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“Kingdom Hearts II” seemed to mark the end of Sora’s journey with his return to Destiny Islands. However, it was merely the beginning of introducing a more complex and deeper story within the series. Audiences were introduced to Roxas in “Kingdom Hearts II” at the end of his journey and were only given glimpses of who he was as a member of Organization XIII.
With the Organization defeated, it also seemed that their role in the story was done. However, from their introduction in “Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories” (Re:CoM) to their defeat in “Kingdom Hearts II,” there has been an air of mystery around this group. In 2009, a new addition to the series was released for the Nintendo DS: “Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days” (Days).
This installment was the first in the series to not feature Sora as the main character. It instead followed Roxas through his time in Organization XIII from the moment of his recruitment to him defecting. The timeline for Days puts it after Sora lost his heart in Hollow Bastion in “Kingdom Hearts”, all through the events of Re:CoM and up until the beginning of “Kingdom Hearts II.”
With Roxas as the main focus, the story explores the concept of identity. Even though Sora wasn’t the main character in the story, he still played an impactful role in its main cast.
Why The Sun Sets Red
It is Roxas’s 255th day with the Organization and he spends it sitting atop the Twilight Town clock tower eating sea salt ice cream. Axel arrives late and joins him, inquiring as to why Roxas keeps track of the days. Roxas explains that it’s because memories of his days spent with the Organization are the only memories he has. He has no memories from before joining the Organization and his earliest memories are of his first week with the Organization where he “acted like a zombie” and could barely form sentences.
Axel asks Roxas if he knows why the sun sets red. The answer: light is made up of many colors and out of all of them, red travels the farthest. A few moments later, Roxas wonders where “she” is; another companion of theirs that usually joins them on the tower. She never shows and Axel is quietly upset by the situation. The two continue to sit quietly as they watch the sunset.
Day 7: Number XIV
All thirteen members of the Organization are gathered as Xemnas welcomes the newest member: Number XIV, Xion. Roxas is reminded of how he was introduced to the group just seven days prior as a Keyblade wielder. Where Roxas looked up to the Organization with apprehension, the newest members looked at him with a smile. Roxas thinks back on how for those seven days, he only had his name and his number. Anything and everything to do with the Organization was lost on him.
Day 8: Icing On The Cake
After the introduction of Xion, Roxas is taken out on his first mission with Axel as his guide. Roxas still has trouble forming sentences but he at least can say everyone’s names. After successfully completing their mission, Axel takes Roxas to the clock tower for ice cream. Roxas comments on the flavor of the ice cream, salty but sweet, and Axel reminds him that he’s said that before the 1st time, he gave some to Roxas, but Roxas doesn’t remember.
With Roxas finally out on missions for the Organization, Axel comments that Roxas is experiencing a new beginning. Organization members are given a mission every day that they must complete, although Roxas is unsure of what it’s all for and what he’s meant to be doing.
Day 9: Heartless
Roxas understands that the Organization defeats the Heartless and collects the hearts released from Heartless in order to complete Kingdom Hearts. But he doesn’t understand what Kingdom Hearts is nor what it is meant to do for the Organization. He doesn’t even understand what a heart is.
Day 10: Incomplete
Roxas understands that Nobodies don’t exist and the members of the Organization are born without hearts. His question then is: if they don’t have hearts, then do they not exist?
Day 11: Keyblade
Roxas learns that the Keyblade releases hearts. But he wonders why he’s the only one who can wield it. The more he learns about everything around him, the more he doesn’t understand.
Day 12: A Closed World
Roxas comments on the monotony of his daily missions. He goes to the same few worlds and returns to the Castle That Never Was every day. There are few days where he goes someplace new, but what always remains the same is that he can’t cross the walls between worlds, so the Organization creates its own paths of darkness to travel.
Day 13: Deeds To Be Done
It becomes apparent that not everyone in the Organization is friendly, but what unites them all is the goal of completing Kingdom Hearts. Roxas doesn’t understand much about the Organization, but he does understand that he has to keep fighting the darkness to become whole. He subscribes to the same goal as the rest of the Organization, contrary to how he felt by the end of his journey in “Kingdom Hearts II.”
Day 14: Friends
Roxas and Axel are in Twilight Town. Roxas witnesses Hayner, Pence, and Olette (HPO) running by joyfully. He wonders at their behavior and is curious as to why they run around making noise and chasing each other. Axel explains it’s because they have hearts. As a Nobody, Roxas is unable to understand their joyful emotions. Axel proposes they get ice cream, but Roxas doesn’t understand why they should.
Axel explains that it is because they’re friends. He explains that friends do things together like eat ice cream, talk, and laugh about anything, like the HPO. At the clock tower, Axel suggests that they make it a tradition of meeting up for ice cream after work so they don’t have to go straight back to the castle after work. Roxas agrees, beginning to grasp the concept of “friendship.”
Day 22: Left Behind
Axel shares that he is being sent away on a mission at Castle Oblivion starting the following day. This means that Sora is only a few days away from arriving at Castle Oblivion himself.
Day 23: Silent Companion
Saïx relays a message from Xemnas to Axel before he leaves: there are traitors at Castle Oblivion. He is ordered to find them and kill them. Axel accepts the order but wonders whether it actually came from Xemnas or not.
Day 24: Silence Broken
Roxas and Xion have been on a few missions together now and Xion finally speaks. Her first word: “Roxas.” This is also the first day Sora arrives at Castle Oblivion.
Day 25: Two Keys
Xion finally removes her hood and reveals her face. She and Roxas are on another mission together. As they’re facing a Darkside, Xion wields Roxas’s keyblade and defeats the Heartless. They’re both surprised at her ability to wield the Keyblade.
Roxas invites Xion to the clocktower for ice cream as a reward for a job well done. Roxas shares his first experience eating sea salt ice cream with Xion and that he and Axel are friends. Xion wonders if she could be a friend. Roxas invites her to eat with him and Axel when Axel returns.
Day 26: Terminated
Roxas gets word that someone sent to Castle Oblivion was “terminated.” Saïx shares that it may have been Axel. On a mission with Xigbar, Roxas asks what happens when Heartless are destroyed. Xigbar explains that only the heart remains and all of the hearts gather to form Kingdom Hearts.
Roxas then asks what remains when a Nobody is destroyed. Xigbar explains there is nothing to leave since Nobodies were never meant to “be.” This means that there would be nothing left of Vexen, the first casualty of Castle Oblivion and whom Axel killed. As they are about to return, Roxas collapses and sees an image of Naminé (( “Naminé.” KHWiki.com, 2023. Accessed 26 August 2023. )).
Day 27: The Dark Margin
A memory of Roxas meeting with Xemnas at the Dark Margin in the Realm of Darkness is shown, just as it was seen at the beginning of Kingdom Heart II. Back at the Castle That Never Was, Roxas is unconscious and Xemnas wonders if he will ever wake.
Saïx explains that he will once Sora loses all of his memories in Castle Oblivion. It is revealed that it was no accident that Xion can use the Keyblade and in fact, it was planned by Saïx and Xemnas. She will be filling Roxas’s role for the time being.
Day 49: Sleep
Xion visits a still-sleeping Roxas. She shares that she visited a beautiful new world and hopes that he can go with her next time. She leaves behind a sea shell from the world — Destiny Islands. It is shown that she has left a sea shell for the twenty-two days that Roxas has been asleep up until that point.
Roxas sees Sora in his dream. He’s getting into the sleeping pod at Castle Oblivion, meaning Sora has gone to sleep.
Day 50: Familiar Sound
Roxas is finally awake. At the clock tower, Xion explains to Roxas that he had been asleep and Saïx wasn’t sure when he would wake. Xion gives him a sea shell. Roxas holds it up to his ear and hears the sound of the ocean and an image of Sora and Kairi at the beach comes into his head.
Day 51: Missing
Roxas learns that the entire Castle Oblivion team has been wiped out. He tries to understand what it is he’s feeling, sadness perhaps? He’s unsure, he’s never felt anything like it before, but he knows he misses Axel. He goes to the clock tower but no one is there.
Day 71: Reunion
Axel suddenly appears. He greets Roxas warmly and Roxas is shocked to see him. He expresses that he was worried for him, but Axel corrects him and says that Nobodies don’t have hearts to worry.
They eat ice cream atop the clock tower and Axel shares that he hasn’t reported back to Xemnas yet. He says that he wanted to sort out his feelings first. Roxas pokes fun at him stating that he doesn’t have a heart and they laugh at the joke. Roxas shares that he’s invited Xion to eat ice cream since Axel’s been gone.
Day 72: Change
Saïx scolds Axel for not reporting back and wants to know where Naminé is. Axel states that he doesn’t know how she escaped. Saïx is skeptical though. He asks Axel if he found the Chamber of Waking, but Axel hasn’t.
Axel praises Saïx for finding out who the traitors were. Saïx states that he was only sending away those he thought were getting in the way. Axel asks if he was meant to be erased, to which Saïx ignores the question. Axel shares that he killed Zexion, which is what Saïx wanted.
At the clock tower, Roxas observes that Axel is more cheerful. Axel thinks to himself that maybe Sora had rubbed off on him, but dismisses it and says that it’s thanks to Roxas that they get to enjoy time eating ice cream. Roxas wonders where Xion is. It’s been ten days since he last saw her.
Day 74: Trio
While Axel and Roxas are out on a mission, they find Xion. The trio eats ice cream at the clock tower but Xion isn’t in the best mood. She reveals that she can’t use the Keyblade anymore and she doesn’t know why. If she can’t use the Keyblade, then she’ll be useless to the Organization.
As a solution, Axel proposes that Roxas work both his and Xion’s jobs. Xion just has to make sure she’s partnered with Roxas on missions until she can use the keyblade again. Xion is shocked they would help her, but Axel tells her that “friends need to lean on each other every now and then.” Xion asks if Axel is her friend, to which he says — since she’s friends with Roxas, then she’s friends with him. Axel realizes that Xion looks like Naminé.
Day 75: Inseparable
Xion inquires about the difference between friends and best friends. Axel says they’re about the same, but best friends are just above “plain friends.” But he doesn’t know what the difference is since he thinks he doesn’t have any best friends.
Day 94: Hearts
Xemnas gathers the remaining members to bear witness to the fruit of their labor — Kingdom Hearts has formed. Roxas wonders what the point of all their work is; what is Kingdom Hearts? Axel explains that after enough hearts are gathered in Kingdom Hearts, they may get hearts of their own.
Roxas doesn’t understand why achieving Kingdom Hearts or having a heart is important. He does not remember having one, so he doesn’t see the need for one. Axel explains that he’ll understand once he has a heart.
Day 95: Nobodies
Roxas observes that every member of the Organization is good at something different. Axel explains that everyone is unique, just because they lack hearts that doesn’t mean they’re all the same. Every member has memories of their past, it’s what makes them special. They remember who they were as humans with hearts. Roxas and Xion don’t remember, though. Axel points out that that fact is what makes them the most unique.
Roxas wonders what Axel was like before he was a Nobody. Axel says he might have always been the same. Roxas wishes he could remember anything from before, but Axel views it as “baggage.” Roxas and Xion share that they don’t remember much from when they were born Nobodies. Axel points out that they share a lot in common.
Day 96: Xion’s Keyblade
Xion finally remembers how to use the Keyblade. At the clock tower, Roxas expresses his desire that the three of them will always be together and for the days to last forever. Axel sensibly points out that nothing lasts forever, especially for Nobodies. But it is okay for things to change and they can’t be together.
“As long as we keep each other in our thoughts, none of us will ever have to be apart.”
(( “Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days”. 2009. Square Enix. ))
Day 117: Secrets
Saïx asks Axel to tell him what Xion has been doing. Axel claims he has nothing to say, but Saïx isn’t convinced. He tells Axel that he and Xion will be going on a mission together. He also tells Axel that he needs to go back to Castle Oblivion to look for the Chamber of Waking. Axel explains that they won’t be able to find the room just by looking.
To incentivize Axel, Saïx reveals that both Xion and Naminé were born in Castle Oblivion, he should want to go for that fact alone. Axel calls Saïx out by claiming Saïx is the one who actually wants to go. By finding the Chamber of Waking, Saïx would learn everything there is to know about Xemnas’s plans. Saïx admits to this fact, stating that he and Axel would have the upper hand in being able to carry out their own objectives.
Axel points out that he knew Vexen and Zexion would get in Saïx’s way, and that’s why he killed them. He will do the dirty work to clear the way for Saïx to get to the top. At the clock tower, Xion shares that whenever she’s with Roxas and Axel she feels as if a long time ago she used to watch the sunset with someone else. She has the same feeling when she watches the sea. She’s unsure if they’re memories and wonders if she and Roxas had anything in common before they were Nobodies.
Day 118: Lazy Day
The entire Organization is given a vacation day. At the clock tower, Axel and Roxas observe HPO playing. Axel wonders if they’re on summer vacation, but realizes that it’s too early. Roxas asks what summer vacation is. Axel explains that the kids get an entire month off. Roxas is shocked by the idea, unsure of what to do with so much free time. He feels he could probably handle seven days. Unfortunately, by the time of the events of Kingdom Hearts II, he only gets six days of vacation.
Xion joins them and Axel shares that he won’t see them for a few days since he’ll be on recon for a secret mission. Back at the Castle, Saïx warns Axel that he’s getting too attached to Xion and Roxas. Axel dismisses his concerns and Saïx notes that he’s changed. Axel doesn’t feel like sharing things with Saïx as they used to, in the same way he does with Roxas and Xion.
Day 149: Unlike Minds
Axel returns from his mission. He and Roxas wait for Xion at the clock tower but she never arrives. She’s at the Castle, thinking about her encounter with a strange boy in an Organization coat. He called Xion a sham and defeated her.
Day 150: Fear
The mysterious boy is Riku.
At the Castle, Xion begs Saïx to give her another chance after having been defeated by Riku. Saïx isn’t one for second chances and says that she was a mistake and never should have been made.
At the clock tower, Roxas and Axel discuss what Nobodies can’t bear to lose. They conclude that they don’t need hearts to have something they can’t lose and the closest thing to this would be their memories of the past. The memories create the things they don’t want to lose. Roxas may not remember his past, he knows he can’t bear to lose his memories of Axel and Xion.
Day 151: Distress
Xion thinks back to her fight with Riku. Upon seeing her face, Riku demands to know who she really is and why she has a Keyblade. Xion wants to know first why he’s dressed like a member. He explains it’s to make sure Sora sleeps in peace. He declares Xion’s Keyblade to be a sham and worthless.
Xion refuses to believe this. Riku warns her to leave the Organization because they’re “bad news.” Xion questions this, claiming him to be the real sham. Riku agrees and leaves her.
At the clock tower, Xion wonders why they need hearts at all. Roxas doesn’t know, but thinks once they have hearts they won’t need to worry about why they’re fighting for hearts or if they need them. Xion isn’t sure about that and wants to know what she’s doing there at all.
Roxas tries to reassure her by telling her that Xigbar called the two of them “exceptional.” But Xion views this as another word for “mistake” and no longer views Roxas the same as her. She doesn’t think Roxas should be compared to a mistake like her.
Day 172: Sound of the Surf
Xion failed her mission and has fallen into deep sleep and Saïx has something to do with it. He tells Axel that Xion is not qualified to be a member. Roxas leaves sea shells for Xion just as she did for him.
Day 193: Xion Awakens
After a dream about Sora losing his heart, Xion suddenly awakens. Roxas expresses that he and Axel were worried about her. Xion notes that it’s strange that they can feel anything without having hearts.
Xion accompanies Roxas on his mission but ends up collapsing. She’s brought back to the castle and Axel explains to Roxas that he goes out of his way for the two of them because he and Xion are his best friends.
Day 194: Like It Should Be
Axel searches through Vexen’s research and discovers the truth about Xion. Xion is a replica, just like the Replica Riku from Castle Oblivion, but she’s more advanced. The question remains — who is she a replica of? And why was she admitted into the Organization?
164 Days Left
A new Organization member has been introduced that has never been seen nor mentioned before in Re:CoM or “Kingdom Hearts II.” Xion’s presence brings with it a mystery as she is labeled Number XIV within an organization that has always been shown to have thirteen members.
The story becomes just as much hers as it is Roxas’s as both characters are trying to navigate their worlds without memories of their past and no clear idea of what they want for themselves in the future. For the time being they are trying to enjoy the present, but questions about their purpose for being and their identities of who they used to be continuously crop up, and for Xion it’s becoming more confusing as she begins to take on Sora’s memories.
Who is she to Sora? Why can she wield the Keyblade? What does Saïx have planned for her? Xion won’t stop until she figures out who she is, therefore all the questions will be answered as she continues in her quest of self-discovery. The second half of this story will finally clear up how Roxas, Riku, and even Axel ultimately ended up in their positions at the beginning of “Kingdom Hearts II.”