Wherever he was, Kai didn’t recognize it. The way the sky looked as he glanced was different. The buildings around him, though familiar in the kind of stone and height to his home, was also different. The color wasn’t the same. When he glanced down, even the ground he stood on wasn’t the same as he remembered. Kai started to walk in the only direction he could: behind him. In front of him was a wall, so that was a no-go. 

At some point, he made his way from an alleyway he had been in and could only estimate that what he walked into was the main plaza. He saw people around him. Some had looked his way and some didn’t bother to. As his green eyes glanced around the plaza, he saw a cafe, some other buildings that looked like shops, and a lot of people hovering around.  

Kai felt like a stranger in a strange land. He saw faces he didn’t recognize and buildings he never had seen before. Nothing about this place was familiar, so he decided to explore. He went down just a general direction, going up a hill to what he perceived as some weird, second level. It still was just so weird for him. The way this place was built and how it was nothing like his home.

As Kai was walking, he found himself thinking about Aira. She had been the constant thought in his mind. No matter where he was or how unknown this place was, she was always on his mind. This continued as he was falling forward as the door he was against opened and he was face-first.

“Oi! Ya alright there, bum?”

Kai looked up and saw a rough-looking, middle-aged man with blond hair and a piece of straw out of his mouth. The man was dressed in a simple white shirt and blue jeans. 

[color=20b2aa]“Uh, yeah,”[/color] Kai nodded, standing up. He wasn’t hurt, though the fall did take him by surprise. [color=20b2aa]“Sorry for bursting into your shop like that.”[/color]

“Don’t sweat it, kid,” the man said, looking at Kai in a weird way. “Ya don’t look like you’re from around here, kid. 

Kai laughed nervously, unsure what to say in response. [color=20b2aa]“I suppose I’m not. Truth be told, I don’t even know where [i]here[/i] is.”[/color]

That response resulted in the older man to chuckle to himself, “I see you must be one of the new arrivals.”

[color=20b2aa]“New arrivals?”[/color]

“Ya, we’ve been getting a lot of strays. People coming from portals and Gummy Transport Ships. It’s a real mess. The Heartless are causing a lot of problems.”

[color=20b2aa]“I’m sorry but Heartless? Gummy Ships?”[/color] Kai asked, utterly confused by everything this man was saying.

“Jeez Louise, you really don’t know anything, do you?” The man shook his head, approaching Kai, “well for starters, I’m Cid, ya hear? And this here is my shop. Gummy Ships are - well, they’re portable, sometimes single-seated ships that help people go from world to world. This here is called Traverse Town. A lot of those who had their worlds fall to Heartless, these beings of pure evil without hearts, that are attracted to those of purity. They bring worlds to ruin.” Cid told Kai, giving the boy a once look over. “I’m gonna just guess that, based off of how so understanding of all of this, that your world was just taken over by the Heartless.”

Kai didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t even know what these heartless looked like. Honestly, he still wasn’t sure about anything that was happening right now. All of these new terms and names of things he never knew existed. And now, as Kai glanced back at Cid, he didn’t know what to say to the man.  

[color=20b2aa]“I don’t know what to say to all of that. I’m just looking for someone. She was taken from me and..”[/color] Kai paused, remembering what Cid had just said. [color=20b2aa]“Wait. You just said that people who had their worlds fall to these heartless are transported here?” [/color]

“Ye, that I did.”

So, that must mean.. [color=20b2aa]“Do you get a lot of those people as customers?”[/color]

“Sometimes, yes. Why?”

[color=20b2aa]“I’m looking for someone. She was taken from the same place I grew up on. Has a girl my age and around my height come around here?"[/color]

“Hmm,” Cid mused, rubbing his beard, “well, there is one but--”

Kai’s eyes lit up like a wave crashing ashore and he immediately grabbed Cid by the shoulders, giving him such a lively look. [color=20b2aa]“Tell me, where did she go?”[/color]

“Okay, okay! Calm down, boy. I don’t know if she’s the one you’re looking for, but someone matching that description did just leave my shop about five minutes before you fell in.”

[color=20b2aa]“Where did she go?”[/color]

“I can’t tell you with certainty, but I think she went to the Third District--”

Before Cid could finish, Kai was getting ready to head out. He had one foot out the door before Cid stopped him.

“Do you know where it is?”

Kai thought for a moment. It was a long moment, but in the end, he came to the conclusion that new place and Kai’s horrible sense of direction made it impossible for him to lie through this. [color=20b2aa]“ Mr. Cid, I can vehemently say that I do not.”[/color]

They exchanged a glance for a full minute until Cid broke the silence. “When you head out of my shop, take a left and go straight through that big door. That should take you to the second district. As soon as you’re there, walk until your first right and then another. Ya got it, kiddo?”

Kai nodded, giving Cid a smile. [color=20b2aa]“Thanks, Cid! Be seeing you~”[/color]

“Yeah, later kid.”

Kai swiftly left Cid’s shop, moving his legs as fast as they allowed him. As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw a big ‘2’ on it. He pushed it open and went through with his hopes high. 

[color=20b2aa][i]I’m coming for you, Aira.[/i][/color]