Author Note: Hello and welcome to The Fragile Lives of Hearts and Souls. This is my first time really sticking my neck out on the line like this, submitting my stories for all to see... but eh. Whatever. Hopefully I don't suck too bad Anyway, this doesn't mention anything Kingdom Heartsy just yet... but this chapter is NECESSARY to the story, you hear me? So don't skip it just because there's nothing fan-fictionish about it yet. You'll get your KH fix soon enough.

Oh, and this won't be your average KH fanfic, either. In all reality, I only use the Kingdom Hearts universe, and rarely the characters. Although, don't be discouraged, some do make appearances later on.

Edit: Decided to change Zeke's age. Hehe.

"Jerome! I see you behind those bushes, now come out already!" a small boy yelled, pointing at the shrubbery in question. A loud groan of disappointment could be heard as a small shape stood up from the bush and walked over to join him. "What is it with you, Zeke? Even at night you can still spot us a mile away! I bet you could even spot the Wind Girl if you wanted to!"

The boy smiled and scratched his messy black hair sheepishly at the prospect of catching the fabled Wind Girl, a ghost who stole from the Village from time to time in revenge for its mistreatment in life. "Well… I dunno…"

The truth was that Zeke could always seem to see things others couldn't. Maybe he was just more observant than others, or maybe he was gifted with better eyesight, but better eyesight didn't always explain the things he saw that others didn't. For example: once he saw a thin old man, dressed in rags, walking down the middle of the marketplace and moaning about food, his sunken eyes wide, glaring skyward. Zeke had asked his mother what the man was doing and pointed him out, but his mother never saw him, even when they were right up close to him. Another time, he saw a pale little girl with ratty black hair and a tattered grey dress by a food cart, stretching for a plump mango which was just beyond her reach. He had asked why no one was helping her get the fruit, but his mother had just pushed him onwards, telling him to be quiet. After awhile he stopped telling people what he saw… except, of course, if it meant winning a game of Hide and Seek. Otherwise, he kept his mouth shut, knowing that no one else could see what he could.

Zeke counted up the group, its members shuffling about in the dark. "Okay, that's everyone… Maia, I found you first, so you're it." He grinned and ran off, knowing exactly where he wanted to hide.

Up the trail there was a large blackberry bush growing in the gap in-between two large oak tree roots; the perfect place for a small nine-year-old to hide. He smiled joyfully and crawled down between the bark and branches, undaunted by the thorns and brambles scraping up against his shirt and pants.

He sat there for many minutes, smiling to himself at the pure genius of this hiding spot. Eyeing the dark fruit hungrily, he reached out with his grubby hands, taking bits of blackberry and stuffing them into his mouth greedily. Spotting a particularly plump berry, he reached out carefully to take it. He grabbed it and recoiled in horror, realizing he had accidentally grabbed a pale white hand reaching for the same exact berry. Yelping and jumping back out of the bush, he effectively startled the owner of the foreign hand, who stumbled over a rock behind them, landing rear-first into the dirt. He stood fully upright and stared at his surprise guest. She looked up at him with blatant fear in her eyes, her ratty ink-black hair an eerie contrast against her ivory skin. "Hey… I know you…" he said, stepping towards her. Her breathing sped up; she scooted away from him, obviously frightened out of her wits. He knelt down and held out his hand. "I won't hurt you. I promise I won't."

She placed a hand over her heart, looking up at him with a melancholic expression. He smiled in an attempt to get her to do so. "What's your name?" he asked.

She stared down at his feet, unresponsive. He was unsure if she even understood English at this point. "I'm Zeke." He said, pointing towards himself. "Zee-ke."

"When people see me, they call me Wind Girl." She whispered, avoiding eye contact. "But my mother called me Lia."

He blinked in surprise. This was Wind Girl? "You're the ghost?" She shook her head. "I'm not a ghost. Sometimes I wish I was, though. Things would be easier that way." She stuck a squished blackberry in her mouth, sucking the juice before swallowing the pulp.

Zeke's eyebrows furrowed in thought. This girl was morbidly thin, but obviously not dead. His face softened, curiosity piqued. Scooting closer to her, he said, "I saw you once. You were trying to get food from a cart at the marketplace, but you couldn't reach."

Her head snapped up in horror. Zeke pursed his lips, realizing he was saying the wrong things in order to obtain friendship. "Where do you live?" he asked, changing the subject.

Instead of pointing down towards Starlight Valley like he assumed she would, she pointed in the opposite direction, up a steep hill. He peered through the trees, spotting a cave in that direction. His eyes widened in surprise. "A cave? What?"

"My mom and dad… are gone." She whispered softly. "I don't have a home like you do." She fingered the battered lace at the end of her dress absently.

"How do you steal food?"
"You saw how."

Zeke couldn't believe it. So many questions flooded his mind. Why didn't he know about this, why didn't anyone take her in, why wasn't anyone doing anything about this? Why did everyone say she was a ghost, when she obviously wasn't?

"You're a thief?"

"When I feel like it." She said softly. "I come here to eat too. This bush always has the best berries." She smiled. Zeke grinned in agreement. "Yeah."

Lia gasped suddenly, looking past Zeke to the trail. The sound of his friends getting closer alerted his attention. He looked over his shoulder, then back to her. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure one of us can take you home. Wait here! I want you to meet my friends…"

"No!" she said sharply, terrified. She stood and took off into the woods without a second thought.

"Hey! Wait, don't go!" Zeke said, pushing himself to his feet and taking off after her. "I can help you…" he trailed off. She had vanished. He grunted and kicked the dirt, shoving his hands in his pockets. Something small and red caught his eye in the dirt not much farther ahead; he picked it up to examine what it was. Strange…He ran a hand over the object, feeling the details. It was dusty and chipped on one end, but there was no mistaking what it was: an earring, crafted in the shape of a rose. He looked up to the cave and pocketed the earring. It was his only proof that he had met the Wind Girl.

A sandy-haired girl ran up to him and tagged his shoulder. "Gotcha! You thought you could hide forever! I caught you!"

Zeke stared up at the cave, only half listening. "Yeah. You caught me." He muttered.