[CO - KH/RK/MR] Number IV (part 1)

Summary:  Roxas likes the Organization's newest member.

A/N:  If you're a Rurouni Kenshin fan, do not read this fic.  That was your warning, so it's your own fault if you ignore the warning and then don't like what you see.

As far as the timeline - this is a crossover and therefore an AU, so I didn't pay attention to exactly how old the characters are supposed to be or when this is supposed to happen.

He knew he should be feeling something...horror, fear for his loved ones, anger at whatever had caused this, the will to fight - yet he felt nothing.  Distant screams echoed in his ears, phantom blood clouded his vision, yet he simply drifted here in the darkness and felt nothing.

Then, a whisper, as if from within his own mind.  "You already have the mark...your heart has long been shrouded in darkness...don't you want to be free?"

"...."

"Let me in."

Sanosuke woke up feeling like he'd punched straight through a multi-layered wall with both his hand and his head.  "Ugh...."

He was lying on some sort of pavement.  He sat up and found himself somewhere very strange - dark like it was nighttime, though it didn't feel like night, and with lots of tall brick buildings pressed close around.  He was in an alley of some kind.  He could also see a lot of strange light sin the distance, some even forming words (that he couldn't read) or pictures.  "Weird...."

Then he finally remembered what he had awakened from.  "Megumi!"  Immediately he was on his feet, running.  'I was getting married...where did those monsters come from?!'  Black, shadow-like creatures wriggling up from the ground right in the middle of the ceremony, guests panicking, women screaming, Yahiko fighting at his side...and then a huge, fearsome creature, rearing up above it all....  Sanosuke, full of rage, had charged it without hesitation; the next thing he had known was pain and horror and darkness and...this place.  Where was this place?

He finally stopped running and yelling.  People were staring at him.  "Where am I?" he shouted at them.  "Where's my wife?"  The onlookers quickly resumed their business, though someone muttered, "You're in Traverse Town.  Wish you luck, sir."

"Traverse Town...?"  He finally found some police, and sent them searching for Megumi.  He also found a shop during his own search - a wonderful shop, filled with magic goodies that healed you and restored your strength when you were hurt....  Sanosuke reluctantly decided he didn't trust the stuff, because he couldn't figure out how they worked, and it seemed too good to be true.

There were other shops he kept finding, though...magic, which he didn't go near; and weapons.  Armor.  "Aww...."  Sanosuke got distracted for the longest time in there, admiring them, then finally figured out that not only was he broke, but even if he wasn't, the currency he was used to was not accepted here, anyway.  He also discovered that, A) killing monsters usually resulted in loot, and B) despite all the monsters that kept popping up here, people seemed to regard them as mundane.  Even the women and children had weapons; they'd run from the stronger monsters and bash at the weaker ones, which would eventually burst into quickly-dissipating smoke.  And leave behind treasure.

"I have 50 'munny' now," Sanosuke mused, inspecting the golden orb he'd just picked up.  "So if I collect enough of these, I can buy a weapon, or what...?"  He'd need a weapon, in any case.  Using his bare hands didn't work well...touching the shadow monsters felt utterly disgusting, and they seemed to respond more to his will to fight than his physical strength, anyway.  These battles were different than what he was used to.

"Oi, you guys still haven't found my wife yet?"

"Sir, we've done a thorough search, and it seems very unlikely that the lady is here in this town.  At best, she may be in an entirely different world."

"An entirely different wor--?!"  Sanosuke's eyes narrowed.  "And at worst?"

The officer shrugged uneasily.  "Well, you know."  He glanced over at where a girl in a ninja outfit was happily slicing apart monsters with a pair of giant throwing stars.

"No, I don't know!  Spell it out!"  The man did, and Sanosuke almost wished he hadn't.  "I've gotta find Megumi...."

However, the first one he found was someone else.  Dashing through the courtyard of the Second District, Sanosuke was brought up short by the sight of monsters appearing near a group of kids.  "Yaaahh!"  They started hacking away at the monsters with wooden swords.  They seemed to be enjoying themselves, so Sanosuke was about to pass on again, when he suddenly recognized one of the redheads.  "Wait a sec--"

"Aaahh!" a boy cried out as he was raked by a monster's claws.

"There are too many of them!" a girl cried.  "Run!"  Then, when one of the boys was reluctant to follow, "Run, Kenji!"

Sanosuke surged forward and crushed the rest of the monsters, now barely noticing the soul-choking sensation.  He scooped up the remaining kid in one arm.

"Hi, Sano.  I beat a monster."

"Great job, kid.  Where's your dad?"

"I dunno...."  The boy shrugged uncomfortably.  "Dad fought the big monster and Misao-nee threw me, and I woke up here."

"Looks like we've both got people to find, huh....  Come on."

Roxas quickly tuned out Xemnas's slow ramblings.  The newest Organization member was much more interesting - small and slender like Zexion, with red hair like Axel's, gold eyes and pointed ears like Xigbar's, a big X-shaped scar on his face like Saïx, and a bright smile like Demyx's.

"...our new Number IV, Xekshinn," Xemnas finally finished.

Xekshinn smiled straight at Roxas.  "Hello."

"Um, hi."

"What's your superpower?" Demyx asked.

"Hmm...this one does not know."

"Let's go do a holo-mission and find out!"

"Hmmm?" Xekshinn murmured, politely disinterested.

"Luxord," said Xemnas, "you will be Number IV's guide during his first week.  Teach him what he needs to know to be a productive member of our Organization."

"Yes, sir."

"If there is no other business to discuss, you are all dismissed."

That evening, Roxas went to the kitchen to make dinner and found Xekshinn already there, cooking as if he was a professional.  "Whoa...."

The older Nobody turned to him with a smile.  "Hello, young one."

"Hi....  Man, everyone likes to give me nicknames."

"What is it you wish to be called?"

"My name's Roxas."

"Roxas.  It is good to make your acquaintance, that it is."

"You talk kind of funny...."

"Apologies."

"I mean, it's fine, I've just never heard anyone talk like that before.  What are you making?"

"Oh, nothing much.  Would you like some?"

Roxas was not expecting that.  None of the other members (except Axel and Xion, of course) usually offered to share.  "Uhh...sure."

"Please wait just a little longer, and then it will be ready, that it will."

"Okay.  Can I help?"

"Hmm, well, you may chop the rest of those, if you wish."

Axel and Xion finally RTC'd as they were sitting down to eat, and Xekshinn didn't mind sharing with them, too.

"This is good," Roxas noted.  He didn't often eat Japanese food, but he found that he liked it.

"You're a really good cook," Xion said admiringly.

"This one is pleased you like it, little one."

Xion giggled.  "He called me 'little one'...."

"Charming guy," Axel remarked in a dry tone.  He watched unhappily as the kids seemed to hang on the newest member's every word all throughout dinner.  Then, after the Keybearers had gone to bed, Axel went to pay a visit to Vexen's old room (Xion had moved her things to Larxene's).  "Oi.  Number IV."

"Yes?" Xekshinn said innocently, looking up from the book he was paging through.

Axel wasn't sure how to say it without having the opposite effect of what he wanted.  "I noticed you getting pretty friendly with the Keybearers at dinner."

"Keybearers?"

"Those two are special.  They can use the Keyblade - a weapon that only a very few in all the worlds are able to wield."

"They're so young...."

"Yeah.  Just kids, really; no one pays much attention to them as long as they get their work done."

"This one...used to love children, before...."

They were silent for a moment.

"It's all just gone, that it is," Xekshinn murmured thoughtfully.  "This one's past...it's as if it happened to a stranger.  No more crushing darkness, no more pain...no more joy...there's just--"

"Nothing," Axel finished softly.  "A big blank.  You're nothing.  Nobody."

"Is that better, or worse, this one wonders," Xekshinn murmured.

'I don't care.  Just stay away from my friends.'  "Who knows.  I guess that's what we're trying to find out, rebuilding Kingdom Hearts and all."

"Kingdom Hearts...."

"It's that big heart-shaped moon outside the window."

"Hm."

"Yup.  Well, good night."

"Good night."

Axel left, frustrated with himself.  'Stay away from my friends, they're mine....'

Another one - they'd been having so many attacks lately.  Everyone else on the street fled at the sound of the monster's screech, angry about yet another interruption so soon after the last one, but Tomoe paused.  It wasn't the usual 'Mwahaha, I will wreak havoc on this city!' screech.  The Heartless sounded angry.  That was a battle cry, which meant that the creature was battling someone.

'Enishi will be upset if something happens to me.'  But she couldn't let her life revolve around her little brother's wishes, so Tomoe tucked her shopping bag securely under one arm and cautiously went to investigate.

He was beautiful.  His movements were beautiful as he fought, graceful and unbelievably swift, as if it was a performance.  The Heartless didn't have a chance - long before she could get her fill of watching, the monster shrieked out its death-cry and began to fall...straight toward Tomoe.  She watched, almost too awed to run, but it didn't matter because it was already breaking apart, landing on her not as a massive body but as a spray of shadows like black blood.  In the next moment, even those smoky remains were gone, leaving her shivering at the touch of darkness.

'I....'  She felt ashamed as the man approached, he in the perfection of a victorious warrior and she feeling filthy from the darkness, but he did not seem to notice.

Solemnly, he paused before her and offered a Potion.  "...Are you hurt?"

"...."  She took the bottle from his hand, and drank until she felt cleansed.  Then they gazed at each other for a while.  'This feels so familiar,' she thought.

"Tomoe," he murmured, and she felt a jolt of surprise.

"How do you--?"

Then he was reaching out, holding her head gently as he kissed her.

'...This is why I've never been interested in anyone,' she thought.  'Because I've always been waiting for him, without even knowing.'

"Number IV."

They pulled back to look at the man who'd interrupted them.  Blonde, with silver earrings, wearing the same black coat as her warrior.

"We need to go."

"Very well."  He gave Tomoe one last look and then started to turn away.

"What's your name?" she quickly called after him.

He paused, and smiled.  "Kenshin."

'Kenshin.'  She tucked the name close to her heart.  "I will see you again."

Kenshin glanced at his companion, who shook his head, but Kenshin turned back to her and smiled and said, "Yes."

She smiled back, and walked away.  And paused behind the wall, as soon as she was out of sight.

"Perhaps I should have told you this sooner," said the other man, "but we are a secret Organization.  You should avoid communicating with or allowing yourself to be seen by the locals."

"I know her," said Kenshin.

Tomoe caught her breath.

"From when you were human?"

'Human?' she thought, startled.

"She was this one's wife, that she was."

'Wife?!'

"She was also dead."

Tomoe forgot to breathe for a moment.

"Ah - I have heard of such things.  Strange things can happen between the many worlds.  This is not the woman you knew, then - or, not exactly.  She is a version who never knew you."

"...Our hearts knew each other."

'Yes.  They did,' she thought in wonder.

"In any case, it doesn't matter now.  You have lost the capacity to love."

"Yes...so you all keep saying...."

Tomoe frowned.

"You did surprisingly well against that Heartless.  Have you fought before?"

"This one is accustomed to a life of battles."

"That explains it, then.  You are a valuable asset to the Organization.  Come - we should RTC."  There was a strange whooshing sound, and when Tomoe looked around the corner again, they were gone.

"Hm."

At the house, Enishi nearly collided with her, barreling out the door.

"Enishi!"

"Sis!"  He threw his arms around her and squeezed tight.  "They said there was another giant Heartless!"

"I'm all right," she said soothingly.  "Someone fought the Heartless and destroyed it."

"Good.  I'll kill a giant Heartless someday."

"I'm sure you will," she said, kissing his head.  "How are our guests?"

"Yahiko's out looking for their friends again.  The lady's cooking."

"Do you have homework?"

"Nope."

"Do I need to bother your teacher to double-check?"

"No!  I lied!  I have homework, I just...need help."

She kissed him again and began to lead him inside.  "Show it to me, love."

"Okay."

Axel missed ice cream again.  When Roxas and Xion RTC'd together, they found the new member standing uncertainly in the Grey Area.  "Hi, Xekshinn," Xion said, a little timidly.  Most of the other members seemed to ignore her or treat her with disdain, but Xekshinn responded with a bright smile.

"Hello, little one."

"How was work?"

"This one was taught to use magic in battle, but...a simple weapon is preferable, that it is."

"I don't like magic, either," Roxas said.  "Did you eat dinner yet?"

"Yes.  There doesn't seem to be much to do here after missions, other than training, eating, and sleeping."

Roxas and Xion glanced at each other, then smiled to find that they were in agreement, though neither spoke a word.  "You wanna hang out with us, Xekshinn?"

"Pardon?"

"Come play with us after we eat."

"All right," Xekshinn said happily.

In Roxas's room later, Axel sulked with a handheld video game as Roxas and Xion eagerly taught Xekshinn how to play Mario Kart.  He was apparently from a world where video games didn't exist, because everything was completely new to him, but he seemed amiable and willing to learn.

"Whoo, I won again!" Roxas proclaimed triumphantly.

"But you were really close, Xekshinn," Xion assured him.

"Is that so," Xekshinn laughed.  "You two seem to really enjoy this."

"Axel taught us how to play these," Roxas said.  "He always beats us unless he lets us win."

"I don't let you win," Axel protested, then, "Oi, watch the hair!" as Roxas playfully smushed his gelled spikes into his face.

"Axel teaches us a lot of things," Xion said affectionately, going over to hug her red-haired friend.

"Yeah, because we're stupid," Roxas pouted.  "So he has to teach us everything that everyone else has already known forever."

"Roxas, you're not stupid.  You've only been alive for a few months - do you know what normal babies are like?  They can't even talk or walk, much less destroy Heartless and make grilled cheese sandwiches and play video games.  You guys are geniuses for your age.  Come on, eventually you will catch up, you just have to keep learning and be patient."

Roxas slumped over and dropped his face on Axel's shoulder.  "Bleh."

Axel, still with an arm around Xion, affectionately ruffled Roxas's hair.  "For what it's worth, you do act more like a teenager than a baby.  And some girls think that cluelessness is cute."

"What do girls have to do with anything?"

Xekshinn chuckled as he watched them.  "You three love each other very much, don't you."

The other Nobodies stared at him in surprise.  "Love?"

"We're Nobodies," Axel said, uncomfortably trying to pull away from the kids.  "We can't love.  We can't feel any emotion."

"Why do you all say that?" Xekshinn said curiously.  "It's true that at first there was a complete absence of feeling, but that seems to be gradually changing as time passes, that it does."

They went into the usual spiel about Nobodies expressing emotion based on past memories rather than present feeling.

"Is that so...."  Xekshinn stood up.  "Well, perhaps it would interest you to know that not all of this one's expressions have been feigned.  Also - I think that is the case for you three as well."

They stared at him.

He smiled and bowed before turning to leave.  "Good night."

The next day, Roxas was assigned to take Xekshinn on a training mission and teach him about heart collection.  "Not that you can actually collect hearts," he clarified as they emerged from the dark corridor.  "Only people who have Keyblades can do that.  But you should still know how Heartless work and everything."  He loved being the teacher for once.  It made him feel smart and grown up, especially with a real grown up like Xekshinn hanging on his every word and politely following his lead.

Roxas looked around Beast's Castle, wondering where to begin.  "So, first of all, Heartless are the darkness in people's hearts - they actually do have hearts, so I don't know why we call them 'Heartless.'"

"Just as strange as we 'Nobodies' having bodies but no hearts," Xekshinn said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Uh...yeah.  Like that.  Just so you know, I'm not the one who came up with those names."

"Of course."

"Okay, so, Heartless are like monsters made from dark hearts, and the Keyblade releases those hearts and makes them clean again.  Then they go to Kingdom Hearts."

"Which we are building because its completion will allegedly restore our hearts to us."

"Yeah.  And, like, there's two kinds of Heartless, the gross-looking black kinds that I'm not supposed to fight because they're useless, and the weird colorful kinds with the hearts.  We're supposed to fight the colorful ones - but if you guys kill them, the hearts just float around and become more Heartless; but if me or Xion kill them with a Keyblade, they go to Kingdom Hearts."

"So what would you like this one to do on heart collection missions?"

"I guess you can fight them, just make sure my Keyblade finishes them off.  And if you want experience points and stuff, you can fight the gross Heartless.  And I think sometimes other members will fight giant Heartless to wear them down before me or Xion get to them."

"I see."

"Yeah, so...there's not really much for you to do...but you're learning, so that's okay."

Xekshinn's smile was affectionate.  "You've learned quite a lot also, haven't you."

"Huh?  Yeah, I guess...."

"This one was told that you and the little one were both born a very short time ago."

"I'm 122 days old," Roxas said defensively.  "That's a lot of days."

"And you are sure to have many, many more to come.  Already I see that you are using them well, that you are.  It's more than can be said for many people a hundred times your age, or more."

"...Are you complimenting me or insulting me?"

"Does it matter?  You decide on your own self-worth."

Roxas looked thoughtful, and Xekshinn did, too.

"...Okay whatever; we need to get to work now."

It was more fun being partnered with Xekshinn than with most of the other members.  The new Number IV was never rude or condescending, he seemed to genuinely like Roxas the way Axel did, and he was an impressive fighter but not a glory hog.

"What does 'Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu' mean?" Roxas asked.

"Hm?"

"You always yell that before you attack."

"It is this one's sword style, that it is.  Each technique was developed by the same man, Hiten Mitsurugi, and passed down from master to apprentice through many generations."

"Ohhh.  Cool.  How long have you been fighting?"

"This one became an apprentice at age ten."

"Ten days?  Wow...I was still kinda a zombie when I was ten...."  He frowned as he watched Xekshinn laugh.

"Ten years, young one.  About 4,000 days."

"Whoa!  How old are you now?!" Roxas cried.

"Hm, this one has lost count...."

Roxas was frozen for a moment, in awe at the thought of being alive for so many days that you couldn't even count them all.  "...I really am a baby, aren't I."

"Your youth is quite bothersome to you, isn't it," Xekshinn said compassionately.

"I hate being stupid."

"You remind me of a young man I used to know...."

"A stupid one?" Roxas said sullenly.

"Full of passion, honorable even when forced into a criminal's life, courageous even in the face of terrible odds, a warrior's spirit in a child's body, full of so very much potential and always longing to get stronger, to grow into a man his loved ones can be proud of...you and Yahiko are much alike, young Roxas."

"Huh," Roxas said uncertainly.  "Well...come on, let's go see if we missed any Heartless in the West Wing."

Sanosuke had to keep telling himself that he was married now and probably going to have kids eventually, so this was good practice.

Still, it had been several days now of continuous childcare, and he still wasn't used to being woken up in the mornings by Kenji being obnoxious; having to remember that the kid needed to be fed regularly, before he got hungry enough to snack on junk food (or other people's food); having to remember to be freaked out every time he noticed that it had been too quiet for too long, and wonder where Kenji had run off to this time....

Flirting, apparently, or the little-kid version of it.  A girl was in the Second District, about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a long black coat, leaning down with her hands braced on her knees to talk to Kenji in that delighted way women used when they saw cute things.  "...I'm sure you're very brave, but the Heartless are dangerous, okay?  You shouldn't try to fight them."

"You were fighting Heartless," Kenji pouted, "and you're a girl."

"Um...yes, but it's my job to fight Heartless, I'm supposed to."

"So am I!"

"What you're supposed to do," Sanosuke interrupted, "is tell me before running off on your own, kid.  Your dad'll kill me if I let anything bad happen to you."

"Hi, Sano."

"Hi."

The girl smiled at Sanosuke a little nervously.  "Hello....  Well, I'm glad that Kenji-chan has someone to look after him."

"Don't call me '-chan'!"

"I'll be going now," she continued.

"Wait a sec--  What's all this about it being your 'job' to fight Heartless?"

"Um...."

"A little girl like you?  You got a weapon or something?"

"Y-Yes, I do...."

"Well, let's see it," he said, hopeful and suspicious and confused and charmed and annoyed and intrigued all at once.

"I--  I'm afraid I...um...goodbye!"  She suddenly took off.

"Whoa, wait!"  Sanosuke tried to chase after her, but there was a strange whooshing sound after he lost sight of her, and when he turned the corner, she was gone.  "Weird...."

"Xion-nee went back in the shadow again," Kenji said unhappily, trotting up beside him.

"Huh?"

Across town, Xion emerged from the dark corridor and breathed out a relieved sigh.  "I need to be more careful...."  Cute as the little boy had been, she shouldn't even have talked to him, much less his adult guardian.  "Okay, focus, Xion.  Giant Heartless."

She finally found it in the Third District, in the passageway behind the big neon sign.  As soon as she disturbed it, it swooped out into the courtyard, and she had to circle back around to meet it in battle.  "I won't lose to the likes of you!"

As giant Heartless battles went, it was not particularly difficult.  She dispatched the monster with a decent number of panels left over, and was just going around collecting loot when a voice called out, "Wow, that is impressive."

Xion gave a little shriek of surprise and whirled around.  Sanosuke was leaning against the wall, watching her, and Kenji was scampering over to her with a munny orb in his hand like a puppy playing fetch.

"You really do fight Heartless - with a giant key?" Sanosuke continued incredulously.

"You scared me," Xion gasped.  "Kenji, what are you doing here?"

"Following you.  What's your sword style, Xion-nee?  I wanna learn it."

"Sword style?"

Sanosuke chuckled, coming over to join them.  "People in this town are so weird....  Are you even from here, though?  You're weirder than anybody else I've seen around this place."

"Uh...I'm from...."

"You should treat us to supper," Kenji said.

"Huh?!"

"I wanna see where you live."

"You can't!  Uh--  Bye!"  Then she made a huge ominous shadow again.

Sanosuke didn't make the decision to jump in after her, it was as if he'd known all along that he was going to do it.  What he had to spare a second to think about was that he shouldn't leave Kenji behind in Traverse Town, because there was no telling if Sanosuke would ever be able to get back to fetch him.  The dark corridor they found themselves in was horrible, though, and Sanosuke knew he shouldn't have brought the kid here.  Either way, this might not have been the best idea.

"I hate it here!" Kenji shouted.  "Get me out!"

"C'mon, Kenji, man up."

"Urgh...."

Xion hurried back to them.  "What are you guys doing here?!"

"I really hope this isn't where you live."

"Of course it isn't!  I...."  She looked at Kenji and sighed.  "Well, I guess you can't cause much trouble in Twilight Town...come on."  She took Kenji's hand and led them to the world that lay on the threshold of two realms.

To be continued....