gold_panner | The 14th: Chapter 1 pt 2 (Reply)

Written by: Kanemaki Tomoco
Original Plan: Nomura Tetsuya and Nojima Kazushige
Illustration: Amano Shiro
Copyrighted by Disney, Square Enix and Touchstone Pictures
Translations: gold_panner

Notes: No profit is gained from these translations. Every effort is made to make them as accurate as possible, however, due to factors including the differences between the two languages, they are not word-for-word. For Pou and V.

Chapter 1: Beginning of the End (cont'd)

xxx

He opened his eyes, and found himself on top of his bed.

What happened yesterday?

I can’t really remember, like always.

Roxas got out of bed, and went to look out the window.

The sky is as pitch dark as always, so I don’t really know, but it seems like the date has changed.

I have to go to the lobby once I’ve woken up. At the moment, that’s all I understand.

Roxas left his room and walked the hallways just like had had the day before, heading for the lobby.

“Roxas,” came the call, the instant he stepped into his place of destination. It was Saïx. Roxas stared vaguely up at him.

Mission.

Somehow I get that it’s not okay for me to just be here.

I don’t really understand what I’m here for, though, like always.

“It’s closer to training than a mission. There are various things we’d like you to remember before going out on missions. Today you will be moving with Axel. Isn’t that nice, Axel.”

Roxas shifted his gaze to the side of Saïx, and Axel was standing there. And, behind him, Roxas saw one more member was standing there.

That was the 14^th.

“What is this… am I supposed to be his mentor or something?” Axel answered, scratching his head.

“Yes. Teach Roxas mission basics.”

“Yeah yeah. Understood.”

Removed from Axel and Saïx’s conversation, Roxas watched the 14^th.

Like always, their face was hidden deep in a hood, and he couldn’t tell anything.

“We’re going, Roxas,” said Axel, peering into Roxas’ face. Following his gaze, he turned to the 14^th.

“What’s up? You interested in that one? That must be… come to think of it, I dunno either,” said Axel, scratching his head again.

Saïx opened his mouth. “It’s Number 14, Xion.”

“Xion, then…” Axel muttered.

“Xion…” Roxas voiced, quietly.

“Got it memorised? Roxas.”

He shrugged, and Axel looked deep into his face again. “Yeah…” Roxas replied, voice lacking strength. Xion was still at the end of his gaze. But, it was also possible that Roxas wasn’t looking at Xion.

Roxas’ blue eyes reflect the view of his surroundings, but for some reason, it feels like he isn’t looking at anything.

Is this vagueness just what you expect of a newly-woken Nobody?

I want to try and hear him answer me, thought Axel.

“So, what’s my name?”

“Axel…”

It seemed that Roxas hadn’t been able to forget it, somehow.

I wanna ask one more thing.

“What’s our boss’ name?”

“Xemnas…”

“Not like you’re gonna forget that, anyway. Okay, let’s go, will we?” asked Axel, a smile playing on his lips, as he opened a dark corridor beside him.

xxx

At the end of the dark corridor was Twilight Town’s underground passageway.

“So… well, first I’ll explain the mission, and we’ll go from there, will we…”

Axel turned to face Roxas, who was following behind him.

“Okay? Today’s mission is—ahh…”

Axel went to explain, scratched his head, and sighed.

Roxas’ eyes were as indifferent as always, like he wasn’t seeing a thing.

“Rather than explaining stuff, it’d be faster to just do it. Okay, first, come with me.”

Axel started running. He hadn’t seen Roxas ever move fast before, but to his surprise, Roxas followed him pretty quickly.

Climbing up a level, Axel stopped halfway, and turned to Roxas.

“During a mission, you shouldn’t run straight for the target. You gotta pay attention to your surroundings.”

“—Pay… attention?”

Those words that came from Roxas just now are the most ‘with it’ I’ve seen him so far.

Maybe it’s cause he’s moving his body.

Even though it’s not perfect, Roxas, who hasn’t been saying anything but the names of things and people until now, is joining words together.

“It means you gotta look hard at the things around you. You’ll overlook surprising things, otherwise. Got it memorised?”

“Yeah—got it.” Roxas nodded obediently.

“Okay, let’s go practise, will we,” said Axel, brightly, able to think that those eyes were finally taking him in. “There’s a treasure chest somewhere in this area. Today’s mission is to find that.”

“So we should look for the… treasure chest, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Look carefully, now,” said Axel, and Roxas looked around him.

From the beginning, Roxas was like a pure white canvas that had to be painted on. Some of his reactions are slow, but it feels like there’s some bigger reason why.

From the first day we met, he’s been different from the others somehow.

xxx

Axel watched a vanishing dark corridor, scratching his head. On the other side of that corridor, he had faintly been able to see the Organisation’s boss—Xemnas.

“He told me all of a sudden to take him back, but…”

Axel gazed at the boy standing in front of him, remaining in the trails of vanishing darkness.

The boy in the 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 boy’s name.

He must be a Nobody that was just born today, in this town.

I know that this town, the one they call Twilight Town, is a special place.

It’s a town of twilight, standing in the rift between darkness and light.

The darkness of dusk blurs the figure, in the same way light does.

Here, those that belong to neither darkness nor light—even nobodies are allowed to exist.

And so, Axel hung about in this town when he had free time.

Walking around idly like always, Xemnas had suddenly appeared in front of him.

He hadn’t been wagging missions or anything, but there’s nothing like bumping into one’s boss all of a sudden for awkward.

But, 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 asked, and a dark corridor opened up behind Xemnas. And then, he disappeared as if being swallowed.

Well then take him back yourself, I thought, but I’m not in the position to be able to say things like that.

And, 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.

“….Oi.”

“………..”

Axel closed the portal, nothing for it, and stepped closer.

The boy finally moved, looking up as Axel.

“What’s your name?”

The boy blinked.

Dunno if that blink was actually a reaction.

“I’ll ask you again. What’s your name?”

“...Ro, xas…” he said, in a husky voice.

I know that Xemnas gave him that name just before.

I got my name in the same way.

“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, I doubt whether that gloomy castle is any place for Roxas, who has just begun his existence, to go home to, but even so, there’s nothing else to do.

Just then, Roxas’ gaze shifted.

That’s the first time he’s showed a direct reaction-y kind of reaction.

“Hm? What’s up?”

At the end of Roxas’ gaze were some of the town’s children.

I’ve seen them countless times.

A noisy group of three kids from around the town. They look like they’d be about Roxas’ age.

And, in their hands was sea-salt ice cream.

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 started walking towards the shop in the middle of the town plaza.

“Follow me, Roxas! I’ll even show you around my special place!”

Roxas didn’t move.

“Geez, 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 milkbar in the middle of the plaza.

xxx

“Is this… a treasure chest?” Roxas’ worry made Axel turn around.

There was a treasure chest at Roxas’ feet.

“Good on you, you found it.”

Roxas stared at the treasure chest, unmoving.

“…What’s up?”

“Today’s mission was to find the treasure chest…”

Like I thought, Roxas seems a little… off, somehow.

“You know, Roxas. Even if you’ve found it, it doesn’t really mean much if you don’t take what’s in it, right?”

“Is it okay to take it?”

“Yeah, you can do what you like with whatever you find inside boxes during missions.”

And, a shining key appeared in Roxas’ hand.

Each member of the Organisation has their own weapon, but, could that be—a keyblade?

Roxas touched the treasure chest with the key, and it opened with a burst of light.

It’s a keyblade, no mistake.

That’s right, on that day, when I took Roxas back to the castle, to stand under Xemnas, he said so.

The one chosen by the Keyblade—

If so, is Roxas the Nobody of the keyblade hero?

But of course—I haven’t heard anything about the hero becoming a Heartless.

From inside the treasure chest, Roxas collected a—potion, and the key disappeared from his hand.

“Okay, good work. How was it? Do you kind of get how a mission works?” said Axel, making an effort to be composed.

“—Yeah.”

“You really okay?”

Roxas lifted his face. “This kind of thing is—”

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing,” said Roxas, with a shy smile.

That reaction was completely different from anything else until now.

Axel also let a smile spread across his face, with a strange sensation he’d never felt before.

“You’re getting there, aren’t you. Okay, since you worked really hard today, you get a reward,” said Axel, and he started walking.

“We’re not going to—RTC?”

“Come with me. You remember the special place, don’t you?”

Axel knew Roxas was following behind, even without turning around.

xxx

The special place—the big clock tower on top of Twilight Town station.

You could look out over Twilight Town from there.

Axel sat down at the front of the tower, and looked up at Roxas, who was still standing.

“You sit down too,” he said, and Roxas sat down next to him.

“Here, a reward.”

And so, Axel gave Roxas a sea-salt ice cream.

Roxas stared at the ice cream.

“Do you remember what this ice cream is called?”

“Umm…”

Roxas tilted his head to one side, looking like he was thinking back.

“Sea-salt ice cream—I told you before, right? Memorise it properly,” said Axel, gnawing on his ice cream. Roxas gnawed on his own ice cream, copying Axel.

“Salty—but sweet,” murmured Roxas.

“Roxas, you said the same thing recently, you know.”

“Did I—I don’t really remember all that well…”

Roxas turned his gaze vaguely at the sunset.

His hair was moving in the wind.

“Come to think of it, it’s been about a week since you joined the Organisation, hasn’t it?”

“Maybe…” said Roxas, eyes still on the sunset.

“Maybe…? Don’t you remember that, either?”

Roxas’ gaze dropped.

“Well, it means you finally get to go on missions like a real Organisation member.”

“Organisation member…”

Roxas was making a weird face for some reason.