Disclaimer: KHII and BLEACH are not mine. You probably think I’m crazy that I have decided to mix my two latest obsessions into one lovely fic, but I like the combo and I hope you do too. Most characters from BLEACH are from the later books, so I’m sorry if you don’t know them…

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Roxas…

Sora…

Organization XIII…

Nobody…

Without hearts…

“Axel, please, wake up!”

The flame clicked his emerald eyes open and found himself staring into his thought-to-be deceased comrade’s face. Wait, wasn’t he supposed to be dead too? They were in an alleyway livelier than the World That Never Was, with a few trash cans and a black skinny kitten that was tugging at his cloak. Maybe that was what he was. A feisty kitten that just wouldn’t die. At least he was stuck with someone he could stand.

“I named him Rixel.” Larxene cheerfully said as she picked Rixel up and held him to her cheek. Its pink sandpaper tongue licked her pale skin and a loose blonde lock.

“Larxene, what are we doing here? Didn’t we get offed already?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, where are we?”

“I don’t know; I just woke up too. Everyone outside is really nice, but they only reply with ‘We’re in the Afterlife of course!’” she pouted.

“Come on, someone’s got to-” He peered from the alley and was stupefied at the mass of dead people. Nowhere had he seen this many people in one place. They were all normally dressed, save for a few weirdoes in black robes and white sashes. People were haggling in the street, children were playing, and everything seemed too normal. All of the buildings of beech wood and paper screens seemed so foreign for the fiery pits. Hell, or the Afterlife, whatever, didn’t seem too bad.

“The fat guy selling oranges told us to talk to a shinigami.”

“A what?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe one of those guys in black and white. C’mon, let’s go ask Axy!” Axy? Why Axy? She was starting to sound like the water freak, wherever he was. Larxene grabbed his red hair and lugged him into the middle of the mobbed street. She approached a woman with darker flaxen hair with a pink ribbon loosely tied around her neck. She carried a…katana (Saïx knew more about swords than he did) with a heart shaped handle and was patrolling the area. “Excuse me, but where are we?”

“Hm?” she nonchalantly said.

“If we died, then where are we?” Axel chimed in. The shini-somtethig or other was scanning their coats and appearances. Her eyes narrowed and she raised her sword in an attack stance.

“You two, you’re with him aren’t you? We’ve been getting cases about him and now he has friends. Hmph, how fun.” Well, it’s not like they weren’t suspicious looking.

“Who? Is there another member here? I’m sorry, but who are you talking about/” Larxene replied in a confused manner. Axel on the other hand, was already on the bad side of his temper. His two crimson projectiles sprouted from his hands and spun like furious pinwheels.

“Look lady, I just woke up less than five minutes ago, the fact that I died is still kind of sinking in, and I have no idea where the hell I am or who the hell you’re talking about. Why can’t you just ANSWER US!” It took most of his strength to resist the urge to hurl a wheel at her, but he managed.

“Did you two really arrive now?”

“YES!”

“No need to yell, fireman. All Nobodies that die, if not fused with their hearts, live for eternity in Soul Society. They must be registered by a shinigami, or worker of death. Obviously you haven’t been registered so follow me.” She scoffed. The two ex-members glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

“Put it this way: we’re already dead.” Axel laughed. “Hey lady, who are you anyway?”

“My name is Rangiku Matsumoto, lieutenant of the tenth shinigami division. And you are?”

“She’s Larxene, the fluff bag in her arms is Rixel, and I’m Axel. Got it memorized?”

“Mew!”

A sleeping man with bound cranberry hair was woken up by the smack of a sword handle. Axel and Larxene followed Rangiku into the cramped and hollow office with the same wood and screen décor, with large waves painted black on them.

“Shouldn’t I be patrolling the area? I’m five levels higher than you. Can’t you switch for today?” he said in a groggy voice.

“There haven’t been any sightings of the man form Central Plaza, but you don’t even know what he looks like. Leave it to me and do your job.” Rangiku left and slammed the screen behind her to tsunami the doors shut. Renji grunted and slowly leapt out of his chair. At his desk he turned on a sleek black computer and pulled two small boxes out of a drawer. Axel already hated him. Red met red. Laziness met laziness. And after Larxene even said “He looks a lot like you, Axy!” he hated him more. And why Axy?

“Names?” the shinigami barked.

“Axel and Larxene.”

“Occupations?”

“Um…assassins, yes, assassins.”

“Date and time of deaths?”

“Now how are we supposed to remember that? We’ve just died.”

The death worker rolled his eyes. “Well I’m so sorry that you can’t keep your personal lives in order, but you don’t have to take it out on me, sir.” Axel slammed his hands on the table, the wind currents sending papers and files everywhere. He began huffing, and puffing, and he grabbed the neck of Renji’s robe.

“Then you can leave it blank, buddy.” Axel grinned.

“Axel, please don’t kill anyone! We just got here!” Larxene pleaded.

“Mew!” yelped Rixel as he jumped out of the nymph’s arms and onto the desk. Axel finally let go and Renji fell backwards into the chair he started in, gasping for air and coughing.

“Fine just...cough cough…take your Ids and your pins…” A printer buzzed in the back and two laminated cards popped out, complete with barcodes and their names, occupations, blanks, and…codenames, they assumed.

“What’s that for? Lea X? Lenera X?”

“They were your real names before you...cough…became Nobodies. We need them to help identify you. Those boxes…look in them.” Each shining pearl box contained a silver badge of the Nobody symbol they both knew too well. “Shinigami are paranoid freaks…even I can admit that. Those pins are required tracking devices, so don’t lose ‘em.” They nodded their heads toward him and walked out the sliding doors. Axel never wanted to see him again. If he did, he was going to get a stomach full of fire.

“Lea, now what are we supposed to do? We left Rixel inside!”

“Screw the cat, I’m not going back in there. And never call me that. Do I look like a Lea? No, I’m an Axel and I’m proud of it.” He scowled as they walked down the main drag back into the market. They were getting even more stares from the public now as everyone saw the black coat as a sign of allies of them. They heard civilians chattering about something nonetheless, but the words they pieced together.

…guitar…

…sniper rifle…

…whiny voice…

…eye patch…

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Axel sulked as he stopped in the middle of the street. In front of him was the rocker mama’s boy that he’d been hoping to avoid, with his water sitar clunking on the ground with him. He was panicky and wide-eyed, running away from…lasers. Bright red lasers were firing at him from every angle and now Soul Society was in chaos. He really didn’t want to see Renji again.

“So now what? Do we help him?”

“I swear, if we weren’t dead, Demyx and Xigbar would be barbeque by now…” he said as he dashed to assist the whiny musician. “Why can’t I be in peace? Freaking Roxas, freaking Sora!”

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A nice experiment, yes? In Chapter II: Overture, Axel tries to save Demyx from Xigbar’s shots of revenge and the mastermind behind the black cloak suspicion is revealed, with a scheme to throw all Nobodies in danger!