D/N: Oy, better and READY TO TYPE! WOOO!

Morning came, with the merry chirping of birds from outside my window, and sunlight streaming across my face. I hadn't realized how much I had missed sunlight until I saw it again. It was good to see, after so long of being in shadow. The birds, though, oh how I could live without them! That would be the one thing that could have been better, but I didn't bother to try and chase them away; my body ached from what I did yesterday, unused to the strange movements.

Creakily, I sat up and looked around the room, unwilling to get up just yet. The two other beds were empty, but a note was tacked to the wall above the table, the table that now was cleaned of the food from last night, and had a plate of fruit, bread and some small pasties I didn't recognize, a small tub of butter and jam to the side. I sat there for a moment longer, staring at the food, wondering if I could make it come over to me by sheer willpower alone. For a moment, I tried, I really did, but of course it didn't work; wishful thinking of a tired mind, that was all.

Muscles complaining, my healed shoulder screaming in pain as I banged it against the head board, I got out of the bed, and made my way, zombie-like, over to the table. The note was in Miss Tanaka's neat script, and simply said:

Raine-

Gone into the town with Hatori to get some clothes, armor and potions. Trainer will see you tomorrow, can't guarantee that he'll train you, though. Will be back by sunset (hopefully). Eat lunch downstairs in the tavern; Greg will put it on a tab, so don't worry about munny. Don't get into trouble, and stay in the tavern It's the safest place for you; keep the key blade with you at all times, do not show it to anyone, or I'll have to beat in your skull when I get back. I'll know, don't worry.

-Tanaka

I stared at the note, and sighed, thumping it down on the table. She decides to take the shirtless once into town, while I sit here and recuperate. And, for good measure, she's threatening me with death. Such a pleasant woman, I thought, grimacing.

Instead of moping around, I looked at my shoulder. It was still shooting webs of pain down my arm and down my back also. The potion last night should have healed it all the way. Peeling away Hatori's shirt revealed a large purple-black bruise, fresh, and throbbing. Naturally, I had to poke it, as if to make sure it was real. It was. And it hurt worse than being bitten by the damned thing. I gritted my teeth for a moment, and then bit into an apple moodily, legs nearly cramping up on me before I had a chance to sit down. This was going to be a long day.

After a semi-warm bath (there were no showers here, it seemed) and then a make-shift bandage out of a towel for my arm, I decided to visit the main part of the tavern. After all, Miss Tanaka had given me permission to go down, and as long as I didn't show off my key blade, everything should be fine. The key chain from the blade, as though reading my thoughts, gently bounced against the palm of my hand. I looked down at it, surprised, and then opened the door to go downstairs.

Even for it being only noon, the tavern was fairly busy, though there weren't as many drinkers as last night. All I could see were mostly men in their work clothes, eating hearty meals of meat and bread with their friends. Awkwardly, I realized that I was the only female in the room, but I still walked over to the fire and took a seat, the warmth seeping into my pained shoulder and soothing it slightly, the same way the bath had done earlier. A homely woman walked over, obviously one of the tavern workers, and smiled kindly down at me, "Aren't yeh a little young to be here, laddie?" She spoke loudly, even though the tavern was quiet enough to be heard over at a normal level. It seemed she was used to shouting over rowdy men.

Laddie. .? I wondered, but smiled back at her, and asked, "I was wondering what you had down here for lunch."

She pulled a pad of paper from one of the pockets on her apron, and consulted it for a moment before saying, "If you've the money, we've steak. Or pork if yer an 'eavy eater."

I grinned, "Steak sounds wonderful. Could you put it on my tab?"

The woman's smile faded, "That you'll 'ave to take up with my husband, Greg."

"Then tell him Miss Tanaka's student would like to see him. I'd go there myself, but I don't know where to go."

Again, she brightened up; it was as though her moods were governed by money, "Missus Tanaka, you say? I know 'er well. She woan't run out on a tab, an' she comes so often. Yer steak'll be 'ere in a moment."

Startling me, she walked away briskly. So Miss Tanaka was well known here. That was odd; she was nearly always at school. When did she find the time to come here? Summer, maybe, but I remember seeing her at the mall a few times over the last summer; she couldn't have stayed too long, in that case.

The woman came back, and plopped a tankard full of amber liquid in front of me. About to protest, she stopped me, "This is cider, laddie. Greg told me to give it to yeh. 'e knows 'ow old yeh are; Missus Tanaka told 'im earlier. On the 'ouse, this one. Go on, drink up."

I did as asked, thanking her many times over. She smiled, revealing a glistening smile, her large bosom and plump body seeming to fit the look. "That'll give yeh the growth yeh need. Boys shouldn't be a small as you are."

Mentally, I was stung, but I ignored the comment. She thought I was a boy, and I wouldn't go around proving her wrong. It worked out just fine this way. The warmth of the fire was nice against my side, and, as the tables began to clear up, silence descended upon the tavern. Every man seemed to go back to work at the same time in the town, for, in a few moments, the taverns was nearly empty, save for the plates and cups left on the tables. Greg's wife moved around busily with a young girl, picking up plates and pushing in chairs, keeping the place clean for the next round of guests.

I yawned, and the girl, who I could only suspect to be Greg's daughter, came in with a large plate of steak, mashed potato, gravy and cooked vegetables. She laid it all before me with a coy smile, "'ere yeh are, sir. I 'ope it all's to yer liking."

Ignoring her use of 'sir' I picked up one of my forks, and asked her, "What's your name?"

"Rose, sir."

I nodded, "A good name. Tell your father that Miss Tanaka won't be in until late."

Rose curtsied, "As you wish, sir." She walked off, blushing furiously.

The food was good and sat heavily in a lump in the middle of my stomach. I leaned back against the chair and sighed, content. This was a good place to visit, definitely. Had the circumstances been different, I think I might have enjoyed living here for a few years.

The door banged open, and I looked up at it, wondering who could be in such a hurry to eat something. A man walked in, extremely tall and wearing a heavy pair of black pants, chains attached to his belt which jingled merrily every time he took a step. On his torso he wore a brown jacket that looked worn from use and battle. He looked at me for a moment, brown hair flopping into his eyes, and then looked around, finally choosing a table on the other side of the fire.

Rose had run in as soon as the door had banged open, startled. The man frowned, and told her, "Get Greg."

The girl nodded, and fled the room as if for dear life. While I observed him from my corner of shadows, he removed the sword I hadn't previously noticed. He threw it onto the table with a clatter, and sighed, propping his feet up onto the table itself. I drank some cider, and ignored him, drinking in the warmth of the fire. Not once during lunch did my shoulder twinge, and even now, when I was thinking of it, it only ached like the rest of my body. I tapped it lightly, and bit my lip as it snarled with a flare of pain in response; it was still a livid bruise, of course, but it was backing off for the moment, as if allowing me time to rest for the moment. I decided to leave it be, and sit back, watching the stranger with some interest.

Greg came into the room moments after Rose had tore out, and greeted the stranger warmly, with a shake of his hand, and a few welcoming words. They spoke in low tones for a moment, and then the stranger nodded a smile on his face. Suddenly, Greg seemed to notice me sitting there, and asked, startled, "Young Master! Where is Missus Tanaka?"

I frowned, "She's out with Haa-chan, getting some things. Why?"

He frowned, and then sighed, "There's a man 'ere I want to introduce 'er to. 'e could 'elp."

"Help with what?" I frowned, "What's she going to do with us?"

It was Greg's turn to frown, "She hasn't told yeh? I'd expect that yeh will know in time. Go back to yeh're room and rest, now."

The man placed a restraining hand on the tavern owner's arm as he moved over to me, as if to shoo me upstairs to my room. "I want to speak to him for a moment."

Greg hesitated, and then bowed to the stranger, "Very well, Master Sora."

Sora? I thought, I know that name from somewhere. ..

Greg left the room, and Sora came over to me, pulling a chair out and sitting down across from me, "So, you're Sakura's. She came by this morning to say that she had someone for me to look at. . ." He looked me over for a moment, and then sighed, "You're too small to be a good warrior."

I glared at him, "Well, I'm sorry for being short. Care to give me a cure?"

He smiled, a deep scar on his face widening the smile, making it look as if his cheek were split in two. "Ah, there is no cure except to grow up. How old are you, anyway; twelve? Thirteen?"

"Sixteen!" I stood, careful of my shoulder, "If you're that warrior trainer that Miss Tanaka spoke of, I'd rather be trained by an elephant." I left him there, a bemused smile on his face.

Sora called after me, "You're not going to get any better by being trained by an elephant, boy!"

I didn't even bother to correct him. There were some things that I couldn't have a care for, and one of them was that that man being correct about my gender.

D/N: Gaah, sucky chapter, but I was feeling weird. . . . . And how many of you expected the trainer to be Leon? Hehe, yesh, I'm weird. Nya.

Bleh.