The party was sitting still by a campfire in the forest, which felt more like home than the castle ever did. Its cascading green canopies and night-like darkness provided ample protection.

  “Gawrsh, Sora. Ya think that this forest is like the one in Corona?”

  “Hmm, I’m not sure– This place is strange and not like the other places we’ve been to. The entire world seems like it’s against us.”

  “Bakk! That’s because it is!”

  Raphtalia overheard them and tilted her head to the side; curiosity was overtaking her usual calm demeanor.

  “Other worlds?” She pondered aloud. Her intellect not allowing her to let the notion of traveling to other lands pass her by.

  The trio looked at one another, hanging their heads in shame. They were annoyed with themselves for letting their most significant order. The one that they were told not to let out, slip through.

  Donald’s temper was soaring. His face had gone red, and he was swinging his staff around hysterically.

  “Aww, Phooey. Why is it that every time we enter a new world, we always let the people living there know about the world order?”

  “I-I’m sorry.” Raphtalia squeaked, hoping that they weren’t annoyed with her.

  “It’s okay, we’re ticked at ourselves, not at you,” Sora reassured her.

  Raphtalia let out a small laugh.

  “I had suspicions that there were more worlds than this one and the one that Mister Naofumi had come from, but I never imagined that they’d be so much different than here.”

  It was then that a small cricket jumped onto Sora’s shoulder. His top hat and scraggly outfit signified that he was well-traveled.

  “Hi there. You said that Naofumi was summoned from another world. Do you know what that world was like?”

  “Um, I don’t know. He said it was from a place called Japan, which is a country from a world called Earth.”

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  “I see– and do you think that Naofumi would be willing to tell me what Japan is like?”

  Raphtalia looked concerned at the partially newfound party member.

  “Oh– Pardon me, miss. Cricket’s the name. Jiminy Cricket!”

  Naofumi was pretending not to listen; he just sat there, hands holding the back of his head, his head tilted back. He was looking up at the stars when he let out a thunderous sigh that almost caused Jiminy to fall off Sora’s shoulder.

  “You know, if you want to add me to your journal, all you have to do is ask.”

  “Jiminy Crickets!” Jiminy Cricket jumped out of his hole-filled shoes.

  “Now, Naofumi, you don’t need to go scaring the top hat off me.” The cricket said, holding the brim of his hat tightly whilst pulling it over his head until it covered his forehead down to the hood of his eyes. He wrote in his journal, asking Sora to take a picture of Naofumi with his Gummi Phone.

  “A Gummi Phone?” Naofumi questioned. He looked confusedly at the incredibly blocky and solidly built object in Sora’s hands.

  “Say Cheese!” Sora exclaimed. Naofumi, who wasn’t really the picture type, just hung his head low, hoping that this was all in jest. He saw the phone for what it was: a cartoonish phone, its colours practically popping compared to most phones he was used to.

  It almost looks like a toy, Naofumi thought. While these travelers were from other worlds, they were not from the same world as him. He started wondering how many worlds there were out there, and if there were many, then why was he chosen for this one?

  *Snap*

  The picture was taken, and Naofumi was relieved that it was finally over.

  “It looks like a mugshot. Like if Pete were here and saw The King in the flesh, that’s how he would look.” Sora laughed; his big, goofball grin was enough to cause Naofumi to surrender his tough guy persona and smile, too. They were sitting around the campfire; its glowing embrace was enough to warm the coldest of hearts. It’s embers swirling around them. Said embers were like Naofumi, in a way. They were trying to escape the engulfment of the flames, but unlike Naofumi, they were snuffed out as soon as they hit the ground, turning to ash.

  “Done!” Jiminy shouted; his pride was paramount to the description he had written about Naofumi.

  “Well? What did you write?” Naofumi asked Jiminy, as if it were a quiz. He looked through Jiminy’s journal; its contents were astounding. There were places like The Land of Dragons, which Naofumi thought was set during the Northern Wei Dynasty of Chinese history, especially when he saw the name ‘Mulan’. There was also a place referred to as Thebes, which Naofumi saw as a mirror to an actual city in Greece; the main hero of the location seemed to be a man named ‘Hercules’. Naofumi wondered if this could be the name that the party was told. If so, then he would have to change his historical misconception, as he remembers that the Greek name of ‘Hercules’ was ‘Heracles’, and the name ‘Hercules’ was actually a Roman given name to the same hero, not that he was nitpicking, as all of this was pretty cool. He kept reading until he came across the chapter about this world, titled ‘Melromarc.’ He was curious what the cricket would write about him, so he took a look.

  It said:

  The Man who bears the Shield, Naofumi Iwatani, was born on a world called ‘Earth’, and in a place called ‘Japan’. After being summoned to this world and accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he traveled alone, searching for a way to clear his name. That was until he met the gang while we were traveling between worlds, trying to locate a place to train. He is a cynical young man who has a tough time cracking a smile.

  Cynical? Naofumi thought, wondering if the party saw him as ostentatious for being paranoid and withdrawn. He decided not to think about it for too long, lest he ruminate on the subject and become even more jaded in the process.

  “We should all probably get some shut-eye.” The Shield Hero said aloud, hoping that he didn’t give off his internal thoughts with his external expressions.

  Everyone agreed that it was time for a good night’s sleep, so Sora got up, pointed his Keyblade toward the flame, and cast,

  “Water!”

  A small burst of water rushed out, pouncing upon the flame and snuffing it out.