Kingdom Hearts 1. That guy in the black coat

Amber closed her dark brown eyes. She drew a deep breath from deep within her and walked though a shadowy vortex that seemed to lead to nowhere. There was a loud whirring behind her, and it was silent for a moment. Then, the whirring occurred again and light shone though a small crack. The crack brought itself to the floor and split open to about the size of a door. She breathed hard and stepped out on the other side.

A soft breeze blew through her hair and whipped a few dark brown strands into her face. She pushed it away, looking around. The area around her was a small town; it was cute, she thought. The entire area was a golden, sun-soaked color. She heard a voice, then a few others, and glanced in their direction.

A short, pudgy kid about her age was walking steadily toward her, followed by a brown haired girl and a tall blonde boy. Trailing behind them was a shorter blonde boy, his hair spiked mostly to one side. She stared at him blankly for a moment, her head tilting. He looked back, catching eye contact. As his eyes met hers, a terrible pain struck her head, and she felt herself start to black out. She felt like she was falling…

_Crack._ The hardwood floor wasn't very welcoming today. Amber sat up, scratching her head and yawning. Her blankets were twisted and tangled in every way imaginable with her sheets(and her legs). She took a deep breath and climbed off the floor, untangling her legs from the sheets. Making her way over to her dresser, she slipped off her night shorts and tossed them on her bed, followed by her shirt.

I wonder why I keep having that dream, she thought as she pulled a pair of jeans from the deep recesses of her cluttered drawers. She slipped them up and buttoned them, then dug out a bra and put it on. On the top of her dresser sat a black zip-up jacket. She put it on and zipped it up just enough to cover her bra. Then, she ran her fingers through her hair and slipped out of the room, grabbing her keys and leaving the apartment.

The town was quiet today, and she was glad. School was out, at last. The sky was clear and blue and went great with the crisp ocean breeze. As she strolled back toward the less-populated part of the island, she started to think about her dream again. What if it meant something? She'd never seen the town-or the boy, for that matter-in her life.

Her mind brought her farther into her thoughts. What if was supposed to be her one true love or something? What was his name? Who was h--

She smacked into someone. A someone in a long, black hooded cloak. She'd never seen anyone so strange-looking…He had long black hair, pulled back into a pony-tail. Streaks of gray ran back into his pony-tail as well. His face was scarred badly and he wore an eye patch.

"Watch where you're goin', kid," he muttered.

"Excuse me? Don't stand in my way, you dumb ass," she retorted, walking around him. He grabbed her arm and yanked her back to him, then pulled it above her, nearly lifting her off her feet.

"Respect your elders!" he yelled at her. She smiled snidely, giving a soft chuckle.

"Hey, buddy, didn't want no trouble. Wouldn't want you to poke your other eye out," she said. Before she could laugh, he threw her to the ground so hard that it knocked the wind out of her. She gasped for air, clutching her chest. The man grabbed her arm again and lifted her up. He stared into her eyes a moment, then raised his eyebrows.

"Now you listen to me. I'm going to take you to my world. You're just who I was lookin' for."

She wasn't sure what he meant- 'his world'. She didn't have time to ask. There was a loud whirring, then a dark portal opened. Amber's eyes widened as the man stuffed her roughly though. The vortex closed, and just like her dream, she saw the smallest glimmer of light, then BOOM! He shoved her though and she smacked onto a white marble floor. "Where are we?" she asked, finally able to breathe again. The man grabbed her arm and picked her up, then pulled her along down a hallway. They passed many giant windows that revealed a dark sky. There were no stars, just one giant moon. A heart-shaped moon. Finally, they reached a huge door. The man that held her reached forward and gave the door a slight tap.

"Superior?" he called, sounding almost timid. The door crept open just enough for the two of them to enter.

Upon entering, Amber looked up to see a sliver haired man with dark skin and amazing red-orange eyes.

"Amber, my dear," he said, an almost delighted smile slipping onto his lips. "You've done well, Xigbar. Leave."

The man that held her let go of Amber's arm gently and vanished into another portal. Amber brought her attention back to the man who sat what seemed like miles above her.

"W-who are you?" she asked demandingly.

"I am Xemnas," he replied. She raised an eyebrow. That was straight forward, she thought.

"Why am I here?" she asked.

"Because I've been watching you, Amber. You seem to have a strong heart, and it could be useful to me."

"Y-You've been watching me…? M-my heart…?" Amber stammered, suddenly scared out of her wits. She had no idea what he was talking about. "You're insane! What is all this?!"

"Silence. You're going to stay here, in this castle. And to make sure you don't try and run…" Xemnas snapped his fingers and a dark portal opened in front of Amber. Her eyes widened as someone stepped out.

He was about her age, and wore a long dark coat with a hood, just like Xemnas and um…Xigbar? She looked at his face and gasped. His hair was blonde and spiked mostly to one side. He had deep, serious blue eyes.

He was the boy from her dream.

As she caught sight of his eyes, her head felt like it was going to explode. She clutched her head and dropped to her knees, trying not to cry. This was ten, possibly fifteen times worse than her dream. She could feel the boy's eyes staring at her through the whole thing.

"Roxas," Xemnas said demandingly, "Take her to one of the room and lay her down. Bring her back to me in the morning and I'll decide what to do with her."

Amber heard the rustle of the heavy leather coat and felt her body lift from the floor. She pretended to be passed out, laying limp in the boy's…uh….Roxas's arms.

So now he had a name _and_ a face. Hot stuff, Amber thought as she felt her body rock with each of the boy's steps. She took a deep breath, smelling what reminded her of roses with a hint of cinnamon.

"You can open your eyes now. We're not in the room anymore," Roxas's voice was soft and gentle-sounding. "Come on, I know you're not passed out."

Amber opened her eyes and looked up at Roxas. He looked down at her a gave her a smirk, then looked back to the way he was walking.

"How'd you know?" she asked.

"You're breathing gave you away," he said. "When you pass out, you're breathing slows."

Roxas looked back down at her and stared into her eyes. For some reason, her head didn't hurt. Not a bit.

"But what did happen in there?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "My head felt like…it was exploding."

"That's weird…but, um, do you think you could walk on your own? Or will you take off?"

Amber sighed. "Put me down," Amber said. "I won't run, promise."

Roxas carefully set her down on the floor.

"So…where are we? And what did Xemnas want with me?"

"You're in Castle Oblivion, base of Organization XIII. I don't know what the Superior wants with you though…I guess he thinks you might be of some help to us."

"How could I help you? And what did he mean 'I have a strong heart'?" she asked. Roxas gave her an irritated look as they rounded a corner.

"You ask a lot of questions, um…what's your name again?" he said flatly.

"Amber," she replied as they stopped at a door and Roxas opened it.

Behind the door was a big, spacious room. It had white marble floors(just like the rest of the castle) and a big king-sized bed, along with a television, nightstand, bathroom, dresser, vanity, and a walk-in closet. Amber's jaw nearly dropped. Hell, if it where physically possible, it would've hit the floor. This was definitely the biggest room she'd ever seen.

"Here's where we'll be staying," Roxas said. Amber nodded, then stopped.

"What about the bed?" she asked. Roxas looked up at her.

"We're sharing it. Keep your mind out of the gutter; I'm not a pervert. You stay on your side, I'll stay on mine," he said. "I wouldn't do anything to you."

Amber immediately blushed at his comment. "I wasn't thinking about that!" she exclaimed.

Roxas chuckled. "I'm gonna go change so I can go to sleep. Don't run off."

"Hey…I don't mean to bother you…but could you get me something to wear to sleep?"

"Um…there's only one girl here…and she won't let you borrow anything of hers. But I guess you can borrow something of mine. It might be a little big…but that'll be okay, right?" he smiled at her softly. She smiled back and nodded.

Amber sat down on the bed and flopped back. She wasn't afraid of what was happening to her anymore, she'd adjusted very easily. She was actually hoping that she wouldn't have to go back. Life was getting rather boring at home.

And then there was Roxas…he was a different story, too. She'd developed a crush already. She wondered if he'd ever had a dream about her too, like she had about him.

The door opened and Amber snapped up. Roxas was standing there in starry blue pajamas. In his arms, he held a pillow and another pair of pale blue pajamas. He tossed the pajamas to Amber and threw the pillow on the bed. Amber stood up and went into the bathroom to change. She came back out with her clothes in her arms. She tossed them on the floor near the door, shut the lights off, and walked back to the big bed, laying down next to Roxas. For some reason, she was suddenly exhausted. Back home, it was probably only around four o'clock in the evening, but here, it felt much later. She looked over at Roxas and sighed. He was snuggled up under the blankets, partly asleep.

"Night Roxas," she said softly.

"Night," he muttered.

At around three AM, Roxas felt a weird warmth on his shoulder. He blinked a few times, looking down. Amber's soft brown hair brushed his nose.

"Huh..?" he mumbled. She smelled like strawberries. He inhaled deeply, taking in a bit more of her scent before he realized what he was doing. He'd just met this girl a few hours ago, and here he was, snuggled up to her and, um…sniffing her. He felt like a dirty old pervert. He didn't want to wake her up, though. She was so cute when she was sleeping…He _was_ being a dirty old pervert.

He sighed and brought his arms around her. Roxas had no idea what he was doing, nor why he was doing it. He just _was._ She shifted in her sleep, then nuzzled her head under her chin. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes. He liked the way she felt in his arms. The feeling he had when he was holding her…it was strange; something he'd never felt before. After a moment or two, he found himself asleep.

:D

I am sooo very proud of my new story!!

This one, unlike my bunches of others, is actually planned. I know what's going to happen!

I don't have to wing it no mo'! YAY!

So yeah ;]

But every day is going to be a new chapter, and every once in a while I might skip a day or a week.

Can't you wait to figure out what Amber's gonna do when she wakes up?!

Read the next chapter to find out!! :D

And ooh, could ya'll, like, leave me some good reviews and such?


	2. Cool outfits,Edgar Allan Poe,and Geezers

Amber didn't want to open her eyes. She was expecting the sun to shine in them. Finally, she peeled one dark brown eye open. Then the other. No sun. Yellow stars on blue fabric were about half an inch from her face, though. She sighed and closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath. A faint smell, like cinnamon and roses took drew her in to the warmth in front of her. She snuggled up to…wait…what was she snuggling up to? Her eyes shot open and she jerked back. Roxas woke with a start and rolled off the edge of the bed.

"What happened to 'I'm not a pervert'?!" she exclaimed. He shot her a look that screamed "I have no idea what you're talking about".

"You were all snuggled up to me, you freak!" she squealed.

"I'm pretty sure it was you who was snuggling me," he said, standing up. She blushed madly. What if she'd done it in her sleep? Roxas sure hadn't seemed like the snuggly type. Then again, his arm had been around her, she was pretty sure. Was is a natural reflex to put your arm around someone close to you? Maybe it was.

Amber glared at Roxas, then sighed.

"We were cuddling. I guess it was some crazy accident," she said flatly, attempting to resolve the whole issue. Roxas nodded, rubbing the back of his head a bit nervously.

"Uh, yeah. Crazy accident," he said, looking a little flustered and embarrassed. Amber raised an eyebrow.

"What time is it?" she asked, looking out the window. "It's still dark."

Roxas chuckled to himself. Amber didn't know what was funny. "Dude, it must be like five AM." Roxas laughed a little more.

"It's always dark here," Roxas said, walking over to the door. "And it's actually eleven AM."

He slipped out the door, and after a moment poked his head back in.

"Change back to your other clothes-- Superior is gonna decide what to do with you."

Taking her time, Amber stripped off her--er, Roxas's pajamas off and grabbed her clothes from the floor. Just as she slipped her jeans on, Roxas opened the door.

"Come on," he said calmly. Amber took a deep breath and followed him quietly back to the room that Xemnas waited in. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she was fearing the worst. Xemnas had NOT sounded like the kind of person to let her go; though, again, a little-bitty part of her was hoping she could stay. Roxas knocked on the door.

"Superior," he called. The door crept open and Roxas led Amber inside. She took a deep breath, straightening her posture and trying not to look as terrified as she really was.

"Amber, I've already told you that you could be helpful to me, but not just yet. I want to perform a little…test." Xemnas turned his attention to Roxas. "Summon one of your key blades."

Roxas looked a little surprised at the demand, as did Amber. What the heck was a key blade? A flash of light slipped through Roxas's hand and a giant black key appeared in his hand. It had silver and blue parts on the side, and a big handle on the end. It was beautiful.

"Take it, Amber," Xemnas demanded. Roxas snatched the key back and looked up at Xemnas.

"You can't be serious! She won't be able to--"

"Silence, Roxas!" Xemnas boomed. Roxas was quiet, and he reluctantly held the key blade to Amber. She took it carefully. As soon as she did, she felt stronger; more confident in herself. The power she felt surged with each beat of her heart, and she was enjoying it.

"So, my theory was correct. She can handle the key blade," Xemnas leaned onto one arm in his big chair.

"But--"

"XIII! Stop interrupting!" Xemnas snapped, causing Roxas to go silent again. "Return Roxas's key blade to him at once, Amber."

At the sound of her name, Amber was drawn from her thoughts and dragged back to reality. Roxas reached out to Amber and she handed him the key blade back.

"Now, Amber, my dear. Close your eyes. Imagine your self with a key blade of your own."

Amber closed her eyes, for some reason entranced by the Superior's…uh, Xemnas's words. She saw herself there, a key blade in her hands. It wasn't much like the one she held moments ago. It was black, and about the same size, though. She couldn't imagine it well, but she could almost feel it in her hand. In fact…

"Good," Xemnas cooed tenderly. Amber's eyes shot open and she looked into her hand. There it was. A black key blade weighed down her arm. She felt the power again. It was much stronger, though.

Roxas stared at Amber, his mouth feeling dry. How could she have a key blade? Why did she have a key blade? Many questions ran through his head, and he was trying not to show how confused he was.

Amber, on the other hand, was ecstatic. She had no clue what a key blade did, nor why she had one, but it made her feel good.

"Amber," Xemnas said, getting her attention. "You are going to stay here, in Castle Oblivion. You'll be staying in the room that you slept in last night. You'll act as if you are part of the Organization, though I want to see what you can do before you become an official member. XIII, get her a uniform. You know where they are."

Roxas nodded to him and looked at Amber, signaling for her to follow.

"Start training, too," Xemnas called after them.

As they left the room, Roxas stopped Amber and pulled her close to him.

"We can't stay here. I don't want you to be part of this. You have to leave," Roxas whispered quickly. "I can't let you suffer with the rest of us."

"Suffer…? What do you mean suffer?" Amber asked, alarmed and blushing at Roxas's closeness.

"No one in this Organization has a heart. We can't feel. We don't have emotions," Roxas muttered. "Xemnas will take your heart…and then you'll be like us…"

"N-no emotions…? Take my heart…?"Amber tilted her head. Roxas sighed.

"Just…Never mind. Come on. I want you to meet a close friend of mine."

Roxas pulled her down until the found a big empty room. A black-cloaked man with spiked red hair was laying on the couch. As they approached, Amber could see that he had dark marks on his cheeks and he was passed out. Roxas walked up to the man, shaking his arm.

"Axel… Axel… Get up Axel!" he said. The man blinked a pair of emerald-colored eyes at him, then sat up.

"Hey Roxas. Uh, who's the cute little girlie here?" he said.

"Amber," Roxas said, "This is Axel, my best friend. Axel, this is Amber. She's new to the Organization."

Amber waved shyly.

"Name 's Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Axel said. He yawned. "So what's up?"

"Axel…do you remember what we talked about last time we hung out? I really think that we could, I mean, it wouldn't be hard! Can we please think it over again? " Roxas asked quietly. Axel's eyes widened.

"Roxas, we've talked about this. They'll tear you apart if they find out--"

"It's worth it! I could find my true self and--"

"What the hell are you two talking about?!" Amber demanded, cutting both of them off.

"Come on, Amber," Roxas said after a short silence. He sounded hurt and angry.

"But--"

"Come on, Amber!" Roxas snapped. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

Roxas was very angry. Actually, 'angry' didn't describe this feeling. Pissed. There we go, that was more like it. Axel was his best friend, or so he said. Then why wouldn't he listen? All he wanted to do was leave this big hell-hole! But no, Axel would rather be treated like a dog and have to follow Xemnas's orders. Roxas pulled Amber a little harder, though she resisted behind him.

Amber stumbled after Roxas as she looked back at Axel. He stared at her, made eye contact, and sighed sadly.

There it was…the pain. Her head exploded into a whole new kind of it when she made eye contact with Axel. Her knees gave out from under her and she dropped to the floor. Her eyes closed and everything was black.

"If Roxas goes…I don't know what I'll do…"

Axel's voice echoed though Amber's mind. Everything was still black, and she didn't want to open her eyes. Reluctantly, though, she opened them. Roxas was sitting over her, a worried expression on his face. Axel was nowhere in sight, but she was laying on the couch that he'd been on when they entered.

"I'm sorry, Amber," Roxas said as soon as he realized she was awake. "I shouldn't have picked a fight with Axel like that…"

"It wasn't your fault I passed out…but…Axel really doesn't want you to go," she said softly.

"How would you know?" he asked her.

"I heard it…When I passed out. I heard him thinking it."

"Wow, you're just full of surprises," Roxas said flatly. "Are you okay to walk with me to get your knew uniform?"

"I feel fine," Amber said, sitting up. She stood from the couch and began to follow Roxas.

He led her down many endless hallways, and finally they reached a room. It was the smallest room Amber had seen she'd been there. It was full of long dark coats of various sizes. It smelled like leather.

In the corner, a boy, around fifteen was sitting reading a book. He had blue-gray hair, and he wore thick-rimmed glasses. Amber was surprised that she'd even noticed him.

"Why, hello there," he said. "XIII, who's your friend here?"

"Zexion--"

"You know my name, I'm honored," the boy said snidely, snapping his book shut.

"This is Amber," Roxas finished, sounding irritated already. "She needs a cloak, she's our new member." Zexion stood up and sauntered up to Amber, making his way around her.

"Yeah, Amber, I'll be back in a few minutes," Roxas said.

Something that most people don't know about Zexion; When there is a new member in the Organization, or someone needs a new cloak, it's his job to get them a one. He's also responsible for cooking when Xemnas calls a feast, though it's a very rare occasion.

He finished his walk around her, then strolled over to a smaller bunch of coats.

"This should fit. Try it on," he said, handing her one. She took it and slipped it off the hanger, then put it on over her clothes. It was comfortable.

"It fits. Good," he said. "What's your shoe size, shirt size, and pants size?"

She raised an eyebrow and answered his question, a little skeptically at first. He went to a dresser in the back of the room(which Amber also hadn't noticed) and found a pair of pants and a shirt in her size. He tossed her the clothes and found a pair of boots.

"You have everything in here figured out, don't you?" she asked him, setting the coat aside and slipping her jacket off. She kept her back to Zexion, though she knew he wasn't paying attention to her.

"Yep," he muttered, staring at his book. She put all the clothes on and turned back to him.

"How does it look?" she asked. Zexion glanced up, then stared at her for a moment.

"Stunning," he muttered. Amber raised an eyebrow. There was no sarcasm. He smirked and took a deep breath.

Amber had a distinct smell. Zexion could smell it from across the room, and he'd never forget it. Strawberries. All his mind could process was how much better she looked in the coat. It accented her curves and made her brown eyes stand out. He sighed. He wished he would've glanced up when she was changing, but he chose to be a gentleman and mind her privacy.

"Well, I'll just wait here for Roxas," Amber said. She grabbed her clothes off the floor and folded them, leaning against the wall next to the door. After a minute or two, Roxas came in. He looked her over, and she could almost swear he licked his lips.

"Do you like it?" she asked to snap from whatever dirty thoughts he might have been thinking.

"U-uh, yeah, it looks nice," he said, his face tinting a little pink. Amber smiled. His compliment added to how well her day had been going so far, aside from passing out.

"But here, zip it up, like this," Roxas knelt down and carefully zipped her cloak up to her chest. Apparently, the cloak had two zippers. He unzipped the second zipper up to a bit above her knee from the bottom, giving her a little space to walk.

"There," he smiled at her, standing up. "Now let's go back up to your room."

"Thanks, Zexion," Amber called over her shoulder.

Zexion watched her leave, a sly smirk on his face. It didn't take him long to figure out that Roxas liked her. He was so gentle with her. Not to mention that Roxas almost never smiled, and here he was grinning like an idiot because he helped this girl out.

Though, he really couldn't blame Roxas. Amber was beautiful. He wished he could've touched her the way Roxas had. But…what? What was he thinking? She was just some girl, for heaven's sake! He shook his head and opened his book again.

I was a child and she was a child, in this kingdom by the sea, but we loved with a love that was more than love--

Zexion snapped the book closed and slumped back into his chair. Stupid Edgar Allan Poe. Guess he'd go watch TV or something.

Walking in this new outfit was fun. It jingled with every step, and the boots were surprisingly comfortable.

"So are you sure you want to stay here?" Roxas asked as they walked.

"Yeah. I like it. Living in a castle, getting a cool outfit…and staying with…"she stopped herself.

"What was that last one?" Roxas said, stopping.

"Getting a cool outfit," she said, her face getting red.

"After that," Roxas mumbled, grabbing her wrist.

She sighed. He was gonna find out eventually. "S-staying with you…"

Roxas lost his breath for a moment. Um, how did he inhale again? Uh-oh, his face was getting red, wasn't it?

"A-Amber…"he stammered. He tried his hardest to hide his blush(and to breathe a little, which he managed), but he got the feeling it was failing at hiding his blush. He looked into her big brown eyes. They felt like they were drawing him in. Wait…they were! He was getting closer to her. Soon, he could feel her breath, but it only lasted a second. Her lips pressed against his…what was she doing? For some reason, he felt his arms wrap around her waist. He felt her start to pull away. He didn't want her to…

"Oh, and what goes on here?"

Both Roxas and Amber cringed at the sound of Xigbar's voice. Why now, why at this EXACT moment, did he have to come walking down the big empty hallways? Jerk. Seriously, this freakin' castle had tons of other hallways to wonder around in. Amber pulled herself away from Roxas.

"Heyyy, Xigbar," Amber said innocently, her face already bright red.

"I saw that, you naughty little kiddies!" he laughed, putting a hand on Roxas's shoulder. "You dog, Roxas."

"Hey!" Roxas snapped, his face about the same shade as Amber's. "Why the hell are you here, Xigbar? Don't you have candy to steal from children?"

Xigbar grinned evilly and picked Amber up, throwing her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Amber exclaimed, wiggling to get away from him.

"Stealing candy from some kid," he laughed at his own joke as Amber quit moving.

"That was really corny, you old geezer," she said flatly.

"Who you callin' a geezer?!" he yelled over his shoulder at her. Roxas walked behind them, his head in his hand with a stressed expression on his face. He looked a little bored.

"Okay, children," he muttered. "Play time is over. Amber has to go train. Put her down, geezer."

Okay, I learned the word 'Geezer' from Ren & Stimpy. My brother got me the first and second seasons for Christmas. It actually means "A senior citizen who tends to be irritable or eccentric."

Fits Xiggy, huh?

lol

ANYWAYS. The next chapter begins training with the key blade (Which I shall draw when I quit being a lazy doofus. AND! I made a banner :D

I'll put it up when I figure out how.

M'kay ßsays the crazed South Park fan

So yeah!

Nice reviews and all ;3

Thankiess!


	3. Training sucks

_Okay, Amber had officially decided that training with Roxas was difficult. After escaping Xigbar, Roxas had led her straight to the training room without another word. Was he mad at her? She wouldn't be surprised if he was. She kissed him, a girl he'd just met yesterday_

_kissed him. Maybe it wasn't what he wanted. Maybe he didn't even like her that way._

_Panting, Amber brought herself back to her feet._

"_A-are we done yet?" she asked, exhausted._

"_No," Roxas replied. One of the few words he'd said since they got to the training room._

"_But--" _

"_No. You're not leaving this room until you can hold a fight for more than a minute," Roxas cut her off, his eyes narrowing. "Now come at me again."_

_Amber straightened up, tightening her key blade in her hand. She charged at Roxas, the key blade behind her, barely an inch off the floor. She got close to him, lifting it above her head and brought it down, making contact hard with his key blade, which she learned was called Oblivion. She'd named hers 'Braveheart'. His other key blade, Oathkeeper, smacked into her side, sending her tumbling to the ground. She somersaulted backward onto her feet and lifted Braveheart above her head, blocking an oncoming swing from Roxas. She pushed up hard, sending Roxas staggering backwards and she brought her key down hard on him, sending a shower of sparks onto the floor from impact._

"_How long?" she asked as he pushed her back, sending her sliding across the floor. He charged at her, both Oathkeeper and Oblivion dragging on the floor._

"_Forty-eight seconds," he replied, crashing Oblivion down at her. She caught it with her key blade, Roxas putting pressure behind his strike. 3...2...1._

"_Done," Amber muttered. She shoved Roxas off of her and laid down on her back, panting heavily. The coolness of the floor's tile felt amazing on her. She sat up, unzipping her coat and pushing it aside, then laid back down to let her skin touch the tile._

_Roxas stared over at Amber. When they kissed, was it him? Had he just forced it on her without thinking about it? She hadn't said anything about it. She'd been oddly quiet since then, too._

"_H-hey…Amber?" Roxas asked, looking over at her. "I'm sorry for what happened earlier…"_

"_What, you mean the kiss? Why be sorry about it?" She tilted her head at him. He felt himself blush deep red. _

"_Never mind," he said quickly._

"_Well," she said, standing up as her key blade vanished. "I won't ever regret it."_

_Amber looked around as she left the room. They'd completely destroyed it. Tile was scratched deep, walls were dented, and it looked terrible. She wondered if maybe they'd get in trouble. She was rather proud of herself, though. Roxas was already experienced with his key blades, and he had two. Amber had one, and she'd just learned about it today, and yet she managed to hold a fight with him for a full minute. She pushed through the huge door, leaving Roxas sitting back in the training room._

_As soon as she reached her room, Amber flopped onto the bed. She was exhausted from the training. It'd been a few hours since she woke up…about nap time, she figured. She dozed off eventually. _

"_Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," hot breath echoed in Amber's ear. It wasn't Roxas. Her eyes shot open and she sat up, face-to-face with Xigbar. He grinned at her smugly._

"_Yer boyfriend's a'ready downstairs. Told me to come get you for dinner. Zexion cooked," Xigbar sat up from his leaning position on the bed. Amber stood up, stretching._

"_Note to self; lock the door," she said, glaring at him._

_Amber quietly followed Xigbar down the huge empty halls. The closer they got to the dining room, the better it smelled. She really wasn't sure what that smell was, but it smelled delectable. She took deep breaths to inhale as much of it as she could._

"_Smells good, huh?" Xigbar asked over his shoulder. "For a little bookworm, that kid can sure cook."_

_Amber nodded as they rounded the corner into the dining room._

_Zexion froze for a moment. It was very unlike him to loose attention, but he smelled strawberries. Secretly, he was very glad that Amber would be joining them for dinner. She could taste his cooking, which he took much pride in. He continued adding the last touches to the meal he was preparing._

"_Amber, over here!" Roxas called. There were nine or ten people in the room at the moment, none of which she recognized aside from Axel. There was a pinkish-brown haired man sitting next to a blonde girl with short hair. There was a big, buff brown haired man sitting next to a sickly-looking blonde man, along with another handsome blonde man. So, all together, counting her and Xigbar, she could count…eleven. There was no sign of Xemnas or Zexion. She slowly made her way to the chair next to Roxas. Luckily, the seat next to her was empty, so she didn't have to sit next to anyone she didn't know._

"_Who are all these people?" she whispered to Roxas. Roxas looked as if he might laugh._

"_Do you think Organization XIII only has five members? There are thirteen people, fourteen with you."_

_She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when the room fell silent. Xemnas stood in the door way, next to him was a blue-haired man with golden eyes and an X scar on his forehead. They walked in rather regally and slowly, taking their time. As soon as Xemnas sat down, a door to the side of the room flew open. Flashes of white zipped back and fourth, leaving food on the table as they snapped in and out of the kitchen._

_Zexion exited the kitchen, avoiding being struck by the flashes of white. He sat down across from Amber, between Xigbar and the long haired blonde man. Thankful that the seat next to her remained empty, Amber sighed and looked over at Roxas. He was already shoveling potatoes onto his plate from a big bowl. The flashes slowly ceased and Xemnas stood up._

"_It's been a while, since we've met like this, am I correct?" Xemnas asked in a very monotonous manner. He looked around the room, taking a quick looked over the audience. "Does anyone know where IX is?"_

_There was a shifting in the crowd, and someone muttered: "Maybe he's dead or something."_

_Roxas stifled a giggle to receive a nudge from Axel._

"_Who's IX…?"Amber whispered._

"_Demyx. He's the screw-up here," he replied quietly. The door that Amber had entered through burst open and a tall man, probably nineteen, skidded though. He had sandy blonde hair and dark green eyes. Amber skimmed the room. No open chairs. She cringed; he'd be sitting next to her._

"_Sorry I'm late, Superior! I--" _

"_Have a seat, Demyx," Xemnas said irritably. Demyx nodded and made his way over to the only available seat, next to Amber. He sat down as a few of the other members chuckled._

"_As I was saying," Xemnas continued, "It has been a while since we've met like this. Last time we did, it was when we took Roxas into the Organization. And now, we have a new member."_

_All eyes turned straight to Amber._

"_Oh dear God," Amber mumbled, sinking down into her chair._

"_Who's she? She looks weird," the only girl there blurted._

"_Silence, Larxene. She's to be part of our Organization, and you're going to respect just as you do the rest of our members. Though, she has a heart, and she won't be assigned a number."_

_So, dinner was complete HELL. It was embarrassing and left Amber feeling so singled out that it was shocking. That Larxene girl was a bitch, and all she did was snap little comments about the rest of the members. Amber hated it. Larxene reminded Amber of a girl from her school…um, Tiffany? Yeah, that was it. Tiffany was always surrounded by those fake girls, the ones wearing everything that she wore and praying to God that one day, they'd wake up in her body. Psh. Tiffany had the tendency to be mean to everyone who didn't worship her. She loathed Amber._

_Flopping back onto the bed, Amber sighed. Training and that horrible dinner…well, it wasn't that bad, aside from Larxene and Xemnas calling her out. The food was great; Zexion was a very good cook. Demyx was a dork, and it was funny. He dropped his food constantly, making little noises as he fought to pick it up without looking sloppy, which made him look worse. Amber and Roxas would exchange glances and snicker, then return to their food._

_Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She sat up, looking to it. She felt so sluggish after eating so much…she hadn't eaten since she was taken to the Castle. _

"_Come in," she said._

_The door opened and Roxas stepped in. Amber could see Axel behind him._

"_Come on, Amber, you need to train more."_

_Amber's jaw dropped a little._

"_But…but…bu--"_

"_Come on, Amber," Roxas demanded in a father-like tone. Amber rolled her eyes. _

"_Fine, __dad," she muttered. She walked passed Roxas and slipped by Axel. They walked down the hallway quietly, not a word between them._

_I'll bet Roxas told him with the kiss, she thought darkly. _

"_Why's Axel coming?" Amber finally asked, sick of the deafening silence._

"_You'll see," Roxas replied, in very smug tone. _

_Amber pushed open the door to the training room and looked around. None of the damage that she and Roxas had done was there anymore. The scratches were gone and the entire place shone the way it had the first time she'd seen it. Roxas went into gym-teacher mode and snapped his fingers._

"_Get ready, Amber," he said. Amber summoned her key blade and turned back to him, smiling proudly._

_Roxas didn't hold his weapons, though. He stood, smiling broadly back at her, Axel behind him._

"_Axel is going to keep you on your feet. You have to keep moving, you know."_

_A two rings of fire spun around Axel's hands, and two chakrams appeared in his hand. Amber gasped and stumbled backward. As she did, the ground felt like it was sinking down. It was getting hot, too. She could feel it through the heels of her boots. She looked down; the floor was a liquid-like lava substance. Axel gave her a smug grin as she began to stumble._

"_Don't hurt her, Axel," Roxas reminded him. Axel rolled his eyes,_

"_Got it," he muttered. As soon as the words left his mouth, he threw the chakram straight at Amber. She dodged it skillfully, avoiding sinking into the ground. She stumbled again and kept running._

"_What…the…hell," she panted. She nearly took a face-first dive into the ground, but caught herself clumsily on Braveheart._

_A flaming chakram whizzed past her head and she lifted her blade to block it._

_One of the spikes on the chakram sliced into her cheek. She winced. She pulled herself up from the ground._

_Okay, she thought, If I can get close enough to him without…well, dying, I can--she dodged another chakram and charged Axel, only halfway through her plan.--I can hit him down and maybe the floor will go back to normal. She swung her blade to block a chakram, missed, and was stabbed in her stomach. She fell to the floor, winded. She couldn't breathe, and the floor was burning her cheek. She breathed as hard as she could and pushed herself onto one knee, burning her hand._

_She charged him again, ducking a chakram and swinging Braveheart. At Axel. It hit him in the side and he stumbled, hitting the liquid-like ground with a thud. He blocked another swing with his chakrams. She went to bring it down a third time, but he moved the chakram in the right position, and the blade went through. She was caught. He twisted the chakram, bringing the key blade with it. _

_Amber automatically let go of the blade. Bad move. He skidded across the floor, over near the door._

_Roxas sat on the edge of the battle field. Watching Amber fight Axel was very hard for him; he knew Axel could hurt her. Her face was burned and cut already, and she was limping a little, though that might've just been the flooring. As her key blade slid across the floor, he stuck a finger in his mouth to keep from gasping. She was in trouble now._

_Chakram-ouch. Oh, there's another. Ugh, that hurt. Amber was getting beat. Bad. Every time one of Axel's weapons hit her, she lost her breath. She had no energy left. She felt a little blood trickle over her forehead-Oops. Now it was in her eyes. She gave up, collapsing to the burning floor, which stung into her cheek as she panted. She waited for Roxas to walk over and pick her up, but then the thought struck her._

_Why hadn't he stopped Axel? He saw what was happening. She felt the floor go cool below her, and she knew it was over. _

_Amber could hear footsteps coming to her. Her red-blurred vision made out Roxas kneeling down to pick her up, but she immediately snatched off of the floor._

"_I'm fine," she lied, wiping her eyes._

"_Amber--"_

"_I'm fine!" she cut Roxas off. Axel looked at her, sighing._

"_Sorry, didn't mean to rough you up that much," he said. She glared at him and wiped more of the sticky red fluid from her eyes._

"_I'll walk with you to Zexion, okay?" Roxas said gently._

_The walk to search for Zexion was deafeningly silent. Amber figured Roxas just walked with her to make sure she didn't pass out from blood loss._

_She rubbed her temples in a pointless attempt to soothe the headache she'd gotten._

"_Amber…" Roxas said finally. "I'm sorry. I should've stopped Axel…"_

"_Not accepted," Amber said before he could finish. He sighed as they entered the lab. The smell of antiseptic bit Amber's nose._

"_What'd you do to her, Roxas?" Zexion exclaimed, dropping his book and hurrying over to Amber. He gently guided her to a metal lab table and sat her down. "Out, Roxas."_

_Roxas gasped, then looked up to them and nodded, leaving the room._

"_Where's it hurt?" Zexion asked gently, brushing a strand of bloody brown hair from Amber's forehead._

_She was too exhausted for words. She pointed simply to her chest and stomach._

_Poor thing, Zexion thought. He very gently unzipped her coat, careful not to touch her. Her ribs were bruised badly. He disappeared into a cabinet to get some peroxide, burn ointment, and bandages, along with some ice from the freezer. He returned and sat everything down next to her._

"_Here we go…" Zexion said, very gently dabbing at a cut on her forehead._

"_That stings!" Amber mumbled, wincing._

"_Shh, shh, it's alright. Just hold still. It'll stop in a second," he said. His voice had no edge; he didn't sound impatient or anything. Amber relaxed, and the stinging ceased. She held the ice to her ribs. It didn't embarrass her to be in nothing but her bra and pants in front of Zexion…She knew he wasn't a pervert._

"_So," she said, Zexion dabbing peroxide on another cut. "What do you do here? Do you have any powers like Axel?"_

"_Besides being an exquisite cook with amazing charm? I'm an illusionist," he replied. "And I have a very strong sense of smell."_

_He took a deep breath, catching the scent of strawberries._

"_An illusionist, eh? Well-- Ouch! That hurts!" Amber squealed as Zexion touched a bruise. Zexion pulled back and sighed. _

"_Here. Maybe this will help," he turned back to the counter and grabbed a huge black book. It looked like he wouldn't even be able to pick it up. He flipped through it quickly, stopping. "Here it is…"he muttered to himself. He looked into the book and mumbled something strange. Before Amber could ask what it was, everything went white. Amber felt warm, not hot, but just barely warm enough to be comfortable. Her labored breaths slowed to a normal pace, and every ache and pain in her body felt numb. The good kind._

_In front of her was a rainbow-like glow. She reached forward and touched it very gently, feeling how cool it was on the tips of her fingers. Suddenly, the light was gone. Amber was staring straight at Zexion, her stomach bandaged. She quickly realized that her hand was on his cheek._

"_Oh…sorry," she said quickly, snatching it back._

"_It's okay. You're all done. Go find Roxas," Zexion said, helping her off the table. The name inflamed her. She was so angry at him for letting this happen to her., she didn't want to talk to him. Or Axel. Jerks._

_Amber walked as fast as she could out the door, brushing past Roxas and heading for her room._


	4. Fight Over

Roxas sighed as he tapped on Amber's door for probably the fifth time. He heard her bed sheets rustle, and he hoped she was getting up.

"Go away, Roxas!" she yelled at the door.

"I'm sorry…"he said. "I thought you had it under control--"

The door swung open and a very angry, bruised, and burned Amber glared at Roxas.

"When someone is laying on the ground, being hit repeatedly by two flaming, spiky…things, they're probably not in control of the situation!" she snapped, venom dripping from each word. Roxas was starting to get angry with this. He'd said sorry. Why should he be standing outside her door, begging her forgiveness because he didn't want to hurt her pride in the training room? Ugh, this girl was hard-headed.

Amber turned to slam the door on him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could.

"Hey, I don't have to do this, you know! I could've let him keep going!" Roxas said, drawing closer to her face as he yelled at her.

"Whatever!" she barked. Roxas got an idea as they got closer. He gave her a smirk, pressing his lips against hers gently.

Fight. Over.

Amber lifted up onto her tiptoes to get more even with him, putting her arms around his neck. Of course she was angry at him, but she really couldn't bring herself to pull away. She felt his hands draw in around her and run up her back gently. She pulled back a little, looking into his eyes,

"Can I come in now?" he whispered. She turned back to the door, pulling him into the bedroom.

Honestly, Amber was embarrassed. She had been won over by a kiss; a simple touch of the lips. He made her more angry, but she couldn't bring herself to yell at him anymore. They both sat on the bed.

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Amber was red, like, REALLY red.

"Amber…" Roxas's voice was quiet. "Could you…leave the Organization with me?"

"What? I just got in!" she exclaimed. "Why would you want to l-"

Roxas covered her mouth with his hand. "Hush."

"Why would you want to leave?" she whispered.

"I want to find my true self…My original form…Sora," he said slowly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Amber demanded, standing up. "Your true self? Sora? Roxas, I really don't know what you're getting at!"

"Amber, just leave with me! Please…" his blue eyes met hers. "…Be my escape…"

He stood up and left without another word. Amber stared at him, speechless as he left.

Be…his escape? What the hell was that boy thinking? She didn't want to leave. So far, this place was brilliant. It was a huge castle, for God's sake! Xemnas was kind of, well, monotone-ey, but she could deal. She was distracted by a gentle pattering on the windows, and she sighed.

So, she thought, there's no sun, but it rains. Weird. Then the idea struck her.

She wanted to play in the rain. She hadn't done it since she was, like, two. And she got yelled at. She thought about it for a moment. Wouldn't Xemnas be mad if she messed up her new outfit…? Wait--she still had her old clothes; the ones she'd arrived in. She could wear those. She stood up, wincing. She probably should've asked Zexion if Axel had, you know, broken any of her damned ribs!

But she wanted to do this. The rain was so amazing to her. She'd loved it for, well, as long as she could remember, really. 

Amber let her cloak drop to the floor behind her as she reached over for her battered hoodie. She got dressed slow(and painfully, might I add) but she managed after a while. She left the room quietly, headed for the courtyard. She knew it was, um, somewhere near…what was that place called…? Oh yeah! The Hall of Empty Melodies. That was it, right? She sighed, already getting frustrated.

After about fifteen minutes of wondering aimlessly through Castle Oblivion-which, honestly, was really living up to it's name-and running into Larxene, she made her way out to she courtyard. It wasn't really a courtyard; it was elevated high above…what was that down there? A city? She tilted her head, walking through the pouring rain over to the gray-white stone around the edge of the balcony. She looked down below the castle. Straight fall into the dark. It was a huge void all the way around the castle.

It was floating. The only way to or from the castle was a translucent walkway that shone in deep blues and purples above the darkness. It was pretty. 

Demyx's eyes widened a little. Who the hell was _that_? Wearing jeans and a wet jacket. She wasn't part of the Organization. He couldn't see her face-she was leaned over the edge of balcony looking down. He saw her sweep her brown hair over her shoulder, flinging water behind her.

His head tilted, as it did when he was confused. Wait a minute, that was that other girl…! Um…It started with an A, right? Yeah…um, Angel? No…Amber! That was it. He walked coolly over to her and leaned over the stone next to her, opening his mouth to speak.

"Hey."

Amber jumped, causing the person next her to do the same. That one word- "Hey" -had scared her half to death. She snapped back to see Demyx leaning next to her. His hair wasn't sticking up-it was soaked and plastered down to his face. He gave her a gentle smile, his blue-green eyes gentle behind his stringy hair.

"I don't think we've officially met," he said. "Demyx, number nine, at your service."

"Amber," she replied softly, taking a deep breath.

"So, Amber, what might you be doing out in the rain on this fine evening?" he asked her, holding his hand out to collect a small puddle in his palm.

"What's it to you?" she mumbled.

"I come out here to play in the rain. You've gotta have some reason to be out here," he said.

"Same reason," she said. "I love the rain."

She saw Demyx close his eyes and smirk, and something caught her eye.

The puddle in his hand was _moving._ It danced playfully, getting larger with each drop of rain that passed through it. Amber watched it, amazed.

"That's so cool," she said, not removing her focus. 

"You have a power, kiddo?" he asked her. She shook her head, looking down. "Lucky."

Her head snapped up to look at him. "Lucky…?"

"You have a chance…"he looked down, his voice getting quiet. "You could leave here and live a normal life. The rest of us, aside from you and Roxas, are…well, walking sideshow attractions."

Amber had never thought of it that way. She watched the water in Demyx's hand continue it's playful dance, then he moved his hand and let it dropped into the abyss below them that faded down to darkness.

Amber sighed, and the rain lightened up. 

"Well," she said. "I think…I'm going to go back inside."

Demyx nodded to her. "See you around," he said.

Saix blinked his gold eyes at Xemnas. "Excuse me, Superior…?"

"Tomorrow, we turn her into a Nobody. I'm almost sure she'll have powers that would be a good attribute to our Organization," Xemnas's voice made Saix cringe a little. Of course, he would do anything for the man the stood before him with his back turned, but when he barked orders, his voice was unbearable. He liked the soft, tender voice that he used when he was trying to convince someone. 

What Saix had realized in his time as the Superior's right hand was that some emotions were harder to forget. Love was the first to go. Every once in a while, there was a hint of what might've been care, but he didn't remember what it felt like anymore. And then there was hate. Hate and pain still existed, and they always had. But that girl…she had her damned emotions. She could feel things. She could be in love.

And that just swelled more hate into the Luna Diviner. 

"But…Superior, what if she doesn't turn out like we expected?" Saix asked, suppressing the anger he was starting to feel. Xemnas looked back at him over his shoulder. 

Kingdom Hearts made Xemnas's shadow stretch long across the floor. As his golden eyes locked onto Saix's, he gave a smirk.

"_We'll eliminate her."_

_Roxas's silky PJ's were heaven. The fabric was cool, and the inside felt good on Amber's bruises. She snuggled into the bed and sighed. Her exhaustion, mixed with the warmth of her bed and the sound of the rain was amazing; Amber was asleep in less than ten minutes._


End file.

Kingdom Hearts, Humor, Romance