Akemi…Akemi!

The place around her was unfamiliar, yet it was as if she belonged there. She could hear the children on the island laughing, and could see their small boats docked on a small port that looked out to the neighboring island. A young boy was playing with a long stick as if he was in some kind of battle, another older boy had a ball he was spinning on his finger, and a girl was on the port holding her jump rope and looking out at the sparkling water surrounding her. Akemi felt as if she was flying in the air, the warm salty breeze blowing against her nightgown as she effortlessly made her way around the island. She then noticed a bridge that made its way onto a small plateau where two boys were fighting with wooden swords. One had brown spiky hair and blue eyes, and she could see the light and hope shining from his heart. The other….

"Akemi! Get your little butt out of that bed and get ready! The refugees will be out here soon!"

Akemi fell out of her hammock and hit the hard wooden floor. Owww… she thought to herself while wincing from the pain in her back. Her mind still lingered on her dream, and she wondered why it felt so real. Maybe it was another world, maybe it's the next one to blink out! she started to think, but before she could sort out any of her theory she was dragged out into the Hotel Lobby by the gun/sword-toting-know-it- all named Leon. She rubbed her eyes and saw a white duck and something that looked like a grown dog-person. Akemi knew what to do, "Hello, and welcome to Traverse Town's Hotel! Would you like to get a room here?" The duck's voice was odd, and she had a hard time understanding him. "Excuse me," Akemi asked the dog-person, "what is your friend trying to say?"

The dog-person's voice was just as odd, but Akemi could at least make out what he was trying to inquire. "We're looking for the key, have you seen it?" She immediately thought that maybe they wanted a room key, so she grabbed up room one's key and replied, "Like this? It opens the last vacant room in the hotel."

Apparently dissatisfied with the answer, the duck screamed, "NOOOOOO!" then stormed out of the hotel with his dog friend in tow. The encounter left Akemi with a confused look on her face, and she was soon wondering what the travelers had meant by 'key'. She headed to the small tavern in the first district next to the item shop and sat at one of the tables, waiting for her friend Yuffie to meet up with her. Soon enough, the energetic girl came down the steps and sat next to her, talking about the new visitors looking for the key. Yuffie knew something about the key, and Akemi was just about to ask her when Leon yelled to her. "Take out the trash, it's full!" She growled at him from where she was sitting, then stood up and grabbed the bulging garbage bag from his hand.

Geez, this is heavy she thought as she dragged the bag up the stairs and to the alley where it would be collected and disposed of properly. However, as she turned to leave the alley, she saw a person lying next to one of the boxes unconscious. She quickly kneeled down to see if he was severely hurt, then she tried to wake him up by nudging him slightly. At first the boy barely twitched, but after a few tries he came to, looking into Akemi's eyes. She recognized him immediately, though she was sure she had never seen him at Traverse Town or her homeland. She remembered his blue eyes, and his heart of light from her dream.

It's him….