Another Day... Another Story.

[lei]

There were gentle taps echoing through the nearly silent upper residential area of Radiant Garden as a young teenage girl strolled through. Her deep blue eyes gazed down at the cobbles of the street through her waist-length ebony locks that swayed a little with her steps. Her gaze was focused so intensely on the ground she might've been counting all the stones as she walked.

Truth be told, she was headed for a small "park" that was higher in elevation than most of the city. The place where all the water that flowed through the city originated. It was not a waterfall, or anything like that. More like a large pond trapped in one place by white stones. It was very pretty, especially in the morning as the sun rose. The colors reflected off of the water, giving it a nice shiny, silver look amongst the colors. It was a place she liked to go to think about things.

Ava couldn't sleep, and thus she climbed her way up to the peak of the town where that pond of water lay. Brushing her dress under her, she sat down atop one of the white rocks that bordered the pond, and gazed over the rising sun. So quiet and peaceful, but it was not like the old Radiant Garden she used to know. The lights never fell from the sky like snow anymore, the gardens were not bright and colorful like they used to be...

And she no longer had a family to call her own.

[Kairi [Aerith]]

Kairi stretched her arms upwards. She felt her muscles stretch, and she let out a sigh of relief when the tension around her muscles eased. She let her arms fall to her sides, and she smiled lightly. No, she could not sleep once again. Kairi had decided to visit her actual home world, even if she lived in Destiny Islands. She had wished to catch up with Leon and the others, but they were busy with keeping Radiant Garden safe. Aerith had been kind enough to let Kairi stay with her.

Kairi cast her azure eyes to the darkened sky, just beginning to light up from the sun. Her smile turned softer, and she wondered what it would have been like had she stayed. Kairi shook her head, knowing that her true home was Destiny Islands. Her friends and her life was there, and nothing could change it. She decided to check out that small park that Aerith had mentioned. Supposedly, it gave a rather nice view of the sky, and the layout of Radiant Garden below.

Kairi began to climb the upward path the lead to this 'park.' As she climbed, she could see the sun rising even higher, and she began to look forward to getting to the top. Kairi ran a hand through her auburn locks, and had managed to climb the path to the top. Her lips curled into another smile, but her azure eyes landed onto another figure before her. A girl about her age. Kairi was surprised to find another person up here, but she did not mind. She always enjoyed meeting new people.

"I didn't think another person would be here this early," Kairi called out with a sweet smile.

[Hiroshi Nerozumi]

"OH CRAP!" yelled a voice as a dark portal appeared above the pond. One could see a tall man inside the portal, his eyes wide as he looked at the water below. He tried his hardest to move the portal away from the water, but to no avail. The portal opened fully and the man fell out, landing with a huge splash in the middle of the pond. Coming up from underneath, he spat our water and groaned. "Great. Just great."

After about thirty seconds, the man reached the waters edge and climbed out, right before noticing the two girls. Smiling, he stood up and bowed. "Hello. I am Hunter Kirizaki. Pardon me for the strange entrance. I never meant to intrude on you." He said. The man was so polite. Hunter had the habit of always trying to stay in someone's good graces. He didn't seem the type though, wearing the equivalent of a caveman's outfit and holding a spear on his back.

Hunter grabbed his long, shoulder-length maroon red hair and squeezed the water out of it like a wet cloth. "I also never meant to land in a pond..." he muttered, before smiling once again. "Sorry if I sounded angry."

[lei]

Ava wasn't quite sure what to say. First, a girl her age shows up out of nowhere, though she seemed very nice. The next moment, some darkness opens up and drops a guy in the middle of the pond. The girl literally sat there with a stupid look with her eyes wide and jaw slack.

After a moment, she shook her head and stared at the man a few moments longer, not sure what to say. He looked very strange, not that she hadn't seen stranger before.

"... H-hello..." Ava squeaked, slowly scooting off of the stone and subconsciously taking a few steps away from the water. Nervously, she glanced between Hunter and Kairi.

"... I'm Ava! Ava Leross," she added a bit quickly after realizing she hadn't introduced herself as the man did himself. Then she quieted herself, biting her lip. Oh, why did people have to show up now...?

[Kairi [Aerith]]

Kairi looked to Ava, find her to be a rather shy girl. Then again, it was not often you saw a random man pop out from a Portal of Darkness. Speaking of which, only Nobodies, or denizens had that power. As far as she knew, after all. Kairi narrowed her azure eyes at the stranger, immediately wary of him. She glanced over to Ava, and saw her facial expression one of nervousness, not that she could blame her. She turned to face this stranger, her hands on her hips.

"How are you able to use a Portal of Darkness?" she asked warily. He seemed to be nice, but one could never be sure. Kairi bit her bottom lip, and she took a step away from him as well. Her eyes darted back to Ava, realizing she had introduced herself. Her lips curled into a warm smile, and she removed her hands from her hips, clasping them together behind her instead. "I'm Kairi," she replied with a kind smile.

Kairi looked back to the stranger, her smile dimming somewhat. She still maintained a polite one, though. His attire was rather strange, but there were many worlds out there. One was bound to be different from the other.

[Hiroshi Nerozumi]

"I'm actually not from this world. Where I come from, it's natural for people to have magical powers, though it hurts to use them. My world is called The Nameless World, and is home to gods. Those gods are responsible for everything in the world. The main god, Pyro, is also responsible for a race of humans called The Burned. The Burned, after filling certain 'criteria,' gain magical powers that are activated by a burn mark." Hunter said, and at the end pointed at his right eye. One could see a large burn mark in the shape of a dagger. "The problem is, the burn hurts like heck." He added.

As a demonstration, Hunter tapped the burn mark on his eye, as the burn started to glow. Hunter flinched in pain, then regained his composure. "You get used to it after a while."

[lei]

Once again, Ava had that stupid look of surprise on her face. It went away much faster than the first time, and she gulped visibly, unsure of what to say or how to react. Of course she knew about other worlds after everything that happened, but this was... strange. She hadn't met anyone like him before.

"... That's awful," The girl spoke up very softly, her midnight eyes fixated on the ground. Then they shifted to the sunrise, where the sun was easing itself over the horizon, where cliffs and jagged peaks of crystalline mountains could be seen blocking some of the sun's rays.

After a moment, she gasped and put her hand on her mouth, her eyes going wide again.

"I-I-I mean! I-it's just awf-ful that y-you have to end-dure that p-pain! There's nothing w-wrong with you o-or your people, or..."

Oh, poor Ava was hopeless.

[Kairi [Aerith]]

Kairi tilted her head, listening to this Hunter's explanation. She supposed it made sense in a way, but she had only seen Nobodies that were able to summon a portal. She eased her posture, and her smile turned more genuine towards Hunter. Her suspicions had died, and she accepted his explanation without much thought. Her expression turned into a grimace when she saw the mark around his eyes. "That has to hurt," she replied.

Her azure orbs wandered away from Hunter, glancing to Ava, and resting on the red hued sky. It matched her hair color rather well, the dark red color of the sky. Kairi absently tugged a lock of her red hair, and she giggled lightly to herself. Well, at least not many people could say they had red hair.

Kairi glanced back to Ava, shaken out of her musings. "There's no need to apologize, Ava. I'm sure Hunter knew you meant no harm," she replied with a kind smile. Kairi found Ava's shy demeanor endearing. She knew a few people who were similar in mannerisms. She looked back to Hunter, and she grinned lightly. "I'm from another world as well. Destiny Islands," she replied with a smile. Kairi loved her world dearly, even if she had originally lived here.

[Hiroshi Nerozumi]

Hunter waved his hands in the air as he turned towards the nervous girl. "No, please! Don't worry yourself too much! I understood!" He said, before sighing and returning his gaze to Kairi. Hunter tapped the burn again, before the burned stopped glowing almost immediately. "Like I said, you get used to it. In truth, you have to, or you can't use your powers at all." He said, then took off his sash. Squeezing the water out of it, Hunter continued to talk. "So, what's this world like? This is my first time outside my own world."

((Sorry it's so short. Sorta musedry))

[lei]

Ava blushed heavily as they told her to calm down, and thus she did outwardly. Her mind was still reeling from sounding so rude in her opinion. She just watched the two converse for a moment, deeming herself unworthy of talking at the moment. The poor girl, so nervous and critical of herself, was kicking herself mentally.

As he asked what the world was like, she seemed to automatically respond, though. "It's not like it used to be. We're a growing community here in this town, but as far as we know there is no one left in other areas of the world..." She shook her head. "Those creatures... the Heartless... they overtook this world years ago. It's only recently been restored and we're trying our best to build it back up to what it once was."

Ava continued to blush. She hadn't meant to say so much, but he asked, right?

[Kairi [Aerith]]

The young Princess of Heart smiled fondly. Kairi began to walk towards the edge of the small cliff-like park. Her azure eyes took in the small houses and markets that littered the streets below. She was sure it looked similar to this when she had lived here. Kairi remembered very little of her life before Destiny Islands, but she would gain small flashes of that life every now and then. "I remember when my grandmother would take me up here. It took away my breath then, and it still does," Kairi said softly. A distant expression crossed her features.

Her eyes suddenly widened, and her reverie was shattered. Kairi shook her head, before turning towards Ava and Hunter. "A lot has happened since the Heartless invaded, hasn't it?" she asked with a sad smile. Because of them, she had been taken on her own journey, but she thought it had been worth it. She had met a lot of people. Her azure eyes took in Ava's blush, and she laughed lightly.

Kairi would normally tease someone when they blushed, but she had just met her. Besides, Ava seemed to be nervous enough. "So I take it you've lived here your whole life?" she asked. It was not really a weird question. Many people from other worlds lived in Radiant Garden. Like with Traverse Town.

[Hiroshi Nerozumi]

Tilting his head, Hunter showed an expression of confusion. "What's a heartless?" Hunter asked. Lucky for his world, the heartless had never invaded. The heartless would have had it rough, anyway, considering a fourth of the people could use magical powers to blast the Heartless to extinction.

Listening to their conversation, Hunter politely waited until the two were finished, trying not to bother them too much. He didn't like it when people were upset with him.

[lei]

Ava gazed at Kairi for a moment, a bit surprised. Didn't she say she was from another world, what was it, Destiny Islands?

"Yes... You have lived here in the past?" The black-haired girl inquired of Kairi quietly. The name "Kairi" did not ring a bell for her so she must not have been anyone she knew back then.

Ava fell speechless and simply stared at Hunter as he asked his question. He did not know what the Heartless were? How could this be? Just who was this guy? Did he live under a rock?? It certainly looked like it, in more ways than one, but of course Ava would never say something like that aloud.

[Kairi [Aerith]]

Kairi looked to Hunter with wide eyes. "You've never heard of the Heartless?" She was shocked, to say the least. Even those who had not had their worlds taken over had at least heard of them. Kairi found it rather strange, and her thought ran along the line of Ava's. Had he lived under a rock for the past decade or so? She suddenly smiled sheepishly, feeling rude for staring at him. "Sorry, but I've never met someone who hasn't heard of the Heartless."

Kairi inclined her head towards Ava, and she nodded. "I used to live here until I was about six, I think. Then I just woke up on Destiny Islands," she replied. Kairi had very few memories about her life before Destiny Islands. She considered Destiny Islands her true home, though. That was where all her friends and her parents were. Well, the couple who had adopted her, anyway.

Kairi looked back to Hunter, wondering if she should give him an explanation. "The Heartless are dark beings that seek out hearts. They are born when someone loses their heart, usually from the darkness in that person's heart," she explained. It was not much, but it gave a basic idea of the hated creatures.

[Hiroshi Nerozumi]

Hunter nodded. Dark beings. No wonder they were suspicious of him. They must have thought he was one of these heartless, or something close. In truth, his world was, until now, isolated from outside worlds. He was the first person to ever leave his home world, so nobody in his world knew much of the outside. He was no exception.

"It's really that big of a surprise, eh? Well, until now, nobody in my world has been outside of our world. We're isolated, you see." Hunter stated, then scratched his head. "But what I'm curious about is how I got here. My portal powers only work when I know about a world, but I don't remember... oh, it must be the world that one guy was talking about." He said, scratching his head.