Axel scratched his head, watching the last traces of a dark corridor disappear. It had closed up around the Organisation’s boss—Xemnas.
“Shows up here all of a sudden, tells me to take this kid back…” Axel muttered. He gazed at the boy standing in front of him, left standing in the trails of vanishing darkness.
The boy, wearing a white shirt, was at least ten years younger than himself, Axel guessed, though age wasn’t something that existed for Nobodies.
I don’t even know the kid’s name, he thought. He must be a Nobody that was just born here today. I know that this town is a special place. They call it ‘Twilight Town’ for a reason; it stands in the rift between darkness and light. The darkness of dusk blurs shape, and so does light.
Here, even those that belong to neither darkness nor light, Nobodies, are allowed to exist.
That’s why Axel hung about in this town when he had free time. He had been walking around idly like always, when Xemnas had suddenly appeared in front of him.
He hadn’t been skipping on a mission or anything, but there’s still nothing like bumping into one’s boss for awkward.
However, Xemnas had merely given Axel one order, without reproaching him.
“It’s a new member. Take him back to the castle, prepare him suitably, and bring him to me.”
“Huh?” Axel had uttered, but a dark corridor had opened up behind Xemnas, swallowing him.
Well then take him back yourself, Axel had thought, but he knew he didn’t have the rank to say it.
The boy didn’t move at all.
A tiny sigh escaped Axel. “Follow me.” He opened a dark corridor, but the boy didn’t react. “….hey.”
The boy stayed blank. Axel closed the portal, nothing for it, and stepped closer.
The boy finally moved; he looked up at Axel.
“What’s your name?”
The boy blinked.
Does that blink count as a reaction? Axel wondered. “I’ll ask you again. What’s your name?”
“...Ro…xas…” he said, in a husky voice.
I know Xemnas would have given him that name just before. That’s how I got my name too, thought Axel.
“I see, Roxas. My name is Axel. Got it memorised?”
The boy—Roxas—did nothing but gaze straight up at Axel.
“Anyway, let’s go home.”
Well, thought Axel, not that that doom-and-gloom castle is a great place for this Roxas to ‘go home’ to. He’s just come into the world, for crying out loud. Ahh well. There’s nothing else for him to do.
Just then, Roxas’ gaze shifted.
That’s the first time he’s showed a direct reaction-y kind of reaction, thought Axel. “Hm? What’s up?”
At the end of Roxas’ gaze were three of the town’s children.
I’ve seen those kids zillions of times, thought Axel. They’re that noisy group of punks from around the town. They look like they’d be about Roxas’ age.
They were holding sea-salt ice cream. This was a special flavour; a sweetly salty blue ice treat. Axel didn’t exactly hate it—actually, he liked it. Well, he remembered liking that ice cream.
“…We’ll go home after we eat some ice cream, will we?” Axel set off towards the shop in the middle of the town plaza. “Follow me, Roxas! How about I take you to my hangout?”
Roxas didn’t move.
“Sheesh, guess I got no choice.”
Axel went back, and clapped his hand on Roxas’ shoulder. Roxas trembled, surprised, and looked up at Axel. “Let’s go,” said Axel, and when he started walking, Roxas came along.
Slightly relieved, he headed for the cheap sweets shop in the middle of the plaza.
