Kingdom Hearts 358 Days: An Erotic Retelling

I’m sitting alone atop the clock tower, eating ice cream, when I hear Axel approach.

“You’re early.” He says.

“No, you’re just late.” I respond.

He takes his seat next to me. We sit there in silence for a moment. I decide to make conversation. “Today makes two hundred fifty five.”

“What’s that about?”

“It’s been that many days since I joined the Organization.”

“You’re still keeping track? You really got it memorized, huh?”

“Yeah.” I say clutching the stick of my ice cream. “It used to be all I had to hold onto, you know?”

“And it isn’t anymore?”

“Yeah, I have you guys, remember?”

“Of course.” Axel fidgets slightly. “Hey, Roxas.” Axel gazes at the sunset again. “I bet you don’t know why the sun sets red. You see, the light is made up of many colors. And of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest.”

“Like I asked, know-it-all.” I say elbowing him, causing us to laugh.

A large amount of time passes, mostly in silence. I start to feel a bit concerned. “Seriously, where is she?”

Day 7

We were gathered in the Round Room. A completely white room with each member of the Organization in a seat. Some seats incredibly tall while others were low to the ground. Xemnas introduced a new member. It looked like a woman with a small frame. She was wearing the same long black cloak everyone else was but her hood was up so I couldn’t see her face. Xemnas called her Number XIV. I’m pretty sure she smiled at me. Does she know me?

Saix told me to keep a diary, for some reason. I’m not sure what I should be writing.

Day 8

I met with Saix in the castle’s lounge room. He gave me my first mission and made Axel accompany me.

I take a look at XIV, who’s standing off to the side. I’m still curious about her.

Axel notices “What’s wrong? Worried about the new kid? What was her name again?”

Saix reminds him. “Number XIV, Xion.”

“Right, I knew that.”

“Xion.” I let the name roll off my tongue. I think I liked it.

“Got it memorized, Roxas?” asks Axel

“Yeah.”

“Yeah? How about my name, then?”

“Axel.”

“And our boss’s name.”

“Xemnas.”

“That’s right, no way you’re gonna forget his name, right?”

I don’t think I will but I won’t make any promises. Axel summons a black portal and he escorts me through it.

He takes me to some kind of tunnel system and explains my duties as a member of Organization XIII. It seems like my main duty is to go to various worlds and defeat creatures of darkness, called Heartless, to collect their hearts. Once enough hearts are collected Kingdom Hearts will be complete. He says I’m the only one who can do it because I wield the Keyblade. According to Axel everyone in the Organization is a Nobody, a person without a heart. We want to complete Kingdom Hearts so we can gain hearts and become complete, real people.

This is such a mess I don’t know where to start. Not that I can discuss it with Axel if I wanted to. It’s been hard for me to function for as long as I can remember, which is only eight days. Axel told me that was normal for newly created Nobodies.

We proceed with the mission, taking out a few Heartless. Axel tells me we can RTC, Return To the Castle. But first he wants to congratulate me and hang out. He leads me out of the tunnels and into a small town. We navigate a back alley until we reach a clock tower. We ascend to the top of the tower and sit down, our feet hanging over the edge. Axel produces two blue ice cream bars he bought on the way here and gives me one.

“The icing on the cake.” He calls it. “You remember what this ice cream is called?” I start mumbling, trying to remember. He looks disappointed. “Sea-Salt Ice Cream. Get it memorized.”

I take a bite and I’m surprised by it’s taste. “It’s salty, but sweet.” Axel laughs, “You said the same exact thing the other day.”

“Did I? I don’t remember.”

“‘So what’s it been, a week since you joined the Organization?”

“I guess.”

“You guess? C’mon, you have to remember that much.” There’s a moment of silence before Axel speaks again. “Well, here you are, out in the field. You could say this is where it all begins for you.”

The beginning of what?

Day 13

I went on one mission a day with different Organization members. Mostly collecting hearts. Day 12 I went on a reconnaissance mission with Vexen, investigating the world Axel took me to. Twilight Town is its name.

Day 14

I had another mission with Axel. It went smoothly but I think Axel feels awkward when he’s the only one talking. I need to make more of an effort to communicate. As we finish our mission, collecting hearts again, 3 people run past us, two men and one woman. They seemed really happy.

“Who were they?”

Axel shrugs. “Just this world's residents.”

“Does everybody act like that?”

“Act like what?”

“Like...running around, chasing after each other, making noise.”

“Sure, if they have hearts then I suppose they would do that stuff.”

Hearts? Is that why everyone at the Organization wants one? They did look like they were enjoying themselves.

Axel pulls me out of my thoughts. “C’mon, let’s get some ice cream.”

“Why?”

“Because, well… Because we’re friends.” He looks away as he says this. “Friends eat ice cream together, and talk and laugh about the stupidest things. Just like those three.”

We head to the top of the clock tower and eat ice cream, like last time.

“Hey, Roxas, let’s do this after every mission. It’s no fun just going back and forth between the castle and work, right?”

“I guess.”

I did like the idea of having Axel as a friend. We spend a while up there. Finishing our ice cream we RTC.

Day 21

I had a mission every day with various Organization members. After all of them I met up with Axel on the clock tower. He’s usually waiting on me. We didn’t have much to talk about so I told him about my missions and the people that accompanied me. It was nice.

Day 22

I was paired with Axel again. I almost enjoy my missions with Axel as much as our after mission rendezvous. Our mission was to defeat a particular Heartless, we made a good team and took care of it easily.

As always we head up to the clock tower. When we get there Axel suddenly says “I’m gonna miss this ice cream thing we do. I’m gonna be away for a while, starting tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“I can fill you in since we’re friends. I’m gonna be at Castle Oblivion.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a second castle that the Organization owns, between worlds. Castle Oblivion, got it memorized?”

“I wish someone told me these things.”

“I should head back and get ready. Nothing but fun fun fun.” A moment of silence passes before he calls my name. “Hey, Roxas.” I turn my head to face him and he leans toward me, pressing his lips to mine. I can feel the stickiness of the ice cream on his lips. Another moment passes and he breaks the kiss. I’m left confused.

“What was that for?”

“Good luck.” He says. He seems a little disappointed.

“Oh.”

He stands up and leaves me with a “Later, Roxas.” I stay and finish my ice cream. Once I’ve eaten it all I notice the stick says “WINNER!” I have no idea what I won. I’ll have to ask Axel next time I see him.