Special thanks to blblblblbl for correcting me on Demyx's 'Sitar' not 'Sistar'. Thank you!

NO READING IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME YET!

PLEASE!

SO MANY SPOILERS!

You can skip this if you want to! *Wink, Wink* (~_0) *Hint, Hint*

Well, I'm pretty much obsessed with 358/2 Days. (Best DS graphics and storyline I've ever seen!) But more specifically: obsessed with Roxas and Xion. I was bored and decided to re-play the game, excited to find out about Proud mode! I began my new file, already nearly completed. Now I want a new ending to the game (not that I would ever DREAM of changing Square Enix's plot in the official game!) So I decided to write a FanFic! YAY! (^u^)

So what if, before the final boss battle, (excluding the fight with Riku, considering how easy it seemed after fighting Xion =P) Xion had not approached Roxas and revealed her changed face? What if she and Roxas never had to disappear, Naminé still able to repair Sora's memories? Well, that is the foundation of this story! (I mean, who wouldn't want Roxas and Xion to go on living? X3)

I actually took this from the manga series. That way people would see a new outlook on the same plot! : D (If you want to read it for yourself, go to OneManga* and search for "Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days" in the upper right hand corner.) So anyway, this is from Roxas's Point of View, so you won't see everything from the manga in this. Some lines I formatted, so it won't be the exaaact words from the manga, but close enough. Also, some scenes I did take from the game because I liked them better/ it wasn't in the manga and I liked that particular scene. (* .com of course, but FanFic kept deleting it when I added it to the end. I have no idea why X.X)

Well, I know what your thinking: "DANG! SHUT UP, GIRL! SERIOUSLY…" X] So, enough of me! Enjoy!

Sanctuary

A Name and Number

I remember the day I was born. I wasn't thinking clearly, but I still remembered. I noticed… my presence. My existence. I was… alive. I think I was standing next to a gate with a huge lock. I didn't know what to do- in fact, I didn't know anything. So I just stood there.

Then I remember… another person. Someone wearing black. This person appeared out of thin air- literally, a cloud of black and dark purple swirling smoke. And that's when I was named.

"You seek answers," he told me. I couldn't see his face under that cloak's hood. Only now could I tell you what it looked like, since I saw that jacket for the whole first year of my life. All black. It reached the wearer's ankles, a zipper that reached the wearer's knees and a hood as well- attached to the back of the 'V'-shaped neck. Silvery strings to tighten the hood and a small silver chain and beads as another way to fasten the coat together below the neck loosely. "I can give you purpose," he said next. With a wave of his hand, a few golden letters appeared in the air in front of me. 'Sora', it said. The slightly transparent letters spun around me, an 'X' appearing in front of me as well. The letters stopped revolving around me, slowly coming to a stop in a new order. Now it spelled a new name…

"Roxas…"

"That is right- the new you," he said. For just a moment I saw one of his beaming eyes and smiling mouth.

This man- 'Xemnas', they called him- gave me a cloak just like his- fitted for me, of course. Not to mention a black shirt and pants to go under it, black gloves and a pair of knee-high, rounded boots. This was the only thing I wore for the entire first year of my life. Of course I had it memorized. What I always forgot, however, was that name- Roxas- and the number he assigned me. Number XIII. I was the 13th Member of the 'Organization'. I had to constantly repeat this in my head just to remember it.

My head was foggy enough, but I also had to constantly review the other 'Organization XIII' Members' names as well. I found out early on that I wore that uniform because I was a part of this Organization. If you asked me what the Organization's goal was, I would have just stared at you. The funny thing was, even if I listened as hard as I could, paid all of my attention to what was being said, I forgot what I heard the minute the sentence had ended.

"Time to get up, Roxas!" he yelled, waiting patiently beside my plain white bed. He had red, spiked back hair, thin eyebrows, and a small black tattoo under each eye shaped like an upside down drop of water- usually wearing a wide grin or grimace. I sat up drowsily, pretty annoyed that he woke me up. I didn't say a thing- not only because it seemed so hard just to form a simple sentence in my hazy state of mind, but also because these people, the Organization Members, took me in. I guess I felt like I owed them or something- the least I could do was respect them. I couldn't, however, hold back a glare before Axel ignored me and continued, "Same as ever, huh. We're meeting in the Round Room today. Let's go."

Seven days after I was born… I knew my name was "Roxas" and my number was "13". Other than that I was completely empty.

"Have you memorized my name yet?" he asked as he led me down a long blank hallway. His tall, slender build made him slow his pace so I could walk beside him with my short, slow strides. I walked in silence. I tried to remember what he told me before, but I could only think of my own name and number. I must have seemed pretty stupid at the time- being asked a question and giving no reply. "It's Axel. A-X-E-L."

"Ax…" He just told me- spelled if out for me. I had no idea what he had just said, so I took a guess. "…cess."

"-EL!" he yelled. He wasn't angry. I guess he was making sure I heard him this time.

"… -el," I repeated. I was still blank. The conversation, I remembered. It just didn't click when I tried to make since of it. An improvement, I guess. The conversations I had before then, I didn't remember at all. But soon, we turned and walked towards two closed doors.

The Round Room. A plain white and gray room that formed a circle of thrones, the highest in rank sitting in the highest throne, around a large circular platform, only one double-door entrance/exit

"Gentlemen," I heard the leader- Xemnas (I found that out later, despite being told several times before)- say, even through the thick doors. "Our eagerly awaited 13th Member has joined us." Axel opened the doors and took me to the center of the room as Xemnas introduced me to the other Members for the first time. I stared blankly at the base of the throne in front of me. "The one chosen by the Keyblade. Number 13. Roxas."

I needed to be given a name. Then I could exist in this place.

And now I could.

"Hey," I heard someone say as Axel and I were leaving the Round Room. I didn't pay attention, though. I didn't hear anyone address me specifically, so I tried to keep quiet in case I said something wrong. My head was just starting to clear up a bit, anyway. "So this is Number 13, chosen by the Keyblade…" I froze for less than a second, but only because Axel kept walking. So I continued down the hallway, too. Besides, he looked pretty creepy. Old, with long white-blond hair. I didn't say a word. "Don't just walk past!" he yelled. I was afraid I'd done something wrong until Axel turned his head over his shoulder in order to see him, stopping in the hall for a moment.

"Eh? Huh? What?" he said dully, obviously trying to annoy him.

"When you see your superiors in the hallways, you should greet them… Isn't that common courtesy? Hmm? Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Oh, right," Axel sighed, then grinned. "I haven't seen you in a while, was wondering if you were dead."

"HM! Don't get too cocky just because you were chosen to look after him…" he mumbled, biting his finger. The scarred man behind him (later I found out he was Xigbar) simply stared. Waiting to see what happened like me, I guess.

"That Axel's better at taking care of people than he looks," the man said as I headed to the Round Room again with Axel, his smirk creasing his scar and moving his eye-patch a bit.

"Certainly," said another man (Xaldin).

"It suits him," agreed another man with shaved blond hair and beard (Luxord).

"I agree," chimed in another man with pink hair (Marluxia) as he sniffed a flower.

"I've just gotten used to it, you guys…" he said, slouching over as if watching me was the last thing he wanted to be doing. But I paid no mind. I was busy looking around the Round Room before the meeting, watching the people in the same uniforms as Axel and I wore.

"Hey nanny!" someone chanted.

"Shut up," Axel moaned.

"This is su-ch a pain," a heard the sole female of the group whine, folding her hands behind her head. She had light blond hair that reached her shoulders, slicked back except for two strands that wouldn't go down. (Larxene.)

'Organization XIII'. The group I was a Member of- All of the Members had no 'hearts'.

"Okay," Axel said, grabbing my shoulders and placing me in my own throne- the shortest of all. (If I wasn't so spaced out, I bet I would have felt real special…) My throne was still dozens of feet from the floor, though. "Sit down- and don't fall!" he continued, pushing my shoulders back until they hit he back of the seat, helping me stay stabilized.

"So Number 13 is still all hazy?" I heard a man say. I glanced down. He was huge. Taller than but not as thin as Axel. This guy (Lexaeus) was squarely build. Another scary Member.

"It's not impossible," said another guy- faded purple hair, chin length and bangs in his face. He wasn't as threatening-looking as the some of the others, but still a little creepy. "He's not like us…" he continued, "because he doesn't have any memories of before he was born." I was confused enough, so I figured I wasn't getting what he said because I was still 'hazy'. I ignored him for the moment, still spaced out and looking at a wall, then at the ceiling high above me. "Without a 'heart' or 'memories', it'll be a while before he shows real reactions to anything."

"I see…"

"Phew!" I heard Axel's voice. He was just throwing himself into his own throne when there was a weird noise. "WHAT'S THIS?" he screamed angrily, holding out something round that said 'BREAK WIND' he found in in throne's seat.

"Kyaha haha haha haha," I heard a guy with tons of small light brown spikes of hair cry as he twisted in his throne. (Demyx.) The blond girl stood at the base of this guy's throne, making the same sounds. "You farted, you farted!"

"YOU LITTLE…!" Axel seemed pretty upset about whatever it was that was happening. I watched as the two Members made those 'ha ha' sounds, remembering what I was told…

In order to pretend that they have 'hearts' like people… they act relying on their 'memories' of their time as humans. But they don't actually feel anything… All of them just share one strong feeling and they gather in this castle. That is… they want 'hearts'.

"Gentlemen," I heard someone say. The leader. I snapped out my deep thought. Everyone was already in their thrones of varying height. This seemed familiar. I had heard him say this before. "This day will be a day to remember. A new Member has joined us." Another new Member? I leaned forward in anticipation, trying not to fall for Axel's sake. "The 14th…"

Unlike me, this Member walked in without anyone leading her. And her hood was up. I started to doubt if I entered the right way. But Axel would have corrected me, so I dismissed the thought… So many thoughts. I could never concentrate very well. But this was still as alert as I had ever been.

"One chosen by the Keyblade." My eyes widened a bit.

This Member was a lot different than me. She looked up, not at the floor. And she was smiling. And she looked at me.

After that meeting, our fates changes dramatically.

The 7th day after I joined the Organization, I was waiting for Axel to get his 'mission' from the blue-haired guy… Saïx… when I saw the new Member standing near one of the couches, hood still pulled over her face.

"The 14th Member follows Roxas…" I have no idea who behind me had said this. I was distracted. "What's more, they can both use the Keyblade."

"Are we still going to be called Organization XIII now that we have 14 people?" I tried to pay a bit more attention to the conversation since it was just involving me and Number XIV a second ago. I heard the Sitar player ask… Demyx ask.

"Like I'd know?" I heard someone say in reply. Again, my attention was elsewhere now that they weren't talking about me or XIV anymore.

And that's when I got scared. Number XIV stared back at me from under her hood. Some of the other Members may have looked creepy, but they never acted creepy. I felt like running from the room as quickly as the chill that ran down my spine. But I couldn't- not when Number XIV did nothing to me. So I found myself inching behind Axel, hoping that he'd stop XIV if she did try something.

"Oh?" I heard Axel say out of surprise before glaring at me. I didn't care.

"A mission?" It was Axel (I knew his name now, unlike the others' that took a minute to come to me). It was the 8th day since I entered the Organization and… Saïx… was already giving me a 'mission'.

"He cannot sit around staring forever," he said, crossing his arms. At this, I looked up from the floor and looked up at Axel.

"I guess…" he said grudgingly. "But will he really be okay…?" He glanced at me for a second and mumbled "Quit staring" at me. So I turned my attention back to the floor.

"He will accompany you," Saïx said, scribbling something on his list of missions.

"HUH?" Axel cried, clinching his fists.

"The other Members are out on assignments… It's fitting; you're the only one here."

"… They're not all out…" I heard Axel growl as he heard… Demyx… playing his Sitar behind him.

"Guess I have no choice. Let's go, Roxas," Axel said from behind me.

I was busy, though. XIV was in the same spot as yesterday, but facing the other way. Now that she wasn't glaring at me, I was trying to figure things out. Maybe she wasn't trying to look menacing. Maybe she was still zoning out like I still did sometimes.

"What is it?" I heard Axel say behind me. "You're interested in that guy?"

"Hurry up." Saïx.

"Hang on! This is the first time Roxas has been interested in anything," Axel said. "Give us a name, at least." There was a pause. I listened carefully.

"Number 14 is called…" I waited. "Xion."

"Oh right, Xion!" Axel said, grabbing my arm and dragging me away. "Got it memorized? Well, let's go!"

"You weren't listening to Lord Xemnas at all, were you…" Saïx sighed.

"Xion…" I muttered under my breath. Yep, that's what Saïx called her. Xion must have heard me, because the hood swiveled just a bit to look at me as Axel drug me into the smoke.

I didn't know why, but I kept thinking about that person.

"I never know what Xemnas is talking about," Axel said as we appeared in a new place. It was different from the gray-scaled metal castle that I was in for a week. This place was orange, red, green- but mostly orange. The houses, the roads- all composed of orange brick. "…Er, don't tattle on me, okay?" Axel said nervously. "He he he…" I didn't know what he wanted me to say, so I remained silent. "Okay, then," he said awkwardly. "Alright Roxas, your main mission is heart collection."

"Heart…?"

"Let's see it," Axel said. "Your Keyblade." I opened my hand. The air glowed until it extended into the shape of the Keyblade. I closed my fist and it was in my hand, the shimmering light around it fading. I looked back at Axel expectantly. "OK. So the only two people in Organization XIII who can do that are you and Xion. Your special." I looked back at my Keyblade. And I thought everyone could do this. I lowered my Keyblade and was scratching my head until Axel spoke up. "Hahaha, are you blushing?" he grinned. What? "That's great! When did you remember how to do that?"

"…" I just stared up at him. I had no idea what he was talking about. But Axel's smile disappeared as he looked far ahead of him.

"Hm?" I looked where he was looking. There was a puff of smoke, like the kind we used to get here, when Axel yelled, "Here's one now, Roxas!"

He never told me what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there, looking like an idiot.

Out of the smoke came three creatures. A pink and green one that looked like a flower and two smaller creatures with spiked yellow hats. Axel's hands got bright. But he just said he couldn't summon the Keyblade…? But instead of white light, it was red, and then two spiked disks appeared in his hands.

"Don't worry," he said, leaping forward at the creatures. I was surprised, to say the least. So much happened in one second, that I stood behind Axel, lifting up my Keyblade a bit. Axel was on them by now, spinning his weapons in his hands and slicing at the first monster.

"A…Axel!" I panicked. He had been cutting the creatures pretty well until one made an attack on him.

"Don't underestimate me," he growled, gritting his teeth. He spun his weapons, sending one of the spiked hat monsters directly at me. "Finish him, Roxas!" I just stood there, spreading my feet apart in case Axel didn't tell me what to do and I had to dodge it. But he did. "Whack him with the Keyblade!"

I jumped forward and swung downward, reducing it to the smoke it appeared from. I landed back on my feet, watching something pink float up into the sky.

"Alright!" Axel cheered.

"…!" I turned, hoping to ask Axel what that was. But before I had time to say anything, he had sent the second monster at me.

"Get him too!" Axel yelled. I did exactly as I did before, just without the surprised expression. And another… something… rose into the air. "Just one more!" he called, sending the flower thing at me. But this one was a little higher up than the rest, so I ducked toward the ground and sprinted towards it. I placed one hand on the ground to help me put more force into my upward swing of the Keyblade.

Then everything went back to how it was when we arrived after the last pink thing floated away. I was breathing a bit harder, but that went away quickly.

"Oww…" Axel said with a smile. One of his weapons disappeared so that he could rest a hand on his hip. "Good job."

"Your hurt…"

"This? Nah, it's nothing," he grinned looking at a burnt spot on the end of his cloak. I looked down at his feet, too. "You understand? Fighting these kinds of guys off with your Keyblade is your job. Think you can do it?"

"…" His grin faded. "Yeah," I said, looking up as his smile returned. "This is nothing."

"Alright!" Axel said loudly, turning towards a building with small steps leading to several glass doors. "Come with me." My expression of determination vanished and was replaced by curiosity. I gave him a questioning look which he didn't see, so I quickly followed behind him, allowing my Keyblade to vanish as his weapons did. "Sit anywhere you want," he said, himself sitting on a foot-high wall on the edge of a balcony.

Axel had taken me to the clock tower. I looked out over the entire city- past the city, on to a forest, and then to a stone wall with a gate and a huge lock. Where I was born.

"It's gonna be hard work from here on out. I hope your ready," he said, digging around in a plastic bag behind him. "Here. A reward for trying so hard." In his out-thrust hand was a stick with a blue rectangle on the end. I took it and sat down as Axel gnawed on his own. "He he. Do you remember the name of this ice cream?"

"…" I stared blankly at the 'ice cream' in my hand. I had no clue.

"I told you before," he said, licking his lips. "Memorize it: 'Sea Salt Ice-Cream'. When I was bringing you to the Organization, we ate it here together," he said. He looked at me expectantly as I licked mine cautiously. "Well, you remember, don't you?"

"…It's salty," I said, grinning at the ice cream, "… but sweet."

"You said the same thing last time," Axel mumbled through a laugh. "It's been a week since you joined the Organization."

"Really…?" I asked, more preoccupied with licking the ice cream.

"Is that all you have to say?" Axel said with a sigh. "Oh well…" he said, taking another bite, "now you're a Member of the Organization." I looked at him carefully as he said, "And you'd better memorize everything from here on out to make up for the week you were spacing out."

This was when I first started remembering things after entering Organization XIII.

"So have you got my name memorized?"

"Access," I replied, taking another lick of my ice cream.

"You did that on purpose!"

So I wanted to make every little thing count… I wanted to remember it all.

Okay, so the Manga hasn't been updated yet. I'm stuck on chapter 8 because that was the last chapter in the volume. Skip to chapter 9 once it's out and I'll try to tell you what chapter to skip to if you don't want to read what you played in the game. Then again, the Manga is a bit different from the game, but it's still the same gist of things. By the way, the Manga didn't give this one a title, so I thought 'Name and Number' would be pretty appropriate.

One last thing: I try to publish these pretty soon after I write them, but with FanFic's weird, confusing system, I'm not sure how anyone updates or creates stories (XD) And I usually catch on to things pretty quickly! Lol, anyway. So I dread adding new chapters, but I will as soon as possible, as always.