Unwavering Loyalty

The Grey Area was unusually quiet. It had been a busy few days, and you assumed that most of the others were either currently out on missions, or sleeping away their tiredness in their own rooms. You were of a similar mindset, and upon finding that the common room was empty, you decided to take advantage of it, stretching out on one of the couches. Just as you were beginning to doze off, you heard a Corridor of Darkness appear somewhere close by, followed by footsteps. Unwillingly, you opened your eyes to see the youngest member of the Organization, Roxas, walking towards you.

"Saix says we have a mission," he informed you.

You sat up, yawning. "Where is Saix?" you asked curiously. When not on missions, he could usually be found either in the Addled Impasse, or here, gazing at the yellow moon of Kingdom Hearts. It had puzzled you when you had first made your way to this place, to find the room completely empty.

"He called me to Where Nothing Gathers just a few minutes ago to give me the mission. But I don't know if he stayed there." He crossed his arms over his chest, turning to look out the window. You had to wonder whether he was thinking the same thing you were. Saix was one of the most standoffish members of the Organization, so it was no surprise that he would choose to go elsewhere, rather than coming here to The Grey Area when there was someone already present.

"What are we being sent out for?" You pulled yourself to your feet, looking down at the slightly shorter boy. Though you had been the smallest member for a long while, since Roxas had been found, he had taken that title for himself; something you were grateful for. Most of the Organization was filled with men who were much taller than you, so apart from Larxene, whom you could look directly in the eye, Roxas was the closest to your height. You only topped him by a small increment, which would no doubt disappear as he got older.

"He said that we have to go to Twilight Town. Apparently, there's a big Heartless there that he wants me to deal with." He extended one hand, and in a burst of light, his Keyblade appeared. "Our Leader wants to see just whether I can handle something like this on my own."

You arched one eyebrow curiously. "So why send me, if this is a mission designed to test you?" The answer to this question was already present; you were to be backup, should Roxas not be able to defeat it himself. You had seen the boy fight before; he was quite talented, and for something so innocuous-looking, his Keyblade was powerful.

He dismissed his weapon, giving you a smile. Ordinarily, he still wasn't very good with showing emotions – or rather, the remnants of the emotions that he once had, but more and more frequently, you would see glimpses of what he might have been like when he was whole. Those moments made a glow of warmth appear in your chest. There was something special about this boy, and it wasn't just because he was a Keyblade wielder. He made you feel the way an older sister might feel towards her baby brother.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of things on my own. Reinforcements won't be needed."

This made you blink in surprise. Where had that confident attitude suddenly come from? You reached out, ruffling his unruly hair. "All right, I'll hold you to that. I'd better not have to lift a finger, got it?"

His smile widened slightly, and he nodded. "Yeah."