The Story With No Title Ch.3

Messy First Mission

   I met them downstairs and got a nod from Saix and a "Hmph" from Larxene. We walked outside and loaded up the jeep we were using - everyone was told what things they personally had to take on every mission depending on their speciality; for me, it was mostly monoculars and night-vision equipment and gadgets that helped you get places, but there were a couple of guns and stuff in there too. Saix had a lot of heavy duty weapons with him ranging from his prized Claymore to grenades (although why we'd need those I didn't know) and Larxene had, well I guess the only way to describe them were ninja accessories; a set of kunai, a katana and num-chucks – after sorting all of that out, we got in said black jeep and drove off to our destination.
"So er, what are we doing today?" I leant forwards and asked, getting sick of the uncomfortable silence.
"We're going along to an exchange in case things get ugly." Replied Saix, curtly. I sat back in the car and looked out the window thinking how weird it was that about three months ago I was living in the slums and looking for whatever money I could find, and now I was living in a high-class apartment and sorting out gang disputes; funny the way life turns out sometimes.
   Anyway, we finally arrived at some old warehouse and kitted up. We were each wearing the cloaks the Organization gives you to show "where your loyalties lie" as Xemnas put it and for this had our hoods up. After finding a place to hide inside, we waited for the two gangs to arrive. It was about half an hour before they did, and Larxene got cranky.
"Tch, typical...always showing up late."
"Shut up XII or you'll give us away." Saix hissed.
Yeah sure, cos the Claymore on your back hasn't done that already I though and rolled my eyes.
The two gangs talked for a while, before one of them opened a case filled with money and handed it over. Then the other gang did something I wasn't expecting and I doubt Larxene and Saix were either – they brought a girl who looked about my age with auburn hair forwards and held onto her while they counted the money. "It's all here." One of them grunted and the girl was pushed forwards into the leader's arms.
"Kairi! Thank god, I was so worried!"
"Dad, I'm sorry..." I looked over at my two partners and smiled.
"Well that's that then, can we go no-" Saix put a hand over my mouth and pointed his finger forwards.
"Wait, always wait before they leave Blondie." I nodded and he let go. It suddenly made sense why we did that because just as Kairi and her dad were about to leave, a gun clicked behind them.
"Sorry boss, mis-counted; it's not all here. They're a 1000 munny short." The leader turned and sighed, Kairi still in his hold and looked at them, taking out his own gun.
"And that's my cue..." Saix said, facepalming before standing up and walking over, while Larxene and I waited. The two gangs froze at the sight of him, but Saix coaxed them into talking for a while before insults were thrown and an inevitable fight broke out.
"And that's our cue." Said Larxene with a smirk and we got up and ran to help out.
   Even with all the training I'd had, this fight was still hard and the guys I was fighting against were tougher than I thought. Then again, when I really thought about it, this was my first fight outside the training level of HQ, so it was probably good to be thrown in at the deep end. Being shorter than most helped out a lot though as I didn't have to duck as much and I could throw a lot of "low blows" if you get my drift. Considering we were only there to make sure neither leaders, nor Kairi, were killed, Saix seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much and Larxene even cackled at one point. I was told to keep Kairi safe, which it has to be said was a lot easier said than done. It seemed everyone from the opposing gang wanted to reclaim her and I was sorely thankful for Larxene's training or I would've slipped up more than once. Unfortunately, that once made all the difference. While I was keeping one of the thugs away, another hit me right in the middle of my shoulder blades and sent me to the floor. I managed to roll over just in time to kick him away from me, but every time I tried to get up after that, I was forced back down by someone accidentally kicking me and I was starting to get a headache from constantly hitting my head on the floor. The moment I finally got up felt like time was going in slow motion. I kicked another gang thug off me and jumped up, turning around and as I did a gunshot went off that was almost definitely aimed at Kairi behind me. There was a scream and a lot of blood. There was a thud as I hit the floor once again and tried to tell what was going on. All I remember after that was blue, yellow and auburn, then passing out.


   I was getting oddly worried for the little blonde now. He'd left nearly two hours ago and it never takes that long to sort something out. Seeing as my working day had finished, I was pacing around my living room with Dem and Zexion watching me until the blunette sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Axel, will you calm down? They probably got caught up in a scrap or traffic or something. He'll be fine." Dem nodded and I sat down on the coffee table, running a hand through my hair when my phone went off as did Zexion's and Dem's. The words that appeared across the screen made my blood run cold.

Member injured. Cover all tasks set for XIII over the next month.

I looked up at the two of them and Dem just chuckled nervously. "Or he could be in hospital..."
   We raced out of the apartment and down into my car and drove to every hospital asking for him until we found the right one. The operating theatre light was on and Larxene and Saix were in the waiting room, looking a little worse for wear. Apparently, some serious shit went down. "Saix, what happened?!" I practically shouted, running over to him causing one nurse to glare at me.
"One of the gang members aimed a fatal shot at a girl they were doing a deal with and XIII got in the way. He's been shot in the stomach – we got him here in time, but they don't know if he'll make it or not; there was a lot of blood." My face paled even more and I fell into a chair next to him.
"Shit..." Was all Dem could say and Zexion just patted my shoulder in sympathy. After all, Roxas was my responsibility seeing as I'd brought him in. But then I realised that wasn't why I was upset; there was something else too....deeper than paternal concern, much more than looking out for a friend, but I couldn't figure out what. I just know that if he didn't make it, I wasn't sure how I'd cope. We all looked up when the light turned off and a doctor in green scrubs with a slight bit of red on him walked out.
"Erm excuse me, did you bring in the young boy who got shot?" He asked Saix and Larxene, at which point my ears perked up. Saix just nodded, waiting for him to continue and Larxene stood up too. "We've done what we can; the bullet hit quite deep, but we got it out and sewed him up. The stitches should hold, but he's lost a lot of blood so we've put him on a drip. He should make a full recovery in about a month or so." I stood up to at that point, feeling slightly relieved, but I needed physical evidence to be positive.
"Can we see him?" The doctor looked at bit surprised at someone else there, but nodded anyway.
"He's still under the anaesthetic, but he should come round in a few minutes." He led us down a lot of hallways to Ward 13 (which made Dem and me smile) and led us in. "Please remember to keep your voices down as we have other patients in here as well." We all nodded and satisfied, he left to tend to other patients. I ran over to his bed straight away and pulled up a chair, taking one of his hands. He had a catheter and a tube in his mouth to help him breathe and as I looked down, I saw his stomach was completely wrapped up in white bandages with a red stain in the middle. Sighing, I squeezed his hand gently and waited for him to wake up.
"I need to go and report to Superior, let him know the status of XIII." Saix finally said after what felt like hours of silence.
"I'll drive you." Larxene added, although I couldn't blame her; she'd never been one for hospital scenarios and looked seriously uncomfortable. They left just before Roxas woke up and I couldn't help but smile and brush the hair out of his eyes.
"Welcome back kid, you scared me for a second there."


   I woke up to notice a few things almost immediately;
1)my throat was incredibly dry
2)even through my still blurry vision, I could tell I wasn't in the warehouse anymore
3)there was someone holding my hand
I looked over to see red, and two green dots.
Even without perfect sight, there's only one guy I know like that..
My thoughts were confirmed when I heard him speak. "Thanks Ax...sorry for scaring you" My voice sounded horribly croaky, but I didn't care. I just rubbed my eyes so I could see properly. When the haziness cleared, I could see that I was in hospital and then the events of what happened all came back in a sudden flow of memories. "Oh no...I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"Not at all Rox, you did your job, didn't you?" I turned away from Axel to see Dem and Zexion on the other side of the bed. I sighed and nodded, about to open my mouth again when Zexion put a cup of water in front of me. "Before you say anything else, have a drink. I just spoke to the doctor and he's coming in to take the tube out now."As if on cue, the doctor walked in and smiled at me.
"Glad to see you're awake." It took a few minutes to take the tube out, but I was thankful that I only had a catheter now.
   I sighed again, and took a drink as soon as the tube was gone, grinning at the feeling of ice cold water in my mouth."Thanks Zexion...so how long am I here for?"
"They said at least a month." Axel answered and he squeezed my hand again. As I looked at him, I couldn't help but notice something else in his eyes; not just concern, but something else...I just let it go to the back of my mind though and poked my stomach instead, wincing afterwards. "Yeah, I wouldn't advise doing that Rox...not only will it be painful, but they could have to put more stitches in." I blushed and shrugged.
"Just curious..." He grinned and ruffled my hair. After a while, Zexion and Dem left to go home, whereas Axel said he'd stay. "Ax, what are you still doing here? Don't you need to go home too?"
"I brought you into this world, I'm gonna see to it that you survive in it." I blushed again and yawned.
"Man I'm tired...doesn't help that these beds are so cushion-y." He chuckled and sat back in his chair, folding his arms and smiling at me.
"Then go to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."
"Thanks Axel, you're a good friend." I said, consciousness slipping and fell asleep almost instantly.