My eyes snapped open as a string of guitar chords blared through the speakers of my alarm clock.

"Cannot spend another night in this hole,

I close my eyes and take a breath real slow.

The consequence is if I leave I'm alone…"

I quickly hit the snooze button before the familiar song could permanently damage my eardrums. I mean, don't you just hate it when that happens?

Name's Roxas Katsuri. There's not much to say about me. I'm not really special. I think if you could pick one adjective for me, it would be…I dunno, average. I'm an average height, with average friends and an average loft and family. The only thing unaverage about me is my hair, which refuses to lie flat. So yeah; nothing special about me.

But my buddy Axel? Pft, talk about a guy with special written all over him (and not in a good way). I swear, that guy is eligible to drive people up the wall. Don't even ask me how we even got to be friends, because I wouldn't know. If I had to pinpoint our meeting, I'd vaguely put it somewhere between junior and senior year. But hey, I could be wrong. All I know is; we really hit it off in college. Even now after we've graduated, we're great friends (for some reason). Another thing about Axel is, his family is loaded. Yep, I'm talking summers in Europe rich. But for whatever reason, Axel prefers to act like he's dirt poor.

I'm still trying to figure out how he got Larxene (the most stubborn, scary, and psychotic girl I've ever met) to be his girlfriend. Usually, if you get within 3 feet of her, you can kiss your manhood goodbye. But putting that aside, those psychos were made for each other.

Anyways, now that I was officially awake, I sat up in bed, the checkered sheets sliding off me. Rubbing my eyes, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and shuffled over to the closet to get ready for work. The week before, my boss Xemnas had promoted me. It was my first day as an executive, and I wanted to look good. As I pulled on a gray suit, I remembered Xemnas said something about a secretary. I smiled at this, a nice, warm feeling spreading through me. It felt good to be so important that you have your own secretary. Sure, the work load would definitely be a bit overwhelming, but the secretary thing was a neat thing to think about. Honestly, how many people do you know have their own secretary for Christ's sake?!

I felt a grin slide over my face as I grabbed my phone and keys off the bedside table as I headed out. I have to admit, I was excited. At the age of 23, I was the youngest executive Oblivion Industries had ever had to date. Sure, there were at least twelve other executives in the company, but still. Among those executives was none other than Axel. Axel had snagged the executive title at the age of 25, and the rest is history. You can imagine how he was when I joined the company the second I graduated college. Yep, by the time I joined, Axel had been an employee for about three years, and he loved to make me call him "superior". Even though I was now technically the same rank as him, I knew the rules wouldn't change. I would have to go on calling him and everyone else "superior".

My heart was pounding as I climbed into the car and backed out of the driveway. My excitement was only matched by my apprehension. It was like being the new guy all over again. How would my co-workers react? More importantly, would the other executives consider me "one of them," or would I just be the little boy who was only there to make a fool of himself? Oh man, if that was Xemnas's true intention for promoting me- ugh my blood boiled just thinking about it! I shook my head and calmed myself down as I steered into the parking lot of Oblivion Industries. A glance at my watch made me jog across the lobby of the building to an available elevator. As I stepped inside the elevator, I made sure to catch my breath. I only had two minutes before I would be considered late. In my haste, I failed to realize that I was not alone. Behind me was a small, petite girl- about my age- struggling with a stack of papers. Taking pity on her, I quickly hit the button of the floor I wanted and went over to assist her.

"You need some help?" I asked, slowly putting a supporting hand on the bottom of the stack.

"Oh, thank you very much," she said in a relieved, soft voice. "It's my first day here."

"I know how you feel," I chuckled, happy that I wasn't the only one there with first day jitters. "It's my first day as an executive."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! You wouldn't happen to be Roxas Katsumi, would you?"

"Yeah, actually. How'd you know?"

She smiled sweetly at me. "I'm Namine. I'm your new secretary."

I quickly smiled back. So, this was my secretary? Well, she seemed really nice. "Nice to meet you, Namine," I replied, all business. "I'd shake your hand, but it seems mine are occupied at the moment."

As she grinned at my little quip, the elevator let out a loud ding! The scene that met my eyes was not expected.

Balloons. Everywhere. The workers had on little party hats. A large cake sat on a buffet table full of food. Streamers and confetti were thrown into the air as Demyx, one of the executives, pulled me into the little party. I lost my grip on the papers and they went scattering about. All I could see was an explosion of rainbow colored paper. Blindly, Xemnas hefted me onto a table and held up a hand for silence.

"I present our newest executive!" he announced. "Starting today, young Roxas, your whole life is the company! To help you through it all, we've assigned you a secretary. She will be your sidekick, your partner in crime, the Bonnie to your Clyde. That girl is Namine Atsuri!"

I groaned. I hadn't counted on Xemnas treating this like my wedding day. And what was with that whole speech? I was being promoted to executive, not selling my soul to the devil.

The whole day was treated like a party. Food was eaten, conversations were held, music played loudly in the background, and I think there was some sort of limbo contest in the breakroom. I hoped the images of the workers really letting loose was a sign that this promotion would really brighten my life.

"Um, Mr. Katsumi?" A light voice said. Namine stood there, clutching a manila folder. "Xemnas told me to show you to your new office on the top floor," She informed me as I nodded. From there we headed over to an elevator.

The noise died down as we ascended, an awkward silence developing.

"So…why'd you join Oblivion?" I asked.

"Oh…uh…I-I needed some money. Surprisingly, this job doesn't pay very much but it's all I qualify for. Plus, I know someone who once saved both Xemnas and the company so my job here was a lock the moment I applied."

"Wow. So, are you new to Traverse Town?"

"Yes. All my life I lived in Twilight Town but certain…circumstances made me move here. Like I said, I needed the money."

I frowned. "It sounds like you really didn't want a job here. If you don't mind me asking, what's your choice of a career?"

A dreamy look fell over her face. "I always wanted to be an artist…"

That took me by surprise. "An artist?"

"Yeah…But…someone I knew told me artists amounted to nothing. I always ignored them. In fact…" she hesitated. "A…A couple months before I moved here…I almost made it as an artist. But something happened, and now…"

I cocked my head. "Strange. How does an artist become a secretary in a matter of months?"

She sighed deeply. "Well…things change…"

We finally reached the top floor and exited the elevator. Quietly, Namine led me down a hallway. Soon we stopped in front of a glass door.

"Well, here we are…"

I drew in a sharp breath. It was the biggest working space I had ever seen. The walls were all glass, with a breathtaking view of the town. A large birch wood computer setup sat in the corner. On the opposite side of the room was a small birch wood desk, of which I assumed would be Namine's workspace. In the middle of the room sat two identical, checkered chairs.

"Yeah," I said, taking it all in. "This'll do quite nicely…"

Okay, so I might continue this. From experience, I've learned that no one likes my work for Kingdom Hearts, but I actually tried here. I dunno, tell me what you think, and we'll take it from there.

Also, I know my profile says hiatus, but if this story does well, I think I'll come back. I'm kinda out of practice since I haven't written anything in a while.

Chapter inspiration: A Match into Water, Hell Above, and The Best There Ever Was