Scene IV: Explanations

The hunter watched the young, sleeping red-haired maiden quietly early in the morning as he cooked birds' eggs over a flat stone he had used many times as a frying pan of sorts. He didn't really live near villages-he just hunted things and sold what he could so he could buy things to survive the winter.

Well, winter wasn't exactly there yet but it would be soon. He would have to find some furry animals of the sort and strip them of their fur. Fur was always appreciated wherever he went to sell his wares, especially when it got closer and closer to winter. And the rest of the animal...well, he could use that for himself to eat. The bones he could probably carve into tools or something useful. He had always been taught, from childhood, that as much of the animal as possible should be used somehow.

"Try to never leave a scrap behind, son. Otherwise it's wasting Mother Nature's gifts."

Those words still echoed through his head, even today.

However, the hunter was also sure that he definitely didn't want to hurt the maiden he found in the snowy woods last night. There was something about her that screamed that she needed someone who was going to be good to her, that she did not want to die alone.

That was when the maiden woke up, sleepily rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand as she slowly sat up.

"Nn...?"

The first thing that the hunter noticed were the beautiful blue eyes, like the ocean. She blinked a bit, staring at him.

"Who are you?"

The hunter blinked, before recomposing himself.

"My name is Riku. I found you asleep in the woods last night and brought you here...you could have died out there in the cold if I hadn't done so."

The maiden nodded. "I-I see. My name is...Kairi. I don't...I don't remember anything...at all..." She trailed off, her eyes widening in fright. "Oh my gosh, I don't remember anything! If I had any siblings, where I live...how do I even get back home!?"

"Back home?" The hunter repeated. He immediately thought for a couple moments. Maybe this girl was a princess in disguise or something. If he rescued her and brought her home, he could...yes, he could be awarded glory and fame. That was always possible. He paused, before speaking.

"I can help you get back home, if you'd like."

"Wait, wait, what!? You mean I seriously can't get out of here!?"

Demyx had been really nice to explain to Namine about how this world worked.

Unfortunately, it really didn't seem like she would be able to get back home, as Demyx explained that it was nearly impossible to do so.

"Erm...yeah..." The merman scratched the back of his head with one hand. "Anyone from outside who gets in here can't get out. Unless you recover all your memories, I guess, but no one has ever been successful."

"No one has ever been successful!? That's not good!" The young girl felt her heart being broken, bit by bit... "I-I mean, what if I have family waiting for me back at home? Or something like that? I can't...I can't not go home..." She looked down at the ground quietly.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see that it was Zexion, who sighed a bit before speaking.

"Demyx and I can help you get back home if you'd like."

Her eyes lit up at that. "R-really!?"

Demyx grinned, chuckling. "Yeah, really! We can totally help you! Right, Zexy?"

Namine giggled at the nickname while Zexion/Ienzo rolled his eyes. "Demyx, how many times have I told you to stop calling me Zexy?"

"But it's awesome, Zexy!" Demyx protested.

Namine giggled a bit. "I think...I think this will be a fun adventure!"

Zexion seemed to grin slightly at that.

"I'm sure it will..."

And hopefully, unlike those before her, she won't fail...

Author note: ...It's been a seriously long time since I updated this fanfic. Or touched the Kingdom Hearts fandom in general. As I have a TON of fics to work on, updates for this fic and any of my other fanfics will be slow, but thank you so much for your patience, and any constructive criticism is appreciated! Thanks!