You can thank my roommate for this part. The entire first half of the chapter is dedicated to a stream-of-consciousness debate we had between each other involving the Witch of the Waste being the worst customer ever for poor service industries like McDonald's.

Background Soundtracks
Irremovable Spell by Joe Hisaishi
Merry-Go-Round of Life (Opening) by Joe Hisaishi
A Walk in Andante by Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix.
Traverse Town by Project Destati
A Walk in the Skies by Joe Hisaishi
Strange Whispers by Yoko Shimomura

Chapter 12: A New Outlook and a New Outfit

Binx had been running the local snack shop for years. Originally, he had set himself up with a junker food truck, but due to popularity, he was finally able to purchase a rundown shack and turn it into a proper food service industry. He had seen shops come and go, but he was still the go-to snack guy. He would sell Struggle Dogs and Twilight Twisters, which were basically hotdogs and pretzels, and would often cater for the Struggle Tournaments that always brought in a fair amount of revenue, but sea salt ice cream had been his go-to product, though not everyone liked its unique flavor. Occasionally, the elderly tea shop owner Sarah would order one and shamelessly flirt with him while she ate, but other than his teenage employee Biggs, who came in during weekends for part-time inventory work, it was a pretty quiet life.

Most business days had a steady income, since Twilight Town always had a fairly mild climate supported by their permanent sunset, but when business was slow, he would sometimes close down the shop for a couple minutes and nod off during his work breaks. He had been in the middle of one of his breaks when he heard a loud tap. Opening one eye, Binx saw an extravagantly dressed old woman with dark colored robes and a large plume hat tap her jewel-covered finger on the glass order window.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We're closed," Binx called out, resuming his napping position.

Tap tap tap. His brow furrowed, and he repeated,o "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but we're closed."

TAP TAP TAP! Thinking she was just hard at hearing, Binx sighed and got up from his chair and turned on the speakers.

"Ma'am, we're closed, and I'm on break. Could you please come back later?"

"What a degenerate little shop, to be closed in the middle of the day," replied the woman. "Surely, a rugged man like yourself would need the extra business." Binx frowned at the woman's egocentricity and blatant impatience, but his attitude changed slightly at the pile of gold that gathered in her hands.

"Fine. What can I do for you?" Binx yawned, trying to revert back into business mode. "We have Twilight Twisters, Struggle dogs-"

"Relax, dear, I'm not here to eat your insipid 'junk food,'" the lady waved dismissively. "I'm here because I want information." His eyebrow arched.

"About what?"

"I want to know if two individuals stopped by your shop earlier today." Binx let out an irritated sigh and crossed his arms.

"Ma'am, you're going to have to be more specific. I see tons of people during the day."

"A young couple," she described. "A curly, impoverished girl and a boy with silver hair. They should've ordered ice cream from you."

Doesn't sound like anyone I know, though now that I think about it, I did have a couple of new customers earlier today, Binx thought to himself. But why did she ask if they were eating ice cream? I didn't tell her that I sold ice cream.

"Are they your grandkids?" he asked her, causing her friendly facade to instantly give way to fury.

"No," she grit her teeth before swallowing her pride and giving him a sickly sweet smile. "I'm just looking for them. They have something of mine, and I want it back." Binx gave her one final look over before answering.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I haven't seen anyone matching that description," he denied, causing the woman to frown and reveal more wrinkles on her face. She almost seemed to grow older by the second.

"Are you certain?"

Of course he was certain. He never really had a lot of business for sea salt ice cream unless it was during the summer or one of his regulars, but clearly this woman was trouble. He had never seen her before today, and her egocentric attitude left him in a bad mood, reminding him of his more difficult customers, and frankly that just made him want to get rid of her faster.

Something dodgy was clearly going on, and after dealing with an incident involving his younger sister Emily, he definitely didn't want any trouble or involvement with whatever was going on. He wasn't sure if the people the woman was looking for were good or bad, but it wasn't his call to make. All that mattered was that he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her and, judging from all the double chins and neck rolls she was sporting, that wasn't very far.

"Positive," he nodded in finality. The woman let out a sigh.

"Such foolishness, trying to lie to a witch." Dark shadows began licking off of her clothes as Binx fell out of his chair in shock and awe as she placed her hand on the glass window and made it vanish into thin air. He felt a cold shiver run up his spine, clashing with the warm summer heat as her coat became long and transparent before she waved her arm over him with a sudden quickness that belonged to a woman younger than she was. Suddenly, he felt hot and compressed as the world began to grow as he felt more and more pressure build until she pulled back her sleeve and the shadows dissipated.

"Since you're so interested in napping and being indifferent, I'm sure this form suits you much better than your old one," the witch said before walking away, hiding an arm that began to grow wrinkly and decrepit. The manager was gone. All that was left in his place was a grey and white tabby cat with bright yellow eyes, yowling and pawing frantically at the newly formed glass window.

Keyblade, keyblade. I have a keyblade~ Lila sang gleefully inside her head as she practiced summoning and banishing the weapon away, over and over. She seemed to be getting the hang of it as she creatively summoned and twirled it around like it was a baton, trying to find new ways of handling it.

"It's not a toy, Lila," Riku scolded irritably, but the gamer was too overjoyed to notice or care about his disapproving stare. The warmth and reassurance the keyblade gave her almost made up for the dull ache and pain wearing that had started wearing her down, its light energy seeming to numb some of the pain forming in her arms. This keyblade is mine, and mine alone.

"Oh lighten up, Riku. It's not like this thing has an actual blade or anything," Lila waved dismissively, "It's a bludgeon, at best." Wondering if it was a fluke that he could wield her keyblade earlier, Lila quickly tossed Stargazer at him to see if he'd drop it and be caught off-guard. As if he had expected her retaliation, he snatched it effortlessly out of thin air, much to her disappointment.

"Still, you shouldn't treat it like a toy," Riku gave her a reproachful stare before he held the keyblade up observantly in his hands. "Don't you think it looks a bit tacky?"

"Says the guy with the bat-wing sword," she retaliated with a smug expression, trying to hide the quick flush of embarrassment staining her cheeks. It's not like I chose how it was supposed to look... she thought before motioning to take the keyblade from him. "Now give it back."

"Nope."

"Riku, I'm serious. Give it back." Lila frowned as she reached out, only for him to keep it out of reach. "Oh, come on!" She whined as he pushed her back with one arm and held Stargazer away from her with the other. Rather than try and hope she would suddenly overpower him or grow five inches taller, Lila stepped back and held out her hand and concentrated. Not long afterward, the keyblade suddenly reappeared back into her hand. She started to give Riku a triumphant smirk before she felt Stargazer tugged out of her grip and reappear into his. Now he was the one wearing a cocky grin.

"Okay, now you're just being immature," she glared at him and folded her arms.

"Only because you're acting like a spoiled child." Lila gave him a cross look, hating to be teased, and ended up playing magic tug-of-war with him for about five minutes before she let out a huff.

"Ugh, fine. I won't treat it like a toy," she replied shortly before he finally handed it back. Rather than spin the keyblade like last time and get it taken away again, Lila resigned to quietly examining its features more closely. The metal pommel was a carved Fleur de lis stacked on top of a smaller one that ended at the bottom of the hilt, and was somewhat addictive to touch with its grooved carvings. From it, a pair of wings and a long blue blade curved out into what resembled a spear or lance. Her fingers traced up the sword until they stopped on a sideways Fleur de lis extended into the six pointed start, reminding her of a shooting star. The flower petals, she noticed, felt like silk but were as strong as steel as she gently traced the petals between her fingertips. While she did so, she thought she caught Riku's watchful glance out of the corner of her eye, and for a moment, believed she saw a hint of jealousy, but it might've been her imagination. Maybe I shouldn't show off my keyblade so much in front of him...

Thinking she'd had enough practice for one day, Lila banished her keyblade away and decided to settle into reading a bit more of Cast Off before the ship alerted them that they were about to land. Riku stood up and cracked his back before clearing off his work station, finally finishing off the sea salt ice cream that she had bought for him. He was a bit stubborn in accepting it, but somehow she managed to convince him that it was probably in his best interest to eat something since she hadn't seen him eat anything for lunch, and that they both deserved a treat after such a rough first day. Right as Riku was about to chuck his ice cream stick into the trash, Lila leapt up from her seat.

"Wait! Don't throw that away!" she exclaimed, reaching out her hand to block the trashcan.

"Why not?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as she plucked the popsicle stick out of his hand and lifted it up to his face.

"Because your stick says 'winner.' If you collect like ten of these winner sticks, you get a free ice cream," she explained, showing him her own ice cream stick, which was blank, in comparison before lowering it.

"You expect us to visit the shop again?"

"Uh yeah. The ice cream's delicious, plus the Struggle tournament sounded like fun." Riku shook his head.

"We're not going back to Twilight Town just for fun and a bunch of ice cream."

"Then how about for training or searching?" Lila offered wisely. "The tournament seems like a good opportunity to train, and we never even checked the whole town to see if my mom or sister were even there. We were too occupied with visiting Master Yen Sid or dealing with the Heartless."

"I guess that makes sense," Riku admitted with a shrug before Lila placed his popsicle stick back into in his hand.

"So keep the stick, genius," she grinned smugly, clasping her other hand forcefully around his to close it around the ice cream stick before giving his hand a light, satisfied pat. She quickly turned around and set her own popsicle stick down on the ledge next to her book, which remained open and dog-eared.

"But even if we do end up buying all that junk food, then why keep your ice cream stick?" Riku asked. "It doesn't even have a winner icon on it."

"Souvenir," Lila said plainly with a shrug. Riku gave her a blank look.

"A souvenir? Seriously? You're going to keep junk likethat as a souvenir?"

"Don't judge. I paid for it. I can do what I want with it," she sniffed and crossed her arms haughtily. "Besides, it's not like my crap's ever going to get in your way, anyways." Rather than argue, Riku just shrugged and made his way over to Pluto.

"Looks like you're sitting this one out, boy. Take it easy." Riku gave Pluto a brief pat on the head before exiting the ship. Lila followed after him before turning towards the Accessory Shop, the exact opposite direction, Riku noticed, he was going. "Wait, where are you going?" She stopped and gave him a sideways glance.

"Where are you going?" she reiterated pointedly.

"The mission," he said slowly before elaborating. "The whole reason why we're in Traverse Town again?"

"So am I."

"Then let's go," he offered, holding out his arm away from the Accessory Shop.

"Wait, I'm confused. What are you talking about?" she asked, holding up her arms in confusion.

"I was talking about finding Howl. What were you talking about?"

"My repairs. I still need to stop by the Accessory Shop so I can pick up and pay Cid for the repairs on my phone and iPod."

"Well, then let's just pick up your stuff and go." Riku declared before she held up her hand and placed herself hastily between him and the shop.

"Umm... I think it might be better if I went in by myself. The last time you and Cid talked, you both ended up fighting," she advised. "Plus, it might be awhile. He might not even finished with all the repairs."

"Right..." Riku folded his arms thoughtfully. "Well then, I guess I can try and see if I can find any information on Howl."

"Cool. I'll be here-" Lila nodded before awkwardly trailing off, Riku already leaving her behind. "I guess..." Standing in front of the Accessory Shop door, she paused before slipping her hands into her coat pockets.

Better make sure I actually have the right amount, she thought, pulling out large handfuls of gold coins. The currency wasn't too different from U.S. currency, other than being marked with large numbers and cent icons rather than a presidents' faces. Unfortunately, everything was in coins, so Lila ended up sitting at an outdoor cafe table in order to count everything out like she was Scrooge McDuck. By the time she was done, the pile had totaled to four thousand and twenty seven munny.

Oh shoot, I'm almost a thousand short, her brow furrowed as she felt her eyes drift around town before they fixated on the Third District doors. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to do a little Heartless hunting. As long as I don't antagonize any of the big ones or try to take on too many at once, I think I'll be okay. Not giving it another thought, Lila summoned her keyblade and took off towards the Third District and pushed open the gates.

Thinking of places to look for information, Riku wound up standing outside of 7th Heaven. As much as he disliked the idea of bars, he figured visiting the 7th Heaven would be a good place to collect information. Strange to think that he would be doing the exact same thing he did twenty four hours ago: searching for someone he'd never met and ending up at a bar. Hopefully, it would end with more success and less vomit on his shoes.

Right as he was about to reach out for the door handle, he noticed he still had the ice cream stick Lila had bought him clenched in his fist. Honestly, he didn't care much for the flavor. The strange combination of sweet-vanilla shave ice flavoring and sea salt was a bit much for him, yet the salty taste was strangely addictive that he couldn't help but finish it. It left an odd, coconut aftertaste in his mouth after he'd finished, something that reminded him of home.

Home... When was the last time he had thought of it? So much had happened since he had left the Destiny Islands. He could scarcely remember what his school even looked like, yet the taste of the ice cream had brought back so many memories of the islands. The sway of the tree branches from the ocean wind, the smell and spray of salt water, the long afternoons of sword fighting with his friends. The sudden onset of nostalgia had reminded him of things he'd long since forgotten. Maybe the ice cream flavor wasn't so bad...

After pocketing the popsicle stick, Riku tugged open the bar door and hoped for the best. Gratefully, it didn't appear too crowded, which meant that at least talking with Tifa would be a bit more bearable than last time. As much as he disliked her way of running things, Riku definitely preferred Tifa's company over Cid's, since at least she could keep a level head went it came to dealing with drunk lunatics.

"Hey, snowball. Didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon. Need another table? Drinks are on me," Tifa offered while she was cleaning a glass with a worn cloth. He gave her a sarcastic look before she held up her hands apologetically. "Kidding. Can't you take a joke?" Riku let out an irritable growl, though Tifa didn't seem to take his attitude personally as she motioned for him to sit down, which he did so reluctantly. "So what can I do for you? I noticed you're little friend isn't here. You two end up having a fight?"

"She's not my friend, and that's none of your business," he replied stiffly.

"Then why are you here?"

"I need information. I'm looking for someone, and I figured since you seem to know everybody that you'd be the person to ask. Do you happen to know a wiz-" Riku paused before changing his mind. "I mean, have any girls named Yukino or Kurami Hoshiyama come through here?"

"Old flames?" Riku gave her another sarcastic look. "Had to ask. Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell. What do they look like? I see a lot of girls in Traverse Town."

"They umm... they look like Lila," Riku said, though he wasn't entirely sure of himself, since she never really talked much about her family. What he said might not even be true. She could've looked like her dad. Did she even have a dad? The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Lila was still such a mystery to him. All he really knew about her was that she was looking for her family and somehow knew about him, Sora, and how to fight the Heartless. Tifa noticed this and gave him a secretive smile as she washed out and stacked her newly clean beer mug.

"Family, huh? Well, that's not a lot to go on, but I'll be sure to let you know if I see them," Tifa shrugged, moving on to clean the next glass. "You know, you could always ask Cid. That guy's kinda rough around the edges, and I get that you two have had your issues, but he's pretty much the welcoming committee for Traverse Town. He never turns down a person in-need and always ends up meeting most of folks that end up here."

Riku let out a small breathe. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to go by there, since Lila's already there waiting for an order.

"I'll be sure to ask him on my way back, but before I do, I have one more person I want to know about," Riku asked. "By any chance, do you happen to know a wizard named Howl?"

Despite wielding a keyblade and having gaming knowledge of Heartless, Lila found that fighting Heartless was exhausting work, especially when Heartless like Red Nocturnes and Yellow Operas made it increasingly difficult to land hits with them constantly zipping around and flying out of reach. The fact that they also shot fireballs and lighting at her face didn't help much either. As much as Lila liked her Stargazer, she was starting to miss the long range combat the CCM5 comfortably gave her, even if it was a pile of rubble in Twilight Town. After much perseverance and a couple close encounters, she managed knock the Heartless down, one-by-one, though the amount of munny they left behind left much to be desired.

Damn Heartless are more trouble than they're worth...Lila hissed internally, cursing her slow amount of progress. I've just about had it with the low amount of kills. Even if I had Pluto with me, at this rate, it will take me all day to get me all the munny I need for my repairs.

This sad fact was why Lila had moved onto the Second District, where the bigger and better game truly lied. From what she remembered from Kingdom Hearts, a Defender was the best thing to spawn, and it was likely to show up in the Hotel portion of the district. They were tough, but the munny they left behind was well worth the wait, and while Lila caught her breathe, she believed was well-prepared to put a little elbow grease into earning it. What she hadn't prepared for was how much.

"Oh crap! Crap! CRAP!" Lila yelped, sprinting towards the Hotel with a mixed batch of Soldiers, Shadows, Air Soldiers, and Large Bodies trailing after her. She knew that the keyblade was stronger against Heartless. What she had forgotten was how it was basically a homing beacon for them as well. By the time she even made it to the Hotel, she'd only taken out half of them and was completely out of breathe. Of course, this was when the Defenders decided to show up.

Spinning their dog head shields, the armored Heartless reached out to take a bite of their target before Lila jumped back with a start. Gratefully, they were slow, but the spells their sentient shields cast made it hard to retreat. Depending on what color their three eyes glowed, Lila was met with either long range fire or ice attacks. Being surrounded on both sides, Lila was frost bitten on one side and nearly scorched on the other, and with the exit blocked, it seemed like she wasn't getting out of there any time soon.

"It's not nice to gang up on a lady," spoke a soft male voice. Lila tilted her head to see where the voice had come from, having spoken very close to her ear, but before she could, she was immediately blown back by a sudden burst of wind. Without warning, she found herself flying rapidly away from the first Defender and past the second before she was slowly set down. It was then that she realized that an arm had been around her waist. When she tried to look up at her rescuer, the man pushed her face into his chest right as bright flashes of light erupted near them, causing the Defenders to shriek in agony. Then they stopped and they were met with silence. Absolute silence.

The grip lessened on her head and the hand dropped to her side. When she looked up at the man, she noticed that he had striking, shoulder-length blonde hair and was fairly attractive. Other than his rather extravagant light red and blue checkered coat, which he donned more like a cape than a coat, he wore a plain white dress shirt and a simple pair of black, dress pants.

"Are you alright, miss?" he asked gently, holding up her left hand as if he were motioning to kiss it.

"I umm... I'm fine, thank you," Lila mumbled with a blush, jerking her hand away and shrinking back from the bold and sudden intimacy. His blue eyes appeared glassy, reflecting almost soullessly back at her like a mirror, yet they seemed to hold a deep and profound wisdom. For some reason, they fixated intently on her right hand.

"That's an interesting sword you carry," the man observed, gesturing to the keyblade she held at her side. "Try not to let its power go to your head. In my experience, those who seek out trouble will usually find it."

"Who are you?" she finally asked.

"Only a man passing through," he spoke aloofly. Tugging at the cuff of his coat, he turned and left her with those words.

Riku quickly left Tifa's bar, disturbed by the young bartender's words.

"Howl's a wizard that preys on hearts. According to some of the locals, he tends to go after beautiful young women and steals their hearts right before eating them."

What was Yen Sid thinking, sending them to study magic under a person who acted like a Heartless? Riku had never before questioned Yen Sid's credibility, since the King always spoke highly of him, but maybe the old master was getting a bit senile in his old age. Then again, there was always more than meets the eye when it came to people, but he couldn't focus on speculation right now. He had to be vigilant and warn Lila as soon as possible, because now he felt a sense of urgency in trying to find this guy. If not to train under him, then to keep him from hurting anyone else. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Howl coming after him. He had enough problems as it was.

A bit dazed from her encounter, Lila just decided to pick up the leftover Defender munny and return to the Third District. Suddenly aware of her appearance, she was now blushing from shame. The clothes that she had just borrowed had gone from slightly worn to straight up trashed in mere seconds. How was she going to explain this to Tifa, or worse, Riku? She was sure the islander wouldn't exactly be pleased at the fact that she decided to wander off alone and nearly get herself killed. Oh well, I've already come this far. Might as well earn the rest of the munny. Lila sighed in resignation and decided to mundanely go back to shooting down Red Nocturnes and Yellow Operas, since at least they were more obnoxious than dangerous.

Wanting to fatten her munny stash, she managed to fight a couple Shadows and Soldier Heartless that skittered onto her path on the way back to the Accessory Shop. They were a lot easier to fight than before, and weren't nearly as obnoxious as the flying Heartless, but they spawned a lot more and in great numbers. Lila was almost done fighting them before she heard a soft voice accentuate the air. A young woman with a long braid was running from some Air Soldiers that spiraled and dived towards her, swiping at the hat she held so close to her head as if they wanted to snatch her up.

"Oh no you don't!" Lila tried to reach for them like she had with the Nocturnes and Operas, but they kept flying out of reach. If only I was taller or the keyblade was a bit longer... She eyed the length of the sword. It was then that she noticed that the key-chain itself added to its length. Gears began turning in her head as her hand slid curiously down to the end of the chain and began spinning the keyblade like a lasso. Putting this all on impulse and dumb curiosity, she clumsily swung the spinning keyblade up towards the Heartless, managing to damage the automaton wings badly enough that they fell to the ground like stunned songbirds from a kid's slingshot.

"Huh," was all she said. Trying to see if she could replicate her last success, she experimentally spun the keyblade by the chain again so it would reach up a bit higher and fortunately brought the other one down like the first. Shifting her hand back to the pommel, Lila rushed the two downed Heartless and promptly eliminated them. She didn't have much time to reflect back on her success or the strange way the hearts glittered as they left the bodies as a new swarm of Heartless appeared, this time with two large bodies and more Nocturnes, two of which began to send fireballs down towards the young woman from earlier. Before Lila could react, a flash of thunderbolts rained down from the sky, eliminating the remaining the Heartless scattered around the area. All that was left was the bits of gold munny left on the streets, which Lila eyed hungrily.

"Oh, thank you so much," the girl bowed her head slightly as Lila held in a startled gasp, having accidentally forgotten she was there. "I didn't realize this street was so dangerous. I just assumed that the monsters wouldn't come out if I stuck to the main roads. I seem to be running into all kinds of trouble today."

"Yeah, sure. It's no problem." Well, I wasn't really doing it for you, but oh well. Two birds, one stone, Lila thought, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. Now that she wasn't running away in terror, she noticed that the girl in front of her seemed fairly plain with her standard braid and modest dress, but like most women she appeared to have the potential to be pretty if she had put in enough effort. Her oval shaped face certainly gave her many advantages with both hairstyles and make-up if used correctly. She seemed like she was around her own age, if not older. By that point, Lila assumed she must have tuned out for too long because she suddenly heard the girl say the phrase, "Which is why I must thank you properly."

"Oh... umm... thanks, but that's really not necessary," Lila gave her a strained smile, not wanting to take advantage of someone she didn't even mean to save.

"Please! I insist!"

"Really, it's fine. I didn't even do all that much," she waved off, grateful for the warmth of praise but mildly distracted by the curious thought of where the Thunder spell had come from.

"Still, I feel as if I ought to do something to repay you. There must be something..." the young woman thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Oh! My sister and I own a clothing store. I could at least give you a discount on a new outfit or a free pair of shoes, if you'd like." Immediately, Lila gears grounded to a hault.

"Well, if you insist," she spoke coolly with a shrug, turning her back to the girl in an attempt to hide her elated expression. Yes! I'm so lucky! What are the odds that the one person I run into is a clothing saleswoman? Lila did a mental fist pump as she followed behind the girl while remembering to keep her guard up for any oncoming attacks. It wasn't long before they arrived in front of a little clothing boutique in the Second District, displayed wordlessly by a hanging sign with the icon of a dress carved into the wood frame.

"Well, hey there, snowball! How've ya been?" the mechanic greeted, causing Riku to flinch. Son of a-!That nickname really was going to stick with him, wasn't it? Riku's lips pressed into a thin line before answering.

"Hey, old timer. I see they still haven't put you in a nursing home yet," Riku retorted smartly. "When do you think that day will be?" The mechanic just casually flicked his old toothpick into his scrapheap trashcan and went about his business.

"The day I retire will be the day that cats like water, and your haircut suddenly comes back into fashion. You know, which ever comes first," Cid shrugged before grabbing himself another toothpick. "So whaddya want? Don't tell me you need maintenance on Shera?"

"Not this time."

"How's she handling?"

"Fine. Traffic's been fairly light. The ship has a bit of drag though."

"That's because you have more weight now. Piloting aircraft is a delicate process. Have too much weight or too many passengers, and it will extend the ETA."

"Speaking of which, I'm here for Lila. Where is she?"

"Lila? I haven't seen her all day. You sure she ain't with you?" Cid's brow furrowed in uncertainty.

"Hey Cid, you in here?" called out Lila's voice.

"In the back!" Cid yelled back. It wasn't long after that Riku was welcomed by an unusual sight. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and give her a once over. Not only had she not been here, but she had an entire wardrobe change. Her shredded jacket and white tank top were replaced by a sleeveless, lilac, zip-up top with a collar that tucked over a black puritan collar that had yellow clasps criss-crossing over each other to keep it closed.

"Well, don't you clean up nice," the mechanic stated with a half smile.

"Thanks, I-" Lila began before her eyes locked with Riku's perplexed stare and exclaimed, "Oh shit." A mirthless, sadistic smirk spread across Riku's face, taking in the satisfaction of Lila's expression that resembled a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Well, hey there, Lila," Riku spoke with a false cheeriness, gesturing to her clothes. "Nice outfit."

"Y-Yeah, well, it seemed like time to upgrade," she admitted bashfully as she wiped her hands on her purple, pleaded skirt. Riku's eyes couldn't help but notice the black knee-socks and suspenders further down that kept them from slipping into her bucket top, knee high converse.

"You don't think the belts and suspenders are a bit much?" Riku pointed out, noticing that Lila at least four belts, and only one of them was on her waist, the others holding up her finger-less, black opera gloves or down at her wrists.

"Oh, like you're one to talk with those belt-clipped waders and oversized clown shoes," Lila quickly fired back, her face starting to flush red like she was gearing up for a long tangent. "You ever think that wearing just one pair blue jeans might be a bit more comfortable than two? So don't you go talking to me about fashion with those redundant pants of yours!"

"Jeez, sorry I asked," Riku cringed, holding up his hands. Note to self. Don't criticize a woman's fashion sense EVER.

"So, what brings you here?" Cid asked.

"Actually, I came here to pay up." Lila emphasized this by turning out her old coat's pockets, a large amount of gold munny coins loudly splattering out on the work table. One of the coins began to roll in front of a dumbstruck Cid towards the end of the table before he quickly snatched the escaped coin.

"How in the hell did you manage get that much cash so fast?" he gaped in awe.

"I have my ways," Lila smirked as Stargazer flashed into her hand.

"So you've got a keyblade too, huh? Seems like everyone's got one of those these days." Cid shifted his toothpick to the other side as he began counting the coins spread out on the counter.

"I take it my order's done then?" she asked.

"Yeah. Your odd devices were so curious to have sitting on my work bench since you left 'em, I couldn't help but fiddle with 'em a bit. I'll get 'em out once I'm done counting your munny." Lila let out an excited 'Sweet!' as Cid started mumbling to himself a bunch of numbers. Suddenly, a jingle was heard from the front door. "Be right with you in a second!" he called out to the front. After setting down his already counted stack, Cid swiftly moved towards the front counter

"Thirty Hi-Potions and twenty Ethers," was the gruff replied of the short bearded man.

"Thanks again, Markl," Cid nodded as he moved past the counter before hefting one of the crates of potions the man had rolled in. "I haven't been able to keep up with demand lately since the Duck triplets left, so it's really nice of your friend Jenkins to help synthesize these for me."

"It's no trouble at all. As long as we get a small cut of your profits, it's always a pleasure doing business with you," Markl replied.

"Just wait here while I go finish the other order," Cid jabbed his thumb to the back before going back to finish counting Lila's munny. Riku leaned up against the metal ladder that lead to the attic storage and let his eyes drift around the room, watching the dwarf with a curious sideways glance. Markl returned this with a suspicious sneer.

"What are you looking at, you whippersnapper?" he growled threateningly, though it had less of an effect on Riku as he turned away to try and fight down a smile. Who did that kid think he was fooling? Riku had never seen anyone so short for their age, and his voice sounded almost exactly like a child pretending to sound like a grown up. He knew this because he and Sora tried it all the time when they were kids to try and sneak into the movie theater so that they could watch grown up movies. Of course, it never worked, being that it was a small town and Sora was terrible about keeping his balance sitting on top of his shoulders without kicking him in the face. Riku would've believed it more if Markl was a child taller and wore a brown overcoat instead being short and wearing a blue cloak and beard. Then again, who was he to judge?

"Oh yeah, Riku, I forgot to ask, but how's the search for Howl been?" Lila inquired, breaking him from his train of thought.

"I've heard a few stories about him, but no luck. Whoever this Howl guy is, he doesn't want to be found," he shook his head, though when he looked out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the small dwarf stiffen. Testing this theory, the islander turned to Cid, who was putting Lila's munny in the cash register. "Tell me, Cid. I've heard you're supposed to know all the ins and outs. Does Howl consume the hearts of others like the rumors say?" Cid scratched his chin stubble with a long 'hmm' before twisting the toothpick in his teeth.

"I think so. From what I've heard, Howl only eats the hearts of beautiful ladies. Guess eating a man's gives him heartburn."

"Wait, are we talking about the same Howl? The guy we have to look for?" Lila exclaimed while Riku just gave her a shrug in reply.

"Seems like only yesterday we only had Heartless to deal with," Cid sighed with a reminiscent look in his eye. "Thank god we've got people like Markl and Jenkins to help us out and keep people like him away."

"Are you going to take all day? I'm not getting any younger here!" Markl snapped grumpily. His mood sure seemed to spike pretty high in a such a short amount of time. For some reason, he seemed to be really anxious to leave, his fingers tapping anxious on the cart he brought in.

"Now, just hold it, old timer. I have to count and stack all of these so I know you brought me the right product and numbers," Cid advised as he continued lifting some of the potions from the crates.

"Who's Jenkins?" Lila asked.

"Just this old wizard guy that moved in a couple weeks ago," Cid explained before handing her order. "Anyways, here you go!"

"Thanks again, Cid. These look great!" she held the devices close to her chest before running her hands over the fine craftsmanship.

"You be careful now. Don't want men like Howl or your friend there to steal your heart," the mechanic joked, which caused Riku to roll his eyes.

"I will, though maybe we could try and find that Jenkins guy if Howl doesn't work out," Lila suggested. Riku couldn't help but smirk.

"Didn't you hear him, Lila? He said Howl only eats the hearts of beautiful ladies."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Lila crossed her arms.

"Only that I wouldn't think of you and the words ' beautiful lady' being in the same sentence."

"As opposed to what? Ugly male? I'm a lady, damn it! I deserve some respect!" she argued furiously. "You have no idea what we go through to look nice for you guys!" Riku was sure that she was screaming more at him, but he was tuning her out at this point. At least he knew what had set her off this time, but he couldn't help it. She was just begging to be teased with that outfit that she came in. It was so outlandish and over-the-top. While he watched her furious expression, he noticed that Markl was slowly edging towards the exit before he disappeared out the door.

That Markl guy seemed to be in a big hurry to get back to his friend. He even left his cart behind. Could this Jenkins guy and the one Master Yen Sid talked about be the same person? Riku considered this for a few more seconds before he abruptly stopped Lila and grabbed her wrist.

"We're leaving. Just grab your stuff and go," Riku said briskly before dragging a flustered Lila dragging her behind him.

"But wait-! Why-?"

"Just hurry up. I'll explain on the way."