you think that?" Playfully pouting her lips at me, she blurted this out in a n attempting-to-be-serious voice.

"Why? Isn't it obvious? It's only natural for girls to be stronger than boys, Zara. So you stand no chance against me!"

Despite my statement being just for fun, she pouted, and folded her arms, "Hmph! That's not nice! You know, girls can be stronger than boys to, you know!"

"Ha, in your dreams. With all my strength, I bet I can take on a thousand of those monsters I fought on my first mission all by myself!"

"Huh? M-Monsters?!" Strangely, the moment I said the word, 'Monsters', Zara seemed to go into a slight panic, her hands latched together at her chest, and face obtaining a frightened expression, "Th-There are m-monsters?!"

She genuinely looked shaken, continuing, "I-I don't wanna fight any monsters!"

"W-What? You mean...you had no idea those existed here?"

"I didn't know monsters even existed, Mizu! And you're telling me you've fought them before?!"

"Well, only once...they're not really scary though. Just uhh...weird looking."

"Weird looking?!" Her voice raised a bunch in pitch, as she shouted out at the top of her lungs, gaining everyone's attention, "THAT'S TOTALLY SCARY! OH MIZU! I DON'T WANNA FIGHT THEM!!" Then just like a little child, she clung onto m left arm and pressed her head into my shoulder.

'Gosh, did nobody tell her we'd be fighting monsters here?! Man...Xemnas has seriously got to do better as our leader...' Letting out a disappointed sigh, I stated, "*sigh* Alright...I'll protect you..."

"You will?!" Just as anticipated, she beamed up at me, still holding onto my arm.

"But just until you get use to fighting, okay?"

"Okay! Thanks Mizu!"

My face begun to turn pink after hearing this, "N-No problem Zara..."

...

We left for our mission an hour later, once Zara felt like she was ready.

The area we got to, Xemnas said to be somewhere called, 'Twilight Towne', and from what it looked like, it was just a normal town. The ground beneath our feet was made of concreat, polished and light brown in colour. Shops were around, some item shops, accessories, clothes, 'What did the organization have to do with all this?' The one thing which mainly bothered me was the way Zara and I were dressed, our long black coats, which basically covered our entire body, including our arms, along with those black gloves we wore, they made us stand out tremendously.

Zara, unaware of this, eagerly looked around the place, "Woww, Mizu! Look at this! Doesn't that look adorable???" She was pointing at a stuffed animal situated at the window of what appeared to be a children's toy shop. It was white in colour, and it's fur was completely fluffy.

I couldn't help but say, "Yeah. You want it?"

Upon hearing this, her entire face lit up, mouth widely open, and she turned her head in my direction, "Do I want it?"

"Err...um.." 'Oh God...why did I have to ask that? I don't even have any money on me right now!'

"Actually uhh..."

"Yes I want it! Thank you Mizu!"

"N-No, w-wait! I-"

Too late, she already ran into the store, and grabbed the stuffed animal, signaling me to come with her.

"*sigh* This is what I get for saying the wrong thing...Now what..?"

"Miizuu! Come on!" Zara called out to me from inside the store.

Groaning for a second time, I mouthed to myself, "Might as well go ask the store owner for a way to make some cash..." I entered the shop, and followed Zara to the cashier.

There, she placed the stuffed animal on the light brown, wooden counter top and exclaimed, a large smile on her face, "One stuffed animal please!"

"Err..." When the guy saw us, he obviously got uncomfortable. 'Damn, I forgot! Looks we'll also be needing a quick change of clothes soon to!'

"Um...that'll be...twenty dollars please..?"

"Huh? Dollars? What's that?" Zara, tilting her head, had no idea what money even was! 'Seriously?! How'd she even expect to get this thing without even knowing about that?!"

"Um, Zara? I think he's saying we need some money to get this for you."

"Mon...ey?" She had a finger on her chin, obviously deep in thought. Luckily, she actually got somrthing on her mind, "Oh! You mean those small rectangular pieces of paper with strange numbers and pictures on them?! I got them right here!!"

"Huh?" 'Wait, she actually had some on her?'

The man standing in front of us, along with most of the store's customers all seemed both frightened and confused by us, mainly her and her weird statement.

"Here ya go mister! Twenty dollars! Can I have my toy now?!"

"S-Sure...um...would you like it in a bag or..."

'Oh no...don't tell me...' Right there, I prepared myself for the worst, but thankfully, she seemed to already have known what a bag was, politely denying it, "No thanks! I'll just carry it on my own."

"Riight...um...h-have a nice day..."

"Same to you! Let's go Mizu!"

The two of us exited the store with the stuffed animal.

Outside, Zara held the bear tightly in her arms, fondly cuddling it up to her face.

'Wow...she really is like a child...' Viewing this, I couldn't help but smile. When she saw me looking, she chuckled, "Thanks for getting me this Mizu."

I shrugged it off, "No problem...but...where did you get that money from Zara? I can't really remember seeing any back at the castle."

"Oh, the money? I found it under my bed while you were since it looked pretty, I decided to keep it."

'Since it looked...man...this girl...' "Ah, okay. Well...Hey, I was thinking...do you think we should um, grab a change of clothes at the shop over there?" I pointed at the clothing shop opposite from where we stood.

"More clothes? Sure! Why not? But...aren't we already wearing some?" She perked her head up to me.

"I know, but since we're the only ones like this, we kind of...stand out and...you know..."

"Ooh, so that's why everyone's staring!" She giggled, "Great idea Mizu! Let's go!"

"W-Woah! H-Hey!" Without any warning at all, she, for about the second or third time since I met, her, abruptly took hold of my hand, and dragged me over.

When we got in, her eyes absolutely shot open at the surroundings, "Wowww! I never seen this many clothes before! Mizuuu! Which one do you think I should wear?!"

"Errr...anything I guess." I honestly had no clue what to choose either...though it seemed like Zara had other plans, running over to the section which said, 'Female wear'.

Soon after entering, I heard her shout out, "Mizuuu! How bout this one?!"

"Um...J-Just a minute!!" 'Oh gosh...am I really going to do this? The sign literally says 'Female wear', I'm a boy...wouldn't it look weird if I just go in like this?'

"Come on! What's taking you so long?!"

"J-Just now!" Zara called out to me in a majorly loud voice, which successfully managed to attract the gazes of everyone in the store. They also took note of my as well, as they gaped to me, some glaring, while others giggling under their breaths.'Man, seriously? Well, I guess I..might as well go then...'

Taking a single hulp of fresh air, I gathered my courage and walked into the women's section of the store, trying hard not to act strangely.

When I found Zara, she wore something completely different from her black coat. Eyeing me, she smiled happily, "Heehee, how do I look Mizu? Don't I look cuteee?"

"Uhh..." 'To be honest, she looked really cute...but should I tell her this? I mean...I know I've called Xion pretty before...but that was just because I wanted to mess with Roxas...Zara here...should I?' I pondered over this for a moment, then it hit me. 'This...this is my big chance! If I call Zara cute, she might just start taking a shine to me! Alrigth, here goes nothing!'

"Zara?"

She giggled, "Yeahhhhh?"

"Cute doesn't even begin to describe how beautiful you look right now." I stated, with a grin on my lips.

"*Gasp* Mizu, do you mean it?!" Her entire face lit up at this, and the sparkle in her rosy pink eyes shone much more brightly.

"Yep. You look absolutely stunning right now."

"Mizu..." Then all of a sudden, she jumped up with her arms around my neck, and hugged me with force. "Thank you Mizu!!! Haha, I knew I was beautiful before but hearing this from someone feels much better!!"

"W-Woah! Z-Zara!" I of course hugged back, but part of me felt self-conscious about if there were any on-lookers around minding our business...

'Meh, whatever...not like we've got anything to hide anyway...'

The outfit Zara chose was a soft black, sleeveless dress with a small ribbon in the middle of it. It reached her knees, and somehow matched perfectly with her pure black, silky smooth hair, which was tied up in a large bun at the back of her head. The dress also seemed to bring out her eyes much more than the coat did, and seeing her without that uniform on...it honestly made my heart skip a beat...'This sensation...' For some reason, Zara hugging me like this... 'Why does it feel so...familiar...'

Slowly, during the hug, I opened my eyes to see her...only for my entire vision to be completely blurred. 'W-What the...w-why can't I...s-see..?'

"Christopher?"

'W-What? W-Who's-"

"Ugh, you're still not ready yet cuz? Quit fooling around, do you know how long I've been waiting for you?"

Unexpectedly, I felt an eerie, yet comforting energy form directly in front of me...and a voice, which sounded almost exactly like mine, came from where I stood.

"********? What're you doing here? I thought I told you I'd meet you-"

"Yeah? Well you took to long, and now the mission we wanted to choose is now taken! Hmph, dummy!"

"Wait, what?! Damn...and it was a high paying one to..."
"Hmph, you knwo, I can't believe you sometimes. What even held you back anyway??"

"Err...well..." Out of nowhere, I felt a hand scratching the back of my head, and I found myself feeling a little embarrassed, "Aero wanted me to uh...p-play with her for a bit...and since she's my ********, I just couldn't refuse..."

"Seriously..? That's all? God...Seriously Christopher? Man...and here I thought you were finally toughening up..." The girl in front of me sighed heavily.

Directly afterwards, the vision I watched seemed to gain something...a pale white hand formed in front of me, and abruptly, I found myself feeling weightless...'Oh my God...w-what's going...on...'

"Let's just hurry to the mission area before we miss anymore high paying jobs..."

"Okay!" I exclaimed, but the vision didn't seem to end just yet. 'Huh? W-Where's...Z-Zara?' The hand in front of me didn't fade away, and all my surroundings somehow turned white. Zara, whom I was supposed to be hugging still, was no longer in my arms. Looking around, I couldn't see her anywhere. 'Did she disappear or something?' I couldn't really tell...but what more caught my attention was the fact that the hand the figure who spoke held out to me, didn't disappear as yet...'Should I...grab it?' Part of me wanted to, whereas the rest, felt frightened to.

Ultimately, I succumed to my curiousity, and held it, only to be vigourously yanked forward.

"W-Woah! W-What the?!"

"Do not trust him."

"H-Huh?!" In a single motion, my face darted toward the medium pitched, feminine voice right next to me...

What I saw, was a pitch black figure, the same height as me, shooting daggers into the very core of my soul.

"Ah-AHH!" I blurted out, as I pulled my hand away, and collapsed onto the gound. The apparation turned to face me, and once again said, "Do not trust him, Christopher Hallowswift."

"H-How do you know my name?!" I shouted, my heart ready to burst from my chest.

All it did was tilt it's head, clearly confused by my words, "You don't remember me? It's me, your ******, ********."

Alas, my ears were unable to render what it stated...

"W-What?!"

"********, your ******."

"I can't understand you! W-What the heck are you talking about?!"

"Christopher..?" The figure came closer to me, and crouched down inches away from where I was, "Christopher? Don't tell me you forgot who I am...it's me, your ******! We used to do everything together..."

"N-No we didn't! I...I don't even know you!"

"W-What..?" The girl suddenly started to hang her head a little low, "Christopher...how could you say such a thing to your own ******?! Don't you know how much I care about you?! And now you pretend you don't know me...Damn...is Aero all you even care about?! She's your ******! And I'm your **********! How could you pretend you don't know me like that?! How dare you! Idiot!"

Following that intensely spine tingling rant she had, her hand, the one I held, grabbed me by the throat, and yanked me upwards, "You know what. You can just go to hell."

I wasn't prepared for this at all. As soon as I felt my body go upwards, almost all the oxygen I possessed ran low, and the amount of strength put into her action, it almost elt as if she would rip my entire head off, "Nnrng...n-no..! P-Please...s-stop...I..."

And then it dawned to me. This girl with me...she must be identical to the one from the dream I had while I slept. 'But if she is...why is she doing this to me..?'

Not long after, another word passed through her mouth, "Die." And then, in a split second, an unbearable amount of pain flowed through my body as my throat snap in two, and I lost all consciousness to my body...

Although, despite my body basically being dead, I was still very much conscious. Yet, I couldn't move my head, arms, or legs at all.

The next thing I heard, was intense sobs coming from in front of me, from the same person responsible for my state.

"*sob* *sob* *sob* Christopher...*sob* *sob* Christopherrrrrr...."

She placed a hand on my head, and shook me.

Somehow, my voice felt as if I was fully capable of speaking, but I refused to do anything. 'No way. Not anymore. Saying anything else to this crazy girl would only serve to get me hurt even more.'

"Christopherrr...wake up!!"

She shook me even harder.

Still, no response. Eventually, she stopped, and I felt as though she sat in a fetal position, her head buried in her arms.

"I'm all alone..." She stated. "All alone in this deep, dark void...Christopher...how could you do this to me...I thought I was your ********** like you said...but you let me die back in the war...how could you..."

'The...the war..? What is she-' Right before I thought anything else, for a third time, an intense headache befell me, and one way or the other, I partially understood what she told me...

'No...I couldn't have....no way..!' Right then, I regained my ability to move, and stood up. The area I was in, it was no longer the clothes shop, nor the endless white void. It was a battlefield.

END OF CHAPTER 5: A...Date?!

CHAPTER 6: Zara..?

Around me, blood splattered all over the what seemed to be rocky orange ground. The sky was pitch black, and cloudy. No stars showed, the only thing I saw above me was something which was enough for my entire body to want to melt down onto the ground.

"W-What the?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, stumbling down onto the ground.

'N-No way...I-I must be seeing things..! There's no way that's actually there...'

In the sky, directly above a mountainous pillar, was a heart, not just any heart, this one was a sparkling blue colour, and much bigger than any mountain or castle I'd ever seen. In the middle of it, was a dark purple hole, and the aura the entire thing gave off made my entire body quiver in fear.

Then came the noises.

Screams of pain, clashes of weapons, the horrendous sound of metal cutting through a human body, it was the only thing I both viewed and heard around me. All the appearances of the individuals were hidden by a black mist. 'Was it because they were the people I most likely forgot..?'

The situation I was in, there was only one thing explainable. This entire thing was definitely a memory of mine which I lost. 'But why so gruesome? Who even was I in my past life?!'

Automatically, I started walking through the area. The weapons used by the people fighting were almost exactly the same as mine. Only difference to me, were the colours and shape.

...

Only about a minute later, something started to stand out. About a couple inches away from where I stood, three shadowy apparitions, all huddled together, stood, their weapons drawn, each looking in a specific direction.

One of them was taller than the rest, second, up to the latter's chin, and third, up to the first's bottom neck.

The smaller, looking over to the first, exclaimed, it's voice sounding young, feminine, and high pitched, "Big brother...I...I'm scared! C-Can we go home now!" 'B-Brother..?!'

The first peered over to her, and the second seemed to agree, her tone the same as the girl who strangled me earlier, as well as someone I knew... "Yeah, I-I don't wanna be here anymore Christopher, let's-AAHHH!"

All of a sudden, the second was stabbed straight through her chest, and collapsed onto the ground. The moment, the other two caught wind of this, they both shouted out, "********!!!"

Then, seconds later, the first ran up to, and drove his blade through the person who killed her's neck, killing him instantly.

When this finished, abruptly, I found myself hearing the words, "Mizzuu? Miiiizzzuuuu?"

Afterwards, the vision ended.

...

...

The next thing I saw, was Zara, whom wore the black dress she chose, gaping down at me, a cheery, yet fond smile on her lips, "Oh! You're finally awake!! Good morning Mizu! Did you have a good nap?"

"N-Nap..?"

She happily bobbed her head, her sparkling pink eyes beaming at me, "Mhm! After we chose your clothes, you told me you were tired so we sat on a bench not far from the shop together, and afterwards, you looked a little dizzy so I let you use my thighs as a pillow...Heehee, then before I knew it, you were already asleep!"

"Y-Your thighs..?"

"Yep!"

'Oh my gosh...am I really...lying down on her thighs..?' Thinking about this made my entire face glow pink. 'The sensation underneath my head was soft, and a feeling of skin was there. Eyes shooting open, I thought, 'Th-This really is her thighs!'

"Huh?" She implied, placing a hand on my head, "Mizu? Your forehead is really hot. Do you have a fever?"

"A-A fever?" 'Well, probably from that vision I had and my throat being snapped in two...but this could be just because of embarrassment...'

"Mhm, you've had it for quite a while now...should we return to the castle and get you checked out?"

Zara looked genuinely concerned, though I denied her question, "Nah, it's okay. Have we finished our mission yet?"

She shook her head, grinning, "No, we're still on a date."

"A-A date?"

"Yeah. While you slept, someone passing by came and asked me that, when I asked him what he meant, he said it's where you and your female or male friend go out and do stuff together!"

Oh, so we are..." Truthfully, I didn't mind dating Zara, she's cute, funny, and exactly my type. So this knowledge didn't really scare me. 'Why would it scare me..?'

"Anyway, ready to go Mizu?"

"Y-Yeah..." Smiling softly, my face turned slightly red, "...R-Ready."

"Okay!" With great carefulness, I raised my head, and sat up, sitting right beside her. The look she gave me gave me a warm and reassuring feeling, which took the intense and frightening emotions I just had away.

Soon after, she blushed a little, and stated, "Hey...Mizu?"

"Hm?" I mouthed back.

"What were you dreaming about when you slept?"

"What I dreamt about? Well..." I looked a little down. 'Should I tell her? I know it'll sound kind of weird...well...I guess there's no point in hiding it from her...'

"Z-Zara?"

"Yes?" Still keeping her happy look, she answered.

"Is it okay if I tell you when we return back to the castle? Cause the dream I had...it...it's probably going to take a while to explain."

"Oh, it's fine. Just don't forget it during the mission Mizu! Teehee~"

'Haha, thank goodness Zara was here...otherwise I would've just spent all this time worrying over what I saw...what exactly was that..?'

Not long passed before we got off the bench, and continued on with the mission assigned to us...

Except, something felt different about the way I both moved, and looked. Closer inspection told me I now wore a light, black shirt, and long jeans, reaching past my ankles. How I got this eluded me however...

Our job was to eliminate monsters in the Twilight Towne forest, which I easily got done. Zara on the other hand, hid behind me for chiefly the entire thing, and I ended up doing all the dirty work.

...

Returning back to the castle, Siax greeted us.

"You're back. Did the mission go as planned?"

Zara, sill in her cute dress, stated, raising a fist in the air, "Yep! Those monsters were no match for us!"

"Eheheh..." Gently, I elbowed her size, and she responded with a giggle.

"Good. I see you also bought some new clothes..?"

"Oh, right. We got them to help fit into town and avoid those super uncomfortable stares from everybody. We'll change back in a minute." I explained to him.

"Alright. You both have no more missions for the day. Dismissed. Make sure you make a report of what happened soon."

"Okay!" Zara shouted out.

He walked away shortly following, then Zara went in front of me, and grabbed my hand, "Now you'll tell me about that dream you had Mizu?"

I shrugged, "Sure. B-But first...I think it'll be a good idea to go someplace private..."

"We can go in my room if you want! I don't mind."

Promptly after she said this, I quickly noticed a funny look from Roxas, who was with Xion on a couch. 'Err...m-mind your own business!'

"S-Sure..! I-I don't see w-why not..!"

"Great! Just let me clean up a little and I'll be all ready!" Identical to a child, Zara merrily skipped off to her room, leaving me with Roxas, Siax, Xion and Xigbar.

In the meantime, I decided to slouch onto a couch, and relax for a bit...

'Man...what a day...first I find out I slept for an entire week, then I have a hair raising vision where I basically got killed, and afterwards, I witnessed a bunch of people killing each other...what's next..? The castle blows up?' With all this in my mind, I let out a sigh, and leaned comfortably on the back rest.

Seconds later, I started to fall asleep again...until Roxas suddenly appeared next to me,

"Hey Mizu. Did you enjoy your date with Zara?"

"W-Woah! R-Roxas?! D-Don't scare me like that!" Him coming out of nowhere shocked me to the core.

"*sigh* I told you to leave me alone, dummy..." Xion walked up to us with a funny, yet interested expression, "But still, how'd it go Mizu? Did you get closer to her or..."

Understanding what she meant, I said, "Well...I guess...we didn't really do much though."

"You did get her a stuffed animal though. That's good." Roxas said.

"Yeah, and by the looks of it, she really enjoyed spending time with you." Xion backed him up.

"Eheheh...y-yeah..." Feeling somewhat anxious, my words came out in a stammer.

Continuing, Roxas blurted out, "Anyway I'm rooting for ya Mizu!"

"Yeah! Go get her!"

"Guys...you're embarrassing me! Stop it!"

The two only laughed a little, then to my relief, Zara came up to me, ready to hear my dream.

...

Inside her room was...amazingly, the same as mine. Walls, bed, desk, closet, they were literally identical. 'Wow, I guess Xemnas made all rooms the same then....'

Sitting next to each other on the bed, she excitedly asked, "So...what'd you dream about Mizu???"

"Well...it's kind of scary..."

"That's fine. Now tell me!"

With her tone, it was clear she really wanted to hear this, so inevitably, I told her everything in extreme detail, which by the end of it, had her shivering, holding tightly onto her chest, looking downwards to her lap...'What've I done..?'

"Z-Zara? Are...are you alright..?"

No response.

I asked again, only this time, shuffling closer to her, plus putting a hand on her back, "Zara?"

"Mizu..." Finally, something escaped her mouth, then all of a sudden, she latched onto me with both arms around my chest, her head pressed into it. I of course, hugged her back, "...I...I'm scared..."

"I thought you'd be...sorry for scaring you so much."

She shook her head, "N-No, it's fine....i-it's just...that girl...she...I feel like I know her...?"

"W-What..?" What she said sent shivers down my spine, "N-No way..? W-Who is she?"

Raising her head, she obtained a pretty grim expression, "I...I don't know...but what she said, and how your dream ended...it...it hurts..." All of a sudden, she clenched onto her chest, and leaned forward.

"Z-Zara!" Seeing this had me feeling both thunderstruck, plus horrified.

"M-Mizu...my chest...why does it...hurt so much...Mizu..."

"W-What's wrong..?!" My hand fell upon the one at her chest, and I put some pressure on it.

"Ooooh....Mizu...Nnrng..."

"Zara!"

Quickly after this, somehow, she collapsed onto my chest, void of consciousness.

'What just...happened..? Could it be that Zara really does have something to do with my visions..? The spot she held onto, it was the exact place where that girl in my vision was stabbed. No way...it can't be...'

END OF CHAPTER 6: Zara..?

CHAPTER 7: Oblivion

It was about three days since I had those visions. Luckily, Zara didn't sleep for a week like I did, and woke up a couple hours later. Nothing really changed, and when I questioned her about what she dreamt about, she told me she didn't have any dreams, which I was actually pretty envious of.

Our missions continued. She, for the first two missions, relied on me for defeating monsters, and on the third, decided to try it out herself. When I saw her weapon, it looked pretty similar to mine, a sword with a neon blue blade, I knew I couldn't shake it off as just a couincidence our weapons had a close resembalance.

About two days after the third mission, Xemnas assigned me to an away mission with a couple other members, informing me that it might take a couple days...

When Zara heard about it, she was of course disappointed, but wished my best of luck with it.

The place I would be heading off to was called, 'Castle Oblivion.' Located somewhere I had no idea even existed...

...

When I arrived, the members; Axel, Vexen, Marluxia, Larxene, Zexion and Laexeus were with me.

"Wow...what is this place..?"

"Castle Oblivion, a place where we're gonna test Sora's...shall we say...strength..."

"Sora?" I questioned Marluxia.

"Yes. You don't know him, but when you see him, take note of his actions. Make sure to a close eye on his reactions to the things we do. It's going to be crutial to our plan..."

"Uh, okay." I didn't fully understand what he meant, but I decided to just wait and see.

The area outside was like a deep, dark void, similiar to the one I viewed days ago, and the ground was a strange greyish sand, leading up to what looked to be a castle, about light brown in colour. The exterior was mixed up, and appeared as though it had been aging badly. I personally felt facinated by how it looked, which led to me darting inside with the others.

Inside looked much different from outside, all white, with a crystalized, thin stand in the middle of the room. On top of it,was a single transparent sphere, one which showed three individuas who seemed to be coming this way, one of them with spikey light brown hair, a small , black jacket which reached to his sides, a chain with what seemed to be a crown around his neck, and a red outfit, as well as short pants.

'That must be Sora...but who are the other two?'

The rest of the area was two couches, each three seater, and a single chair. On it, was a girl, who seemed to be Zara's age and height. Walking up to her, I said, "Uhh...who are you..?" She wasn't a member of the organisation, no uniform was on her body, instead, she wore a white dress, reaching past her knees. Her hair was blonde, long, and up to her shoulders, sea blue eyes, a round face, and small lips.

Upon viewing me, she flinched, "Uh-H-Hi..." Though after seeing my appearance, she somehow calmed down a little, "You're...you're the new member...?"

"Mhm. I'm Mizu, I joined the organisation a couple-err, two weeks ago."

"O-Oh.." The look on her face told me she wasn't aware of this. "Seriously. Who even is she...? I don't think I've ever seen her at the castle...'

At the same time, the two of us said, "Um..."

"O-Oh, s-sorry. Y-You go first." I said, slighty flushed.

"N-No. Y-You do..."

"Um, okay. Well..." Taking a breath, I remarked, "I-I don't think I've ever seen you back at the castle. Are you new? How come you're not wearing the uniform?"

"Oh, no, I-I'm not new...I-I just...w-well..." She paused for a moment, seemingly uncomfortable with continuing.

"I...I'm N-Namine...I-It's uhh...n-nice to m-meet you...M-Mizu..."

"Huh?" For some reason, she decided to avoid my question with a greeting. "Uh, n-nice to meet you too, N-Namine..." 'Did she purposely attempt to avoid my question? Hmph, I guess girls are much more complicated than I thought...'

An awkward silence passed over us, which was broken by Marluxia announcing that Sora had entered the castle. All of us, including Namine, went over to the sphere, and watched as he, with the others, looked around.

"Should we go meet him or..?"

Axel, who stood next to me, patted my back, "Yeah! Heya Mizu, why don't you go give him the old organisation greeting huh?"

"Hm? Um, I-I don't think-"

Larxene, her blonde spiked-at-the-back hair glowing, smirked mischievously in my direction, "Yeah Mizu! How bout you go talk to him! I'm sure he'd looooove to see how intimidating you can be!"

"R-Really?!" Feeling both flattered and excited, my eyes darted over to her, "You really think he would?!"

"Ha, yes! I mean, doesn't everybody?" She backed up, and shrugged, the palms of her hands facing upwards.

'Wow, if a girl like Larxene says he would, then I'm sure it'll be a good idea!!' Plummiting a fist into my hand, I nodded, "Okay! I'll do it!" Peering at Marluxia, with a funny grin, he said, "Alright. Mizu, you take first greeting. Let us see what Sora does when he sees you..."

He put out his hand to me, and to my right, a neon purple worm hole like object appeared. Inside showed the exact room Sora was in, and what he was doing, "Mizu, if you would?"

Despite being absolutely astonished at what he performed, I blurted out, "Right. Wish me luck guys!" Then literally jumped head first through the portal.

...

Arriving in the room, the first thing I saw was my entire body plummiting the ground, adn I landed face first, flat onto the ground, right in front of Sora and his two pals.

"Oof! Ow...Ugh...why does the floor gotta be so hard all the time..." My hoddie was off, which meant they were fully capable of seeing my face.

Getting up, I rubbed my forehead as my gaze fell upon them, "Uhh...h-hi..." Realizing they saw everything, I felt somewhat embarrassed...

"Um..." Sora replied, his friends, who resembled...'A dog...and a...duck..? What the..? This isn't a dream...right..?' "Hel...lo? Um...did you just...fall down just now..?"

"Y-You saw?!" My entire face turned red when he mouthed this.

"Yeah...we saw." Sora said, smirking, definitely holding back laughter. However, his friends didn't, adn started to burst out in laugher.

"H-Hey! Th-That's not funny!"

Inevitably, he was now in stitches, which both amde me mad, and even more timid than I already was. "Grr...stop laughing you three!"

They only did even more. 'God...this trio's even more annoying than I thought they would be...maybe I should...try something to make them stop? But what..?'

First, I decided to try shouting, "Excuse me! I'm right here! You can stop now!"

Nope. They didn't. Instead, Sora exclaimed, "Oh? ARe you sure you're right here, and not down on the ground like you were just now? Hahahahahaa!"

"Gah..." 'No way...did he just make fun of me?! Oooh...nobody makes fun of me! I'll show him! I'll show all three of them not to make fun of me! The mighty Mizu!'

Almost immediately after Sora shouted this, I summoned my scarlet saber into my right hand, and mouthed to them in the meanest voice I could muster, "HEY!"

"W-H-Huh?!" Those three were definitely not expecting this, and upon viewing my weapon, they also summoned their's. Sora's looked like a keyblade, a yellow, square shaped handle, complete with a silver key shaped blade, about identical to Roxas's. The duck's was a mage's staff, and the...dog's? Was a...shield..?

All their weapons facinated me... but the main question I had was...'What is this?! Some sort of weird fantasy game?! Why is there literally a walking talking dog and a duck alongside this guy?!'

Shoving this aside, I shouted out, "Alright. You two-I mean, th-three, are gonna listen to me, or I'll cut all of you to bits!"

They unfortunately weren't all that convinced...likely because of my performance a minute ago.

"You'll cut us to bits?" Sora questioned, now deciding to enterain my foolishness. 'Oh God...why did I let Larxene talk me into being the first one he sees?'

Adding to his statement, he said, "So, what've you got to say clumsy?"

"Cl-Clumsy? I-I'll have you know I've fought way more monsters than you!"

"Oh really?" The three of them eyed me with perculiar grins, "So tell me, how many have you fought?"

'Wait, he's really gonna ask me this?' Not knowing how to respond, I said, "Like about uhh...one or two hundred or so..?"

"Two or three hundred? That's wayy more than I've fought?"

"But Sor-"

"Shhh, be quiet Donald..." The duck next to him wasn't really sure about this, but after hearing this, I automatically perked up,

"See? i-"

"I'm just kidding. I've defeated WAY more than you, clumsy!"

"Oh for God's sake would you PLEASE stop calling me clumsy! My name's Mizu!"

"Mizu? Huh, what a weird name. Who chose it for you? Your mom? Ha!" Once again, Sora absolutely destroyed me...

"Oh you did not just say that!" That was the last straw. Without even thinking, I darted toward him, sword high above my head. Sora braced for impact, then right before our weapons clashed together, out of the blue, the exact portal that got me into this whole mess appeared, and next thing I knew, I found myself, collapsed onto the floor, in front of Axel's feet.

"Looks like that well, eh Larx?"

Larxene was in the middle of chuckling when she answered, "Definitely! After seeing Mizu completely fail right in front of Sora, I finally feel like I'm up for this stupid job..."

Upon hearing this, I at last realised what Larxene meant by he'd love to see me...'Haha...sarcasin, huh...Man...I'm so stupid..." Sighing, I thought, 'I sure hope Zara's at least doing better than I am with her missions...'

(CHRISTOPHER'S PERSPECTIVE #1 END)

END OF CHAPTER 7: Oblivion

CHAPTER 8: What Just...Happened..?

(ZARA'S PERSPECTIVE #1)

"Aww man...what am I gonna do now that my best friend's gone off on a mission without me..." It was a couple hours since my best friend, Mizu left for Castle Oblivion, I had already done all my missions for the day, and was now slouched onto a couch in the living room, lips pouting, with my arms folded.

"UGH! When's he gonna come back...it's so boring here without him! Hmph! Why'd Xemnas even assign him to that stupid mission in the first place?!"

As I ranted out my boredom, one of my colleages, Roxas, approached me. Seemingly hesitant to step any closer, he implied, "Uhh...Zara? Who are you...talking to..?"

After I heard his voice, my entire body jumped up in joy, as I darted to my feet, and wrapped my arms around his neck, thinking it was Mizu, "MIZUUU!!! YOU'RE BACK!! OH MY GOSH YESS!!!! MIZUUUU!!!!"

"W-What the?! Z-Zara?! I-I'm not Mizu! I-It's me! R-Roxas!"

"Huh?" I raised my head, and the person I held wasn't Mizu...but his friend Roxas. Panic-struck, I instantly let go of him, and took a couple steps back, "AAH! YOU'RE NOT MIZU!!"

"*sigh* No, I'm not! Mizu's over on a secret mission Lord Xemnas gave him..."

"Aww....do you know when he'll be coming back???" I questioned, a disappointed tone taking over my speech.

"Sadly, Xemnas hasn't given us any new info on that so...who knows when he'd come back. Haha..." Strangely, he scratched the back of his head, then continued on with his uninteresting statement, "...But! In the meantime, you could come hang with me and Xion! We'd lo-"

"No thanks. I'd rather wait for Mizu to get back than hang with you guys."

He sounded pretty stunned at my remark, as he stammered, "F-Fine then. S-Suit yourself!" I watched while he walked in the opposite direction, toward Xion, who was sitting down on another couch.

'...' He started talking to her about something, and she kept on sneaking glances at me. 'Just what are they saying..? *sigh* I bet if Mizu were here, we would've gone to Twilight Town again...Man...what to do? It's so...boring here...'

All of a sudden, Xemnas called out to me from the other side of the room.

"Zara. I have a task for you to do."

The moment I caught wind of his statement, joy befell my entire body, and I cheerily darted over to him, "Ooh! Another one? What is it master? Tell me! Tell me!"

He seemed a little baffled by my enthusiasm, but completely ignored it, "Your task is to go observe somebody's actions, and report to me everything. When it's nightfall, you must return here, and tell me what they did, and said. Here. Use this to take notes of anything you see." He handed me a black copybook labled, 'Zara's observations.'

Truthfully, the mission sounded as boring as lounging around on the couch...and with this in mind, I gaped at him with a disappointed look, "Aww....but master....that's boringgg!!! Can't you choose somebody else to do this instead?"

He shook his head, signaling a denial of my request, "No. You are the only person capable of doing this for me."

"UGH...why can't you do it then?"

"Because I've got work to do, and so does everyone else. Now, you must go. Have you eaten anything for the day?"

I nodded, "Mhm, I ate breakfast before I went out on my daily mission."

"Alright. Then take this, buy some food somewhere when you get hungry again." Xemnas handed me some money, which I gladly took.

"Ooh! Thanks master! I definitely will! Can I buy some sweets to?"

"..." Then afterwards, he gave me a weird look, as if I were a child, "N-No. Um, ask Mizu to once he returns."

"Okay! Well..." Following a dejected sigh, I mouthed, "...Might as well just...get on with the mission...I guess..."

"Good luck. I'll see you when you get back. Oh, and whatever you do, do not let her see you."

I didn't really find myself confused by what he stated, all I did was acknowledge him.

'Hmph...First my best goes out on a secret mission to Castle Oblivion...and now I get this super-duper tedious mission to go watch somebody! Can this day get any worse?!'

...

I left for the mission a couple minutes afterwards.

The area I was sent to...I couldn't believe my eyes. The sky was pitch black, no stars were shining at all. In one area, there seemed to be a large, stunning castle, yet somehow, the entire thing was broken down, and seemed to succumb to age. Moss grew all over the building, causing most of it to appear almost indescribable. Rubble from it was everywhere, somehow, pieces of giant rock fell some feet away. The grass beneath my feet were also tainted, but not with stone, a completely black colour was stained though it looked nothing like normal paint. The area I was in, in a nutshell, was utterly destroyed.

'Gosh...how did this even happen..?'

"BIG BROTHEEERRR!"

"Huh?" Out of nowhere, a loud, high pitched, child's voice sounded, then an individual who seemed to match the descriptions Xemnas gave me of the person I needed to observe, appeared from a pathway which seemed to lead further into the area.

Strangely, seeing that girl seemed to give me an uneasy feeling in the pit off my stomach...Though, upon sight, I recognized her as the same person Xemnas noted the appearance of

"Ooh! That's her!" Taking out my copybook and pen, I held it, and started to write down what she was doing.

'Okay...so she came through the pathway...shouting, 'Big brother'..." Putting my eyes on her, the expression she wore was one of both fear and uneasiness.

The girl wore what seemed to be a short sleeved purple top, a ribbon at the top, complete with long fully black pants, to which she used a dark belt to hold up. Over her clothes, she had a transparent dark blue tunic, covering her entire arms. Her hair was coloured light brown, and neatly tied up in a single pony tail, skin was completely pale, though at this point, looked much paler than it should be. Her eyes were the same as Mizu's, ocean blue, small lips, and her height...about up to...I'd say...Mizu's bottom neck...A single detail concerned me greatly though. 'How come she looks so much like Mizu though..? Are they related..?'

Once again, she shouted out, stopping right close to where I was, "BIG BROOOOTHERRR!!"

No response from anywhere, instead, what arrived was...The same monsters type of monsters Mizu and I fought on our missions together.

Though, this time, they seemed much stronger compared to what we battled. Three of them, about ten meters in height with a fully black body, long muscular arms, stringy, loose, pitch dark hair, glowing yellow eyes and a giant, transparent heart in the middle of their chests appeared, plus they really didn't look happy to see her.

"Uh-oh...should I help..?" The girl was basically on the verge of tears now, as she backed up, and collapsed onto the ground. From there, she started sliding herself backwards, until she hit a wall, blocking her escape.

"Nnrng...big brother....*whimper*" She said, seemingly unable to do anything.

One of the monsters raised its fist up high, and it started to gather up what seemed to be dark energy. 'Oh no! Is....is it going to kill her? I've got to do something! But Xemnas said not to let her see me...'

Though something I didn't expect at all happened. Right before it hurtled its fist toward her, she sprung to her feet, flicked her wrist, and immediately, two matching swords, both a deep red colour, formed at her sides.

Then abruptly, she put her hands out, and both weapons flew towards two out of three monsters, going straight through their heads at high speed, the impact caused them both to plunge backwards, their bodies fading away as if they were never there in the first place.

One was remaining, and the way she took care of this was by casting a strange type of magic on it. Something resembling a white star, surrounded by a large circle formed beneath her feet, and she glared daggers at it, shouting out, "I call fire! Engulf this beast and make sure it never rises again!"

In an instant, the ground beneath its feet opened, and chains from within the Earth itself shackled itself around the beast's entire body, imprisoning its arms, plus legs. At the snap of her fingers, the entire thing was overtook by flames, burning it to ashes.

All of this didn't fail to absolutely amaze me. 'Wowww! I don't think I've ever seen such magic before! Certainly, this girl is absolutely overpowered!!!' I was just about to jump out and meet her, but just before I did, she darted off suddenly, and sprinted off to the castle.

'Oh! Better make sure I take note of this!' I thought to myself, just before I went along with her in secret.

...

...

I followed her for about an hour. Her movements, desperate search for her older brother, somehow...I started to feel...I don't know, some sort of familiar sensation to her...or it just could've been that fact that her shouting out 'Big brother' all the time started to give me a headache.

We were now at a small, abandoned village. The houses were all wooden, and none of them were originally very big in comparison to what they were somehow reduced to...

She'd been running around for the entire time now, so not even once did I get the chance to take a good look at her face.

Sitting down on a wooden bench, somehow still intact, she went into a fetal position, and hugged her knees to her chest.

In a low, melancholy voice, tears started to form at her eyes as she mouthed out, "I'm so hungry...big brother...where are you..? Oooh...if only we didn't go there...none of this would've even happened in the first place..."

"W-What..? Go...go where..?" 'What is she saying..? Did she come to this broken down place with her older brother? But...who in their right mind would bring their little sister to a place like this..?'

Something in that statement stood out to me though. That girl was hungry. 'Should I go get her something to eat real quick at the castle?'

The thing which guaranteed the fact that I would was hearing her stomach growling. I opened up a gateway (The portal) to the castle's cafeteria, and quickly got her a chicken sandwich, and some cold water.

Hiding my face in my hoodie, I walked up to her, then when I was close enough, I held out the items to her, and mouthed, "Here."

Looking up to me, her face was wholly stained in tears, "Mm?" Obviously, she was confused, asking, "Who...who are...you..?"

"I'm Zara. You said you were hungry so, I brought you something to eat and drink."

"O-Oh...Umm...s-sorry...m-my big brother said not to accept anything from strangers..."

Giggling a little, I stated, "It's okay. I promise I didn't poison it or anything. Here" I put the bottle of water down on the bench, and removed the foil off the burger, revealing the meat, lettuce, pickles, and well-made bread, "Say 'aaahhh'"

The girl obviously hesitated, but ultimately, she surrendered, and opened her mouth, "Aahh..."

After taking a single bite, her eyes lit up, and a smile formed on her lips, "Mmm! This tastes delicious!"

"See? I knew you'd like it. Here, have it."

She sent me an appreciative twinkle, "Thank you!" Then gently gripped it. I uncapped the water, and gave it to her, "You must be thirsty to, after all that searching you did. Here."

Luckily, she accepted it, and drank some a quarter of the contents, "Ahh...that's much better...thanks...Um...."

"Zara. Its Zara. And you are..."

"I...I'm Aero...Hey...do...do you have any idea where I might be..?"

She asked me this with a hopeful look on her face. But sadly, Xemnas hadn't told me where I'd be going...With a sigh, I stated, "Sorry. I don't...I don't think I've ever even seen this place before."

"Oh...Okay...Th-Thanks anyway..."

"Mm.." I sat on the bench next to her, and watched as she bit into the food once more.

'Hm...when I first got here...she was searching for her older brother...should I ask her about it?' Looking at her, eagerly munching on the burger, I didn't want to make her feel even more dejected...but I thought, if could give me some information on her brother, I'd be able to help find him.

Unsure of wheather or not I should ask, I tapped her shoulder. "Hey...Aero, was it?"

"Mhm? Yes sis?"

"Um...you were searching for your...older brother, right?"

"Oh..." Just as I expected, when she heard the words, 'Older brother, her face drooped down, "Yeah...I was...have you seen him anywhere?"

"Well...I'm not very sure. But if I could just find out what he looks like, I could help you look for him."

"You will?!" She immediately perked up, and beamed up at me, "Thank you Zara! Heehee, now with the both of us looking, we're bound to find my big brother!"

'Wow, now that's what I call a ball of energy.'

She proceeded to tell me what he looked like, and at the back of my copy book, I wrote down what he looked like.

When I finished, I read it out, "Alright now...let's see...he's got white skin, short black hair, a five foot four...blue eyes, and wears a black shirt, pants, and an...adventurer's jacket..? What's that?"

"Huh? You don't know what an adventurer's jacket is? It's something people wear to show that they're adventurers! Him and his cousin used to wear them every time they go out together!"

"He...he has a cousin?" As soon as I heard this, a strange, foggy feeling entered the pit of my stomach. 'Huh? Why do I feel so...nervous all of a sudden? I'm only talking to Aero...she seems like a good girl so, there's no reason to be scared at all."

"Yeah! Her name's ********! She and him use to go out adventuring together while I stayed home with my stepbrother ***. Though, it was a lot more fun when my big brother stayed home with me. *** is really really boring, all he talks about is his games and TV shows, he never ever wants to play with me! While when big brother stays home, he plays with me all the time! Heehee, sometimes he even pinches my cheeks and calls me cute!"

"W-What..?" While she spoke...Some of the words she said were somehow blocked out from reaching my ears. 'Maybe I just didn't hear them right.'

I decided to ask her, "Hey, what did you say his cousin's name was?"

"You didn't hear me? She's ********. A-And my step brother's name is ***." She replied to me with a broad smile.

"H-Huh?" 'There it is again...'

"I'm sorry, could you say that one more time please?"

"Okay!" Somehow, she fully agreed to without any grudges, "It's ******** and ***. They're two of my family members."

'So it isn't just me...why...why can't I hear those two names?' Each time Aero told me her cousin and stepbrother's names, to me, it'd come like static from an old television. 'But why..? Is there anything wrong with my ears? No, I doubt it...because I was able to hear all the rest...then...why can't I hear what she's saying?! Why?! Hm, maybe I'd hear what her older brother was named instead...'

"Hm. What's your big brother's name?"

Saying his name kind of gave her a sad feeling, shown by her quiet tone of voice, "My big brother..? His...his name is ***********...*********** ***********..."

Once more...I wasn't able to hear her what she said at all. 'What the heck...what's going on..? Is there something wrong with my hearing or something? Those words just sounded like static again...I shouldn't ask to hear it again, since she looks sad right now...'

Before I could think of anything else, she questioned me, "Hey...Zara?"

"Oh, u-um, y-yes Aero?"

He looked a little downwards, stating, "Have...have you ever...heard that name before or...seen anyone who resembles him?"

"Well...Not the name...but..." I took another look at the description. "Hey...come to think of it...the descriptions you gave me really resembles my best friend Mizu..."

"Mi...zu..? It...it does?!" For a third time, Aero jumped up at me, "You mean he looks like my big brother?!"

"Mhm." I nodded. "And if you want to...I could bring him to you after he finishes his mission."

"Yes! Bring him to me, bring him to me Zara!!! I'd love to see him!!" After saying this, she jumped onto me, her arms around my neck, and hugged me, her sandwich was already all finished.

"Woah! Haha, okay Aero!' I hugged her back. Her skin felt incrediably soft and tender, like that of a baby's. The embrace she gave me was incredibly tight, and I found myself melting into it, pressing my face into her neck. 'Gosh...she's so soft...and the way she's desperately searching for her big brother...she must really love him then...'

She let go of me a few seconds afterwards. Peering at my face, she grinned, "So, when'll he be finished with his mission?"

"Well..." I said, "...I don't entirely know when he'll be all finished...you see, our leader sent a bunch of us on a secret mission to someplace called Castle Oblivion, and didn't tell anyone how long it'll take. So I don't even know when he'll come back."

"Oh...but when he does. You'll come find me, right?" She questioned this with a worried look on her face.

"Of course. I promise."

After I said this to her, she whimpered, and then out of nowhere, she burst into tears, and leaned heavily onto my chest. Comforting her, I said, "Aww...don't cry, I'm sure you'll find him soon..." She only continued, then I found myself feeling a little sad as well...

'Hm...she must really miss him, doesn't she...'

...

My time with that girl ended. I spent the entire day helping her search for her older brother, we went to Twilight Towne, continued searching in that wasteland we were at, and went to just about every place we could think of. Though, there was a single place she wanted to avoid though...she was the only one who knew how to get there, but still didn't. When I asked why, she only told me it was because of bad memories she had of that place. I didn't fully understand, but I knew enough not to question her.

She didn't have any place to stay. When nightfall arrived, I handed her the money Xemnas gave me, along with a lot of what I had. She seemed incredibly grateful for it. After hugging each other one last time, I returned to the castle with a full report of what happened that day, excluding my involvement.

...

I handed Xemnas my copybook, and he read it all.

"Are you sure this is everything she did?"

I bobbed my head, "Positive."

"Hm, seems like she's much more powerful than we thought...Good work, Zara. Tomorrow, I'd like you to do the same thing again."

I didn't complain at this, since I actually wanted to see her again, "Okay! Also...is it okay if I go visit Mizu on his mission tomorrow as well?"

"Visit him?"

"Pleeease! He's my best friend and I really, really want to!!"

"Alright. Just don't make it too long. He's still got a mission to do."

"Thanks master! You're the best!"

After this short conversation, I went to my room for bed.

...

When I entered my room, I took off off my coat, and placed it into a closet. There, I got the clothes Mizu bought with me, put it on my body, and laid down on my bed, letting out a sigh.

"Why wasn't I able to hear those words..?" I whispered to myself.

"Mmm...Aero...she looks so much like Mizu...could the two be related or something..? We've both lost our memories so...maybe...Meh, I'll know once they meet each other..." Part of me excited for this, but I felt all the more eager for the next day. "Tomorrow I'll be visiting Mizu in Castle Oblivion...I wonder if I should bring him something..."

Soon after these sentences, I fell asleep, snuggled up in my blankets.

...

The dream I had, I couldn't put my finger on it.

Firstly, my surroundings were all white, the same as what Mizu dreamt days ago. I was no longer in my bed, instead I was standing upon what felt like a wooden floor, though I couldn't see it at all.

In front of me, something started forming...

"********!! Come play with me!!" A familiar voice shouted this, I somehow wasn't able to hear the name of the person she called out to.

Then out of the blue, I felt as though my lips moved on its own, "Ugh, seriously Aero? Can't you see I'm waiting for *********** to finish bathing so we could go on a mission together?"

"Aww...please ********, *** said he doesn't want to cause he's watching cartoons..."

"Go play with your friends or something instead."

The pure black, partially short figure in front of me seemed to shake its head vigorously, "M-Mh! I wanna play with you or ***********, ********! You are my family after all!"

"Grr..." The emotions I felt at this point were ones I hadn't felt in a long time, anger and annoyance. 'Was it toward this girl who sounds like it could be Aero..? Why am I getting mad at her. She just wants to play...'

A smirk then appeared on my face, "...You know...Aero...you play with *********** all the time, right?"

"Mhm! He's the only one who plays with me whenever I want him to!"

"Yesterday I heard him saying you're annoying, and he'd rather kiss a toilet seat than play whatever game you want him to play."

"W-What..?" The girl, after hearing those harsh words, stumbled backwards, her face obviously shocked after hearing this, "N-No way! B-B-Big brother would never say that! Stop lying ********! He loves to play with me!"

"Do you really believe he does? Man, how blind can you even be, stupid. He doesn't love to, he absolutely detests whenever you ask him to. So-"

"********, are you saying mean things to my sister again?" All of a sudden another figure who sounded just like my best friend, appeared a few feet away from them.

"Big brother!!!" The girl whose name was Aero, jumped up, and latched onto him, her arms around his chest, and face pressed into it, "******** said you think I'm annoying and you hate playing with me...Big brother..." She looked up to him with teary eyes, "Do...do you really think that about me..?"

Despite not being able to view any of their faces, it was clear to me the boy was in utter shock upon hearing this, "W-What?! *-********?! H-How could you! I-I don't hate her! I love it when she asks to play with me! ********...Grr..." He sighed, "You know what...just for that...I'm staying home today."

"W-What?! No! Didn't you say we'd be going on a mission together?! I've been looking forward to it, you know! D-Don't you dare say you're not going!"

"Sorry. But after treating Aero like garbage, you've really crossed the line...we'll go tomorrow instead."

"Gah..." After hearing him say that, I felt as though I was overcome by both grief, and anger, wanting to basically murder Aero. 'Why though. I deserve this after saying all those mean things to her...'

"Now, now...come on sis..." The boy went onto his knees, and lovingly wrapped his arms around his sister's neck, and pulled her into a tight hug. "It's okay, ********'s never going to say anything bad to you again, okay?"

She whimpered, sobbing a little, "O-Okay...b-b-big brother..." The two waked off, disappearing from view.

"Nnrng...YOU'RE THE WORST ***********!!! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!" Shouting those, I ran out the house, and into the street, not turning back for anything.

Everything faded from view the moment I went through the door, and I found myself standing upon...nothing. I couldn't feel anything underneath my feet.

"W-What just...happened..? Was it really...me who said all those mean things to that poor girl who just wanted to play with me..?" I asked myself out loud.

Somehow, a response came to me as soon as I finished, a voice resembling mine, in a dejected way, stated, "I wish I was her..."

'W-What?! I-I'm supposed to be alone here, aren't I?! W-Who was that?!' Hearing this sent shivers down my spine.

Then all of a sudden, a black figure, my height, formed right before my eyes, it's seemingly emotionless expression shooting daggers at me, "Zara. You don't know yet?"

I was entirely startled by its formation, taking a couple steps back, stammering, "K-Know what..?"

"Your name."

"M-My name..?"

"Yes. Or have you not regained enough of our memories to piece it together yet?"

"O-Our memories?! N-No! Y-You mean my memories, right?"

Grinning through the black colour, it snickered, "Heh, you really don't know, do you? That girl you saw hugging our *********, she was the same one you helped back on your mission. ********, how could you? Don't you know she's the reason we can't ever get close to the boy we love?! How could you help her?!" It's voice raised in pitch, "ANSWER ME!!"

"W-Woah! C-Calm down!" I shouted, shaken up by how furious she was, "I-I only h-helped her because of her situation."

"Her situation doesn't matter. It'll be much better if she never finds her brother."

"W-What? No it won't! Don't you know how much she loves him? It'll be horrible if she doesn't! A girl like her should never have to go through the pain of losing her sibling!"

"Heh...hahahahahahahaha....Zara, or should I say...********..." I of course, was unable to her what she called me. "You should know...the moment Mizu, also known as, ***********, regains all his memories and finds back Aero, his little sister..."

"W-What?!" Hearing this, I was absolutely amazed, 'So they are related! That's awesome! Now she's guaranteed to find him back!'

The figure was about to continue its words, until I stopped it, too excited to wake up for anything, "Shut up! I don't want to hear any more from you! Meanie! I wanna wake up! Heehee, now that I-"

Alas, paying no attention to my words at all, she said, "...He'll stop paying any attention to you for good."

When I heard this, my heart skipped a beat, I didn't believe it though. Chuckling, I mouthed, "Haha! You must be joking! Mizu would never stop paying attention to me! I'm his best friend!"

"Hmph, not for long...Once he remembers all those horrible things I, you did to Aero in the past, he'll hate you. Hate you so much that he'll strike you down right on the spot."

Hearing this scared me a little, 'Gosh...would...would Mizu really...strike me down..?' Then abruptly, a smile appeared on my lips, 'Nah! He'd never!'

"Ha, whatever you say weirdo!" Following, I turned around, and started to walk in a random direction.

"I warned you." She said, disappearing from my vision.

Soon after, the dream ended, and I now found myself in my bed, my room illuminated by the relieving morning sunlight.

END OF CHAPTER 8: What Just...Happened..?

CHAPTER 9: Execution

When I awakened, I found myself pondering over the dream I had. Sitting up on my bed cross legged, both hands holding onto them, I went through its events...

"Mmm...could Mizu really be Aero's older brother..? Aero..." When I thought about it, 'What would happen when Mizu gets his memories back? Would he still want to be with me? What would happen when I regain my memories back? Ha, what am I thinking? We're best friends! Of course we'd want to be together still!' I found myself smirking at this. "Anyway, time to get ready! Cause today, I'll be visiting Mizu at Castle Oblivion!!!"

Excitedly, I took off my dress, and put on my uniform. Grabbing some money, instead of going to the living room, I opened a gateway to Twilight Towne, where I found an ice-cream vendor, and purchased two coconut flavored popsicles. Afterwards, I teleported myself to Castle Oblivion, where I found Mizu, in his silky, short black hair, white smooth skin, and blue eyes, staring into a transparent sphere.

"MIZUUUUUU!!!!!!!"

"H-Huh? Oh! Zara!" His eyes lit up upon viewing me, and I darted up to, and threw him a hug, my arms around his neck. He hugged me back, letting out an eager sigh, "Man am I glad to see you! It's so boring here without anyone to hang out with!"

We retracted our arms, I beamed up at him, "Ugh, same here! Yesterday was so boring without having my best friend to play with!"

"Yeah...just sitting err...standing here all day watching this stupid boy go through this castle is the worst! Why'd Xemnas have to assign so many of us in the first place? I mean, this job only needs like...one or two people to do in the first place!"

Hearing his funny rant, I giggled, "Well, at least you'd be coming back soon, right?"

"Definitely, this guys on floor uhh...seven or eight right now so, it won't be long till he reaches floor thirteen and finishes up here. Hey...wanna stay till he finishes? Cause...I don't actually have much to do right now...and I really don't wanna keep watching him like this..."

Giving him a sad smile, I shook my head, "Sorry...Xemnas assigned me on a mission that's gonna take till nightfall..."

"Oh..." Upon hearing this, he got a pretty grim look on his face, "What is it?"

"Well..." 'Should I tell him?' At this moment, I was given the opportunity to tell him about Aero...but part of me didn't want to as yet... 'Nah, let's take this moment to hang out together for a bit. "...The mission is to go observe somebody who has really powerful magic, and who can make her weapons hover by her side, and shoot at her targets with a ton of force!"

He was absolutely amazed at this, his eyes beaming up, "Woah! R-Really?! N-No way! Have you seen her in battle yet?"

"Yep!" I cheerily nodded, "Yesterday while I was observing her, three giant monsters appeared out of nowhere, and she beat two of them in a single hit, and for the third, she used some really powerful fire magic, and burnt it to a crisp like it was nothing!"

"Woww! Man, I wish I could've seen that! Zara, you're so lucky!"

"Heehee! Well lucky is my middle name! Anyway, here." I handed him one of the two coconut popsicles I purchased.

"Oh, ice-cream?"

"Mhm! It's coconut flavored. I bought it at a vendor before I came here."

Gladly, he took it, and grinned, "Ha, thanks Zara!"

"You'reeee welcome Mizu!" No one else was in the room with us at the time, which to me, was relieving. Mizu and I sat down on a couch together, and started eating out popsicles.

While I ate, the memories of last night's dream started to come back to me.

'What that girl told me...' Looking over to MIzu, I thought, '...When Mizu regains all his memories...would he really abandon me..?'

I just had to ask him, "Hey, Mizu?"

"Mhm?" Ice cream on his small lips, he gaped in my direction.

"Um...this might sound weird, but...when you regain your memories, would you still be my best friend?"

He tilted his head, baffled by my question, though he answered very easily, "Of course I will. I mean, I have no reason to not be your friend, so yeah. I would."

"Okay." Part of me felt relieved he said this...though an uncomfortable feeling befell my stomach upon hearing,

"Where did that come from though..?"

"Eheheh...well..." If I said, 'it's nothing.' Then I'd be lying to him, and since he's my best friend, I'd feel really guilty if I did...

Ultimately, I decided to confess, "Well...it's just...I had this....dream last night of me somewhere similar to where you were in that dream you told me you had...and...someone who sounded just like me said that once you regain your memories, you'd-"

"Wait, dreamt about that place to?" He interrupted me with a concerned look on his face.

I bobbed my head, "Mhm. It was...pretty scary to be honest. Did you feel that way to when you dreamt about that battlefield, being choked and stuff?"

"Yeah..." Pausing for a moment to take a bite of his ice-cream, he implied, "Did you see a girl hidden by a black figure there to?"

"Mhm. She sounded just like me..."

"Whatever she told you, don't listen to it, alright?"

"Yeah, I-I know...it's just a little scary though...being told that you'd lose your best friend once he regains his memories..." Somehow, I felt a tear form at my eyes, and roll down my cheek.

"Z-Zara..?" He must've immediately noticed it, quickly finishing out his ice cream, gently raising my head, and wiping it away, "Come on. Don't even think about what that girl said, cause everything she told you is a lie. A big fat, stupid lie! You don't seriously believe that when we get our memories back, we won't be friends again!"

"Mizu..." I found myself starting to weep a little, "...No I...I don't..."

"Good. Would...would you like a hug, since you look like you want to cry?"

Smiling, I nodded, then in one bite, I finished my treat, then shuffled closer, and gave him a hug, my arms around his chest, his around my body.

'That's right...I know I wouldn't lose him when he regains his memory...why would I? I mean...we're best friends...right..?'

END OF ZARA'S PERSPECTIVE #1

CHRISTOPHER'S PERSPECTIVE #2

Zara left for the castle shortly after we retraced our arms.

...

Sora was now on floor ten out of thirteen, Vexen, who judging by his actions I barely even observed, he, for some reason, held some sort of grudge against him, and was, to my knowledge, tasked with battling against him.

I decided to watch them through the sphere at the middle of the room. The way Vexen fought was seriously cool. Ice powers, he was able to freeze the boy in ice a couple times, where he would then swoop in with his large, spiked icey shield, and destroy it, damaging Sora. He also made the floor slippery, and when this happened, somehow, he was able to literally hover above it with ease.

"Woah...so this is how he fights..." I said out loud, Axel, Marluxia and Larxene right next to me.

"Hmph, even I can do better than that..." Axel mouthed, arms folded.

"Really? But when you fought him, you lost, didn't you?" I peered at him, curious.

"That was because I was holding back. If I wasn't, this guy wouldn't even be standing right now."

"Really?!" Hearing this, I found myself feeling extremely eager to see him in action, "I wanna see that! Show me, Axel!!"

He chuckled at my excitement, "Nah. If I do, that would go against the organisations plans for this kid."

"Huh?" Tilting my head a little, I continued, "Plans? What're you talking about?"

"Nothing. You'll find out soon enough."

"Aww...but I wanna know now Axel!"

"..." He ignored my next few remarks concerning what he told me.

"Grr..." 'Man, why's he keeping it a secret from me! I'm a member of the organisation to, you know!'

...

The battle ended with Sora winning, as expected.

Even though I anticipated this since everyone was holding back, I found myself amazed by how he beat him. 'Looks like he's a lot stronger than first impression...Hmm...what would it be like if I fought him..?'

Vexen talked with Sora for a while, a...strange look in his eyes, then quickly left the area through a gateway. But, when he went through, he didn't return to this room... 'Where could he have gone..?'

Baffled, I went to Marluxia, the guy with straight pink hair, a round face, who weilded a neon pink sythe, and asked him about where he went.

His responce made me think he had something up his sleeve, "You will soon find out..." Following this, a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips.

"What does THAT mean?"

"Oh, nothing. You just sit back and watch, my dear Mizu."

"..." 'Seriously? Again with the secrets? Man, isn't anyone gonna tell me anything that's going on here?! Oh!' Looking over to my new friend, Namine, I suddenly got an optimistic expression, 'Maybe she would tell me!'

"Hey, Namine!" I shouted, as I rushed over to her. The girl was sitting upon the same exact chair I first saw her on, in her hand, a sketchpad and pencil.

"O-oh, M-Mizu? Is...is anything wrong?" She implied, a partial smile on her face.

"Nah, not really. Hey, do you have any idea where Vexen went after he fought Sora just now?"

"V-Vexen..." She looked down, and pondered over this.

Her next statement was made a couple seconds later, "...N-No, s-sorry. I'm not quite certain where he went."

"Oh..." Truthfully, I felt pretty disappointed when I heard this. 'I guess I'll just have to wait and see then...Damn.'

"Did...did you need him for something..?"

"No. I was just curious. Thanks anyway."

"O-Okay. Y-You're welcome..."

After that, I left and went back with the others.

'Come to think of it, what's a girl like her doing here in Castle Oblivion anyway?' Part of me considered asking her or the others about it...but after what tthe men here told me, 'Would they even tell me about it??? I doubt it!'

...

Vexen appeared again during floor eleven, which seemed to be an exact replica of...Twilight Towne? Nobody, despite my questions, even told me about why Sora was even here or what those floors he was going through even meant.

The way he looked at the boy, it was obvious he was going for a rematch, though during the fight, it seemed as though he was no longer holding back...

"The heck? I thought you guys weren't suppose to go at him with your full power!" I blurted out.

"Hmph. We're not." Marluxia stated.

"Then how come Vexen is?"

"Vexen has committed treason against the organisation. He must be disposed of."

"D-Disposed of?!" Hearing this, my entire body tensed up, "Y-You mean you guys are gonna...D-Destroy him?!"

"Its the rules. Any traitor here must be taken care of properly." Axel walked next to me, and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"B-But, h-he's your comrade! A-Aren't you gonna miss him and stuff?" My entire being was filled with intense concern about this.

"Miss him? As if we have the hearts to do that..." Axel once again spoke to me.

"What does THAT mean?! And this time, tell me!" I shouted this in a stern tone, hoping with all my heart I'd get an explanation...but alas, for the second or third time for the day, they freaking avoided my question,

"You'll find out soon enough...Haha!"

"OH COME ON! WOULD YOU GUYS EVER TELL ME ANYTHING!!!"

All of them snickered at this, including Namine, who was still on the chair.

'*sigh* I'll just go ask Namine about it...'

With a sorrowful sigh, I walked over to her, and asked, "Hey, Namine?"

"Yes, Mizu?" She grinned up at me.

"What did Axel mean by what he said?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?" I implied, tilting my head.

For some reason, the look she gave me was one of confusion, but what she said irritated me to the highest amounts, "Hm. I guess Xemnas hasn't told you yet..."

"Xemnas hasn't told me what now?"

"It's a long story...you should ask him about it when you return back to the castle."

"W-What?! Y-You mean, y-you're not gonna tell me either Namine?!"

"Err...you should find out for yourself, is what I mean...you can ask me later if Xemnas doesn't tell you either."

"But...once the mission is over and Sora completes Castle Oblivion, since you're not even part of the organisation, who knows where you'd be! Come on! Tell me!"

"Oh, y-you're right..." With a pretty serious expression, she asked me, "Mizu, are you sure you want to find out about this now, even without any of your memories accessable to you?"

"Huh?" I wasn't expecting her to say this. "How do you-"

"Hey, Mizu!" Axel called out to me from across the room.

"Yeah?" I peered over to him.

"Its time for Vexen's execution. Marluxia's assigned us to do the dirty work. Time to go."

"M-Me?! B-But I don't want to kill a comrade."

"You have to. He's the leader for this mission so if you go against him, then its treason. And you wouldn't want to betray us....would you...?"

"Gah..." I had no choice. I told Zara I'd come back soon...I can't let her down just because I betrayed them. Inevitably, I agreed to come along, reluctantly. "...Fine. I'm coming...I'm coming..."

Axel opened a gateway to Vexen's location, and I went with him through.

...

I found myself in the same exact place I awakened before I lost me memories and joined the organisation, the mansion, field, gate, I was directly outside of the mansion I saw. Vexen and Sora were glaring each other right on the spot, they had yet to notice our presence.

"Alright, lets do this."

"What're you gonna do?"

"Hehheh, just watch. Now, prepare to be amazed!"

"Oh! Are you gonna use your super cool magic on him Axel?!" My eyes beamed up at him in hopefulness.

"Yep, now, feast your eyes on this!" In an instant, A massive fireball was created on his right hand, and was aimed right at him.

The moment is was ready, Axel shouted out, at the top of his lungs, "Fire!" Then he threw his arm forward, and the magic struck Vexen right in his chest, knocking him backwards with a loud, "Arrgh!"

Sora, and his pals gaped at us, shocked, whereas Vexen seemed astonished.

Getting back up, his entire body shaking, he stammered, "Axel? How dare you attack your own comrade! Don't you know I'm a higher rank than you?! You've got no right to-"

"Shut up."

"What did you just say?! Mizu to?!"

"Eheheh...sorry but...you've kind of..."

"Save you breath, kid. Let the adult handle things here."

Accusingly, Axel pointed a finger right at his chest, and exclaimed in a funny, stern voice, "You, number three, have committed treason against the organisation, and your punishment, is DEATH!"

"W-What? N-No I haven't! It is you who has done it!" Vexen summoned his shield, ready for battle, "I shall dispose of you right-"

"Mizu, get rid of him."

"W-WHAT?! M-ME?!"

"Yeah. I did the first attack, now you finish him off."

"B-But I don't wanna be the one who kills Vexen! And besides, I don't even have control over my magic yet! How should I know how to defeat him!"

"Just use that rad sword of yours, it's powerful, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I've never tried it on anybody so..." I said this while scratching the back of my head.

"So...this is the chance to try it on someone then."

"..." When he said this, I completely saw his reason. After, I gaped over to Vexen, who was both incredibly frightened, and angry. 'Should I put an end to him? This...this is my chance to try out my sword on somebody...and it would help, since he is a traitor...'

Pausing for a moment, I pondered over wheather or not I should.

One way or the other, I agreed to, "Alright. I'll do it."

"Okay. Now, strike him down, Mizu."

Fearlessly, I summoned my scarlet saber, and walked closer to him.

"No, stay back! Come any closer and I'll- AHHHH!!!" Without even allowing him to finish, I darted up to him, and sliced directly through Vexen's body, breaking right through his shield, and causing him to collapse onto his knees. "There, all done!"

Turning around, Sora and the two were utterly terrified by my doing. So was I a little, but he was a traitor, as said by Marluxia. If he had killed Sora, that would have affected the organisation's plans...whatever they were...

Vexen's body didn't leak out any blood, instead, what happened was that as soon as he breathed his final breath, his body started to fade away...'What the...That's definitely something I wasn't told about either...Damn...would these guys even explain it to me if I asked them?'

...

...

END OF CHAPTER 9: Execution

CHAPTER 10: End..?

Floor twelve

On the same day, Sora made it to this floor.

Larxene and Marluxia were for some reason not in the room with Axel and me, plus, to make things worse, Namine had a pretty disturbed look on her face.

Each time I went up to her, asking about it. She constantly told me it was nothing.

Although, when before Sora made it to the end of floor twelve, Axel peered over to her,

"This is your chance to get to see him, you know."

"Hm?" Namine perked her head at the man, while I just stared curiously.

"Go on. I won't tell anybody." He continued.

Eventually, after giving me, as well as him one last glance, she darted out of the room, a both hopeful and frightful expression.

As per usual, I didn't understand this at all, but it was obvious to me she was most likely related to him in some way...

...

At the end of floor twelve, Sora finished off Larxene after she used her full power on him. Even though this shocked me, she appeared as though she planned to eliminate him, that branded her a traitor...'But why though..?'

Namine went to him as floor twelve, and they, along with his pals, went over to floor thirteen...

Where Marluxia to unleashed his full power, and was somehow eliminated by him. Axel and I were the only members sent to Castle Oblivion who were remaining. Zexion and Laexeus were sent to another part of it, I wondered, 'Did they survive it?'

Though, since he finished, I didn't waste any time to make it back to the castle with Axel.

...

As soon as I arrived, out of the blue, Zara came running up to me, throwing her arms around my neck, and knocking me backwards, "MIZUUUU!!! YOU'RE BACK!! OH MY GOD YOU'RE FINALLY BACK!!!!"

'W-Woah! Z-Zara! Haha!" I hugged her back, "G-Good to see you to!"

Her arms still around my neck, she raised up, and met my gaze, "So, how was the missionnn?"

"Meh, pretty good...but....as you probably noticed...we're uhh...five men short from what we originally had..."

"Huh?" The two of us standing back up, her gaze fell on Axel, who just waved and said, "Hel-lo."

"Wow, we really are five men short! What in the world happened to them?!"

I answered her question while scratching the back of my head, "Well...there's this guy Sora, who basically killed off Vexen, Larxene and Marluxia."

"W-W-What?!" As soon as she heard this, she summoned her neon blue sword, and possessed a mean look in her eyes, "Grr...bring him to me! I'll make sure he never ever stands up again."

Chuckling, I told her, "I don't really think that's a good idea Zara."

"Mm? Why not? He killed three of our comrades! Of course it's a good idea!"

"Err...because um...Axel and the others said that if we killed him, that would mess up the uhh...'organization's plans' which I've got no idea about...so..."

"Plans?" Her weapon disappearing, Zara perked her head, intrigued, "Plans..?"

"Yeah, so I don't think it'd be a good idea to eliminate him just yet. But as soon as the plans are finished, I promise we'll go eliminate him!"

"Okay! You promise?" Zara leaned in close to my face, hands clenched at her back. The action brought up a slight blush to my face,
"Promise!"

"Great! And now that you're finally back, it's time for your welcome back party!!"

"Huh?"

"You to Axel! Roxas, Xion and I planned a party for when you two returned from your mission!"

"Oh, this'll be fun...where are they?"

"In my room. Come on you two!" Zara, full of energy, grabbed both of our hands, and scurried us over to her room, where she opened the door, revealing Roxas and Xion, a cake standing upon a small desk.

...

That day, Zara told me everything that happened when I was gone. Frankly, it wasn't really much but, it got me pretty interested. She mentioned someone by the name of Aero, who was searching for her older brother whose descriptions matched mine. 'Could this be someone from my lost memories? The boy in Zara's vision sounded exactly like I did and she said a girl named Aero was there to...By any chance, if I go meet Aero with Zara, would this be a way to get back any of our lost memories?' This in mind, I found myself hesitant to go. 'Maybe I should ask Xemnas if it'd be a good idea to go meet her...' Thinking this, I, along with Zara, who stood right by my side, went over to Xemnas, to ask if it'd be a good idea to go meet that girl, Aero.

END OF VOLUME ONE