Authors Notes;

Hey, would you guys prefer me to write more (like maybe 3000 so and so) and take longer or keep up what I have now?

Sorry, unedited, got lazy.

Ascella is Latin for 'Wing'

R a v e n Feathers

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Oxymoron

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What we call "morals" is simply blind obedience to words of command. ~Havelock Ellis

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Mission Base-Hollow Bastion/6:58am

The mission base in Hollow Bastion was in the basements of what used to be the Kings Studies. They just called them Ansem's Labs now and they were hidden deep within the slums. It was pretty dangerous to come in there because they're the equivalent of sewers trampling through water was necessary to reach the base. He was trudging through the green water now, trying to remember why he was enduring the dripping from above soaking into his hair.

Oh yeah…

So he found out this morning that if he wasn't going to enroll for school then he'd need something to do while Naminé was there. Entertainment in this capital relied soley on money and it turns out that the mission funding didn't cover that. So he was trudging through thick, probably contaminated water to find work. No-not the normal kind of work-the stab-stab-kill kind of work. What's the point of doing something boring for the minimal amount of pay when you can do something exciting for a much larger amount?

Major missions worked like this; if the objective takes more than three weeks to achieve then sub-missions are available. Since his mission borders on three months, then sub-missions are available right away. Here he meets with a lackeys of the organization called 'Dusks' who give The Organization members their choice in missions ranging from difficulty to distance of the current home base.

"Fucking Mansex…" Roxas mumbles, "Can't get a base somewhere normal…"

He pauses in his angry rants for a moment to pick up his vibrating cell phone, the echo making his tone sound twice as loud as it was.

"Yo?"

"Roxas? It's like seven in the morning, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a sub-mission."

He heard the red head sigh over the phone, "You are such a dick."

The blond smirked. This morning Kairi had been panicking about going to school because of her inexperience, she had been reading teen magazines and reviewing the procedures of regular schools for the last three days. Roxas knew she was going to do fine, but Axel wanted him there for moral support too, so he wouldn't have to shoulder the weight of Kairi's antics all by himself. Demyx had done the smart things and fled the scene too.

"I do what I can," he tries to make sure the sarcastic bow is evident in his tone.

"Why a sub-mission?"

"Because there's nothing to do while Naminé's at school."

"Yes there is!" Axel counters, "There's always infiltrating the company you know, like you were meant to?"

"Think about it for a moment Ax," Roxas sighs, "if I infiltrate today, with little means of preparation and knowledge about the facility on the first day then there is little hope of me gaining information and at the same time eluding the guards. This isn't some ordinary company Axel, its Xigbar's."

"But you're-"

"You overestimate me Axel, and while I know I am fantastic-"he ignores the snicker on the other end, "I'm not that fantastic."

"Oh modesty, you have so much." Roxas could almost hear the sarcastic clapping in the background.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, if I can infiltrate the girl's life before I infiltrate the company, getting into the latter will be much easier later."

Axel paused before murmuring, "You're devious."

"Thank you. Thank you."

"Just be mindful about her, have you undergone personality checks yet?"

Axel was so forgetful sometimes.

"Remind me as to why I compromised the mission in the first place?"

"Oh shut up, since you were under Ventus' guise you had different reaction rates compared to a normal person."

"True that. Oh what do you know? Even Axel is competent sometimes."

"I will burn your books."

"Oh God, okay I'll stop," he laughs. Spotting the entrance of the base. It's not anything special, just a plain door steps above the murky green water, "listen, I'm at mission base so I'm gonna hang up."

"Kay, good luck bro."

He returned the phone into his pocket and went inside. The base is kind of like a miniature police station, except constantly filled with monitors and the uniforms are white and look fairly uncomfortable. Dusks gather intel on missions when their informants have too much to handle. Roxas often takes advantage of the Dusks over ambitious nature to help him.

"Hello Mr. Hikari, I trust you handled the mission on the plane to an exemplary level?"

"As always," Roxas replied.

"We've acquired all we can on Miss Kokoro for the moment, all it is impersonal details; how old she is, who her father and mother were before No. II, intel like that."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Roxas quipped, "gathering the intel myself will be so much more fun. Do you have anything on the gun facility?"

"That's the problem; it seems that they have a hacker that rivals even VI's prowess, it's near impossible to gain any information at the moment. It seems that we're going to need to send in a mole to map out the plans from the inside."

"How bothersome," Roxas sighs fiddling with his gloves, "while you chaps are working on that, could you trouble me with a side mission?"

Another Dusk comes up to him this time, with three envelopes stamped with the Organizations signature.

"Explain?"

"Two 'Acquirements' and one assassination."

The blond mumbles a bit stretching out his fingers and options before him, "Tell me the details of the assassination."

"It requires you to head into Radiant Garden-"

Roxas didn't want a mission so close to the base, especially right after or before his main target. He shook his head and said, "Oh, that won't do. Which of the acquirements is farther away?"

Acquirement to the Organization was just a fancy word for theft.

"This one is a little off, in a place called 'Departure'. Subject has requested you visit a special kind of residence-the address is listed below-and seize what they call a 'Wayfinder'. It's made of sapphire and 18 carat white gold and shaped into a little star. A picture is available for you."

"Sounds easy enough, I'll take it."

The envelope was dropped onto the desk and stamped 'XIII' on the bare front, "Remember that the recommended time to execute this mission is right after 2200."

"Ten o'clock, right."

The same Dusk that gave him the mission pauses a moment before he lights up, "I just remembered, Superior has recommended you get a regular job, to alibi as to why you're away most of the time."

"How?"

The Dusk hurried around the tables for a bit before returning with a small file, "This is your résumé. It states here that you attended Dark City Academy and that you are in between schools right now, you achieved exemplary grades in Science and English Literature, Physical Education and Drama."

Of course the members of the Organization were given the basics of education, enough to pass of decent infiltration. The exemplary subjects he had been given stemmed from other aspects of the Dark Arts he was accustomed too; Science-Botany and Poison. English-Comprehension in missions and his general like to reading. Physical Education-Combat training and human psyche. Drama-Infiltration.

"It also states that your other elective was music and the rest of your grades were B average except for Religions and Geography."

Roxas shuddered, horrible stuff.

"The Principal of Dark City is a colleague of Saix's and is willing to back up the information, with these results you will be able to get any job that doesn't require a degree you want."

"Oh… cool. Nice work."

"We don't have any more that we can offer you superior."

Roxas waved him off, "Just call me if you find more information on Free Shooter."

"Understood!" they nodded before Roxas made his way out the door.

Hollow Bastion Academy/3:06pm

The Academy was bright, Victorian looking, resembling the castle towering over Radiant Garden. And the huge iron gates soon began to swarm with students. Roxas wore a wig at the moment, waiting for the opportune moment to take it off. He tugged at his false raven spikes lazily, turning his attention back to the school when the bell wrung, looking out for the familiar head of platinum blond hair.

He'd been waiting for twenty minutes, looking for Naminé when a different head of hair appeared. It wasn't hard to spot him; silver was a strange hair choice after all. He suspected her should have achieved a different personality to speak to Riku, but decided against it. If Riku was suspicious of anything he would just kill him, snap his neck, easy as that.

"Hi!"

The tone was one much more peppy than he was used to, but it caught the boy's attention. He hated to admit, that even with vision on his side, Riku still looked as alluring as before. And damn, he was taller than Roxas by about fifteen centimeters.

"Um… hi? Who are you?"

"A little birdie told me you know a Naminé Kokoro?"

Riku's eyes darkened, regarding Roxas with some kind of silent anger, "What about her?"

"I'm her new servant!" he declared, "I've come to pick her up from school."

Riku rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in disbelief, "Naminé hates her servants."

He was being sincere. Dammit. Plan B.

"Alright, I'm actually a huge fan and wanted to ask if she'd go on a date with-"

Riku sighed, "Listen mate, Naminé is already infatuated with someone else, why don't you run along-"

"Riku?"

Roxas smirked when Naminé appeared behind him, side stepping the silver haired male and bowing in front of Naminé with a flourish. Upon seeing his familiar face, she blanched blinking before her eyes took on a calculative stare. Unlike his first presumption of her, she didn't scream or even falter in her movements that much.

"Hey Nam, remember me? We need to have a little talk."

She paused, deliberating a moment before nodding and turning in the opposite direction, Roxas on his heels.

"Hey!" he turned around Riku jogged up to them, "What's your name?"

Roxas grinned, the first name he thought of slipping from his lips, "Raven."

.

They were a fair distance from the school, walking towards the marketplace and Radiant Plaza where they would find some privacy in public.

"Okay spill Ventus-look alike, what's your deal?" she growled, tugging at his spikes, revealing the blond beneath the black.

"Woah, you were so much nicer last night," he laughed, pulling of the rest of the wig discarding it in the trash.

"That's because I thought you were someone else."

"Ventus Strife?"

"Of course Ventus Strife! Wait a minute… you… you can't be?"

"Wow baby-doll, took you some time to catch on," the spiky haired blond rolled his eyes, laughing when she narrowed her eyes and glared daggers at him.

Her eyes instantly widened and she was shocked into silence. They turned into a café and Roxas pulled the wig on again. Naminé tried to pull it off but Roxas relented in keeping it on, "Gosh, pushy are you?"

"Oh God, you're really Roxas Strife?"

Roxas yelped and shushed her, settling down at a table. Hopefully no one had heard that clearly. And if it was he would simply deny it, 'Raven' would be a new guise now.

"Geez, scream it to the world will you?" he sighed.

"I will! In fact, that's a fantastic idea!" she said getting up before he grabbed her wrist and yanked her down.

"Do that and I'll disappear from the face of the Earth and everyone think you're loonier than you already portray yourself to be," he growled eyes leveled with her own. Determined cerulean meeting furious sky blue.

"Fine, what do you want with me? And what kind of demand will get a straight answer out of you?"

Wow, she is a lot snippier than he was last night.

"Easy as doll face, I simply request that you tell me a little more about the… the Strife's before I actually get to meet them."

She smiled, shaking her head, "Aww, so you're actually the shy type too! Just like your brother."

He snarled, for some reason, the cosy term it sent cold shivers up his spine, making his skin crawl. He shook it off, composing himself again.

"I am not! I just don't want it to feel…" he feigned reluctance to voice his rehearsed speech, "awkward."

"Well aren't you a sweetheart," she smiled; malice clear in her false angelic expression. If he was a normal person he would have been incredibly riled.

"Well?"

"I'll do it, if you answer all of my questions," she said, twisting a strand of golden hair around her finger.

The waitress dropped by asking what Roxas would like, "Coffee. Black. No sugar. Thanks."

"How boring…" she mumbles before contradicting herself and asking for water.

"Hypocrite."

She laughed sarcastically lacing her fingers and using them to support her chin, "I have my reasons Mr. Strife."

"Mr. Ascella actually."

"What? Seriously?" she asked.

Duh, it's not like he's going to tell her his real fake name.

"Mhmm."

"Whatever, just… what do you want to ask?"

"Keep this a secret? From Ven, from your other friends?"

She looked conflicted for a moment, but maybe the allure of a stranger and mystery beyond her wildest dreams was just too much, "Okay. Anything else?"

Roxas looked at his watch; he had some time before he'd need to start preparing for his theft, "For a tour around Radiant Garden? Show me what a teenager here does for entertainment."

"Sure… Ascella," she snickered, sipping at the water the waitress set down.

He rolled his eyes, sipping his own coffee, "Roxas."

"Fine," she smiled with eyes full of promise, adventure and passion, "Roxas."

Reviews are always appreciated and I try to reply to them when I can.

kobiee.