Bidding Scrooge good night once more, Sarah left the restaurant – she wondered briefly if it had an actual name, or if she was just going to end up calling it Scrooge's Place for lack of anything better – and made her way back into the First District at large. Retracing her path back to the stairs, Sarah found her gaze drawn to the huge double-doors that lead to the Third District. Or rather, to where they would have been if they'd existed in the first place.
There was nothing in that particular area of the town but more buildings, and beyond that a glimpse of what might have been a perimeter wall.
Making her way up the stairs and across the landing, Sarah pushed open the large doors that lead to the Second District – a feat that was only marginally harder than it had looked in-game – and turned to look at the Shadow still crouching just outside the swing of said doors.
Snapping "her" fingers – the same signal that she'd eventually taught Sub-Zero to respond to – she smiled as the Shadow came loping easily over.
"Have you been a good boy, Kuromaru?" she asked, as the Shadow paced her on their way back to the hotel.
Yawning as she continued on her way, Sarah had soon made it back to the hotel where she and the others who would end up being her traveling companions on her quest to save this part of the multiverse were staying. Pushing her way past the glass and wood doors on the side nearest to where she'd entered from, Sarah quickly crossed to the blue-painted door of the room she'd chosen for her place of residence. She found that the room itself wasn't nearly as unoccupied as it had been when she'd left.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, her gaze sweeping over Squall and Aerith where they both sat at the small, round table that seemed to be just as much of a fixture of this room as the other table had been in the green room.
"We're going to see Merlin tomorrow," Squall said, brusquely rising from his seat and almost stomping for the door.
She scoffed. "Bit rude, that one."
"I don't think he meant it that way," Aerith said, and when Sarah turned her attention back to the other girl, she found that Aerith had the cooler-pack she'd given to Cid back when she'd first gotten her feet under her on this refugee planet.
"Did Cid drop that off with you?"
"He did," Aerith said with a nod. "He wanted me to tell you that he asked the Moogles to craft some special chill-packs for your food, and some special bottles for the milk you brought along. They've been enchanted with Ice magic, so they'll be able to function indefinitely as long as they have a steady supply of Mana. Which won't really be a problem on any of the worlds you're going to be traveling to." She stifled a yawn as Aerith paused, but the other girl had clearly noticed the action. "But we can talk more about that later. You and I should both get some sleep now."
"That's probably best," she agreed, stifling another yawn.
Bidding Aerith good night as the other girl left, Sarah turned away from the door as it closed and made for the large bed, all the while stripping off Sora's clothes as she walked. Considering the day she'd previously had, the things weren't exactly fit for another day's wear under any but the most desperate of circumstances, and even then she wouldn't have been entirely happy to do so. So, after wadding up said travel-stained clothes so that she could carry them easier, Sarah cast about for something she could use as a hamper.
There turned out to be a fairly large basket just opposite the swing of her room's door, something she hadn't had the time to check for when she'd first claimed the room in question, so after a quick check to make sure that it was what it purported to be, Sarah dropped the clothes she was carrying into the basket and turned to make her way back to the bed. Movement out of the corner of "her" right eye caught Sarah's attention then, and she turned to see Kuromaru making its own way over to her.
Patting the little Shadow's head as she yawned again, Sarah stretched a last time and climbed into the bed.
Closing "her" eyes, Sarah chuckled softly; this had been one hell of a first day.
~KH1~
When she woke up the next morning, yawning and stretching and curling her toes just for the sake of it the way she always did when she first woke up, Sarah found that Kuromaru had climbed into her bed sometime during the night, its head having come to rest on the center of "her" chest.
"Well, good morning to you too, boy," she chuckled, scruffing the Shadow's antennae for a few moments even as she levered Sora's body up and out of bed. Pausing by her supply-pack, she pick out a new pair of underwear and set the pack itself up on the bed.
Deciding against updating her journal before she'd taken her morning shower, Sarah turned toward the door perpendicular to the one at the back of the room, the one that would have lead her to this room's balcony. The door she'd never had the chance to look for when she'd been playing the game that this world was based on. Sure enough, there was a shower unit in the room; no toilet, but that could very well have been an influence from this world's JRPG roots.
She didn't particularly care right at the moment, Sarah had to confess.
The thing that really mattered to her was the fact that there was a shower unit in front of her right now, and Sarah fully intended to put it to use. Turning back to the main room, she made for the duffel to pick up the soap and shampoo she'd packed for just this sort of occasion. Pushing the door out of the way as she made her way back into the shower room, Sarah didn't even bother trying to suppress the wide, cheerful smile on her face.
It wasn't like anyone was watching her at the moment, and pretty much anyone who wasn't an unrepentant slob would be happy to find that their hotel room had a shower unit.
While she turned the hot water on all the way so that it could reach the proper temperature before she climbed in, Sarah checked the location of the shelves within the shower itself. There was the usual shaped-from-the-wall one used for holding bars of soap, with the usual handle for assisting in getting into and out of the shower itself, but the drain-grooves on that shelf were a fair bit more pronounced than she'd seen before, and there were actual holes in the bottom of the dish; likely to let any water inside drain all the faster. Those seemed like far better design choices she'd seen, though she had always and would always prefer liquid soap for myriad reasons, first and foremost being that it didn't melt away during the course of one's shower.
Still, this was what she had at the moment, so this was what Sarah was going to content herself with.
The shelf that was intended to hold those things that weren't soap turned out to ne more of a grate when Sarah took the time to study it more closely, which she figured was as good a design choice as any when one was attempting to make arrangements for in-shower storage as opposed to any other kind. Setting down her cargo in the appropriate places, Sarah caught a spray of water across "her" right shoulder and smiled when she noted that it was at just the right temperature for her.
Shedding the last of Sora's clothes with a sigh of profound relief, after having paused briefly so that she wouldn't fall over, while tossing Sora's previously-worn underwear with a mental note to grab them later.
"Some times in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow…" she sang to herself as she began to lather up.
Sure, this was one of the most awkward things imaginable, and yes even the mental separation she'd built between her self and Sora's body broke down a bit while she was doing things like this, but as long as she was borrowing the kid's body like this she really did owe it to him to make sure that his body was kept in good condition. Hell, she'd want the same done for her, at least after the person on the other end finished with the seemingly-obligatory freaking out.
Just as she'd turned off the water and begun to wring out Sora's freshly-washed mop of hair, she heard two firm, sharp knocks at the door.
"Not the best time," she called out, nudging open the door with "her" left elbow in lieu of one of "her" currently-occupied hands.
"I just wanted to make sure you hadn't forgotten about our meeting with Merlin this morning," Squall said, and Sarah got the impression that he was folding his arms again.
He'd done that a lot in-game, at least.
"I haven't," she said, trying to be reassuring but not really knowing how she was coming off to Squall. "Scrooge asked me to meet with him this morning, though, so if you don't mind, I'm going to take care of that first. Just since it's likely to be quicker."
"That sounds reasonable," Squall said, sounding a bit reluctant but not like he was going to try and stop her or anything.
"I'll try to keep things as short as I can."
"It's nice to hear you say that." The momentary pause seemed considerate; like Squall was turning things over in his mind. "But don't rush anything you don't need to, all right?"
"I won't," she said, smiling for the man's consideration. "Thanks, though."
"You're welcome," Squall said, after a few long, silent moments.
He might have been surprised to be thanked for his consideration, but Sarah only spared a thought for that. She'd been raised to show common courtesy, after all.
"I'll meet you again when you're finished talking with Scrooge, Sora," Squall said.
"We'll both be right here waitin' for you, Sora," Goofy called, sounding just as cheerful as he ever did.
"That's nice to hear, you two," she said, smirking as she finished wringing out Sora's hair. "But, I'm going to be getting out of the shower soon, so unless the two of you want an eyeful – and please tell me you don't – I'm going to be needing some privacy."
Goofy laughed. "You're so funny, Sora."
"We're going to be having breakfast with the others," Squall said, after only a brief pause. "I'd offer to save you some, but I guess Scrooge is planning to take care of that when the two of you meet up to talk about whatever it is that he wanted to speak to you about when he asked you to stay behind last light."
"That's good to know," she said, stepping out of the shower unit at last.
"Remember what I said about that Shadow, too," Squall said, his tone gruff and serious once again.
"I'm not likely to forget, what with everything that happened and all."
For a few seconds she almost expected Squall to say something else, but all she heard from him was a deep sigh, and then later the sound of a far-off door closing.
Turning her attention back to Sora's hair, she scrubbed it dry with the towel she'd taken off the rack, and then tossed the thing into a basket that she'd seen by the door. It was nice, she reflected, not having to throw down a towel to sop up the excess water that clung to one's skin unless one spent an inordinate amount of time in the shower waiting to drip-dry. Though she had to concede that that kind of thing would have probably been a bitch to clean without magic.
Grabbing another towel off the rack, she wrapped it around "her" body and made her way back into the main area of her hotel room, with only a brief pause to pick up Sora's underwear again. Continuing on her way, Sarah pulled the shower room door closed with "her" right arm, made a stop beside the front door to drop Sora's previously-worn underwear off in the basket whose purpose she was starting to suspect she already knew, and then turned to head back toward the blue-sheeted bed that she'd spent her first night here in.
She finished drying off on her way there, and so Sarah put aside the towel she'd been wearing and dove into the backpack she'd packed for this trip. She didn't quite remember just what the first world – aside from Traverse Town, of course – was that Sora's post-Destiny Islands trio had traveled to, so she left aside specialized clothes she'd packed. She wore a pair of shorts rather than either of the two pairs of long pants she'd managed to take along on this particular journey, since happily enough it seemed like Traverse Town had a rather mild climate, and added a short-sleeved shirt as well.
When she'd finished getting dressed for the day, reasonably sure that she was prepared for what was coming, Sarah turned to look over at Kuromaru. The Shadow had pressed itself against "her" right thigh after she had finished pulling up Sora's shorts, and now seemed perfectly content to stay there.
"All right, boy," she said, turning to lay "her" right hand atop Kuromaru's head. "It'd probably be best if you stayed back here," she said, opting not to explain her reasoning, since she honestly doubted that she Shadow could understand much of what she was saying. "Stay, Kuromaru," she said, pressing down on the Shadow's head to emphasize her command.
When she lifted "her" hand away, Kuromaru tilted its head in what seemed to be a gesture of confusion – lending further credence to the idea that the Shadow barely understood verbal communication – but it seemed to understand what she was getting at, since it stayed on top of her bed even as Sarah herself began to leave the room.
"Good boy," she said, over "her" right shoulder even as she made her way to the door.
Closing her room's door behind her, Sarah cordially returned the greeting that Yuffie called out to her as the two of them caught sight of each other in the corridor.
"Good luck with your meeting this morning!"
"Thanks!" she called back. "You guys enjoy your breakfast."
Yuffie laughed lightly. "We will!"
Turning and making her way over to the closed doors of the First District, Sarah began singing softly; almost under her breath. She didn't know if any of the people present here actually spoke Japanese – rather than just having their voices dubbed in that language when the first Kingdom Hearts game had initially come out – but she didn't think that any of them would object to the song "Yakusoku wa Iranai" in any case. Still, Sarah couldn't help smiling a bit as she continued on; at least there wasn't anyone around that she had to keep the "Sora" act up for.
Crossing the main square of the First District, after a quick hop to bypass all of those stairs, Sarah made her way up to the door of Scrooge's establishment. Said door was opened for her even before she could start to reach out for it, which prompted Sarah to smile slightly as the very drake – she'd feel kind of weird referring to an anthropomorphic duck as a man, even if only in her own head; she always did strive to be precise in her descriptions – who she had come to meet stood in the door smiling right back at her.
"Welcome, welcome," Scrooge said, stepping gracefully aside even as he gestured her forward. "Do come in. I've taken the liberty of having breakfast prepared for the two of us." He turned, directing her attention to a two-person table that had been neatly set out with two plates of pancakes, a bowl each of sausage-links, a generous portion of what looked to be hashed browns for the two of them, a large pitcher of what she took a moment to hope was milk, and an only slightly smaller container of what she could clearly see was maple – or at least something that she hoped was maple – syrup. "I thought that the two of us might share a meal, before we begin discussing business," he said, even though his intent had been clear to anyone who paid even a modicum of attention to what was going on around them.
To be fair, though, some people didn't.
"Thanks, this is really generous of you," she said, allowing herself to be settled down in the chair opposite Scrooge himself.
He was definitely a canny one; an offer of food and hospitality would naturally make those he was attempting to open business negotiations with far more inclined to think kindly of him, and perhaps to grant concessions they would have been unwilling to before. Well-played indeed, my dear sir, she allowed, though she didn't say any such thing. One of the unspoken rules of the negotiation table was that you didn't let on that you knew the tricks of the trade.
So, as she savored the food that had been set out before her, Sarah only allowed herself the occasional, small smile. Clearly, Scrooge knew just what he was doing when embarking on negotiations the way he intended to do; time would tell if he'd be a good business partner, but given what she was seeing here and now, Sarah was fully willing to give the drake a chance.
Finishing her meal, with a large swallow of milk to wash it all down, Sarah wiped "her" hands and mouth, then settled back into her chair.
"That was a wonderful spread," she said, both since it was and because it was particularly important to demonstrate good manners when you were at the negotiation table. "Thank you for sharing it with me."
"Of course, my boy," Scrooge said, smiling cordially. "Now, I've got the contract all written up," he said, removing a rolled up sheet of parchment from a black, wooden tube. "If you want to look it over."
"Of course," she said, reaching out to take the rolled parchment as it was handed over to her.
Happily enough, the contract itself wasn't written in some obscure dialect of legalese, and it did indeed entitle her to half of the profits from every root beer float sold. The only issue was that, since she was going to be signing a legally-binding contract, she was going to need to use her legal name. Still, there could, possibly, be a way around that.
"Would it be all right if a used my first two initials for this?"
Scrooge stroked his feathered chin. "I suppose that would be all right, so long as you used your proper surname," the behatted drake said, after a few moments' consideration.
"Thank you," she said, and quickly signed her name on the indicated line.
She wasn't even going to bother trying to forge Sora's handwriting, both since no one here had seen it, and since in this case it would have been extremely counterproductive.
"Rather fine penmanship you have there, Sora my lad."
"I do my best," she said, smiling as she handed the fountain pen he'd given over back to him. "Thanks for noticing."
He chuckled. "Of course." Scrooge paused a moment, clearly scrutinizing the signature on the contract in front of him. "What does the L stand for?"
"Leeahn," she answered, the same as she'd done before, and would probably end up doing again for anyone else who showed that particular curiosity.
As long as they weren't faeries; she was too well-versed in lore and mythology to ever give her full name to a faery, even with an assurance of good behavior.
"Well then, Sora Leeahn Williams, it has been a distinct pleasure doing business with you."
"Likewise, Scrooge McDuck," she said, firmly shaking the drake's hand as he offered it to her. Topping off her glass of milk for what would be the last time before she left, Sarah raised it. "To a lucrative partnership."
"Of course," Scrooge said, laughter in his tone as the two of them tapped glasses.
When she had finished the last of her milk and was feeling pleasantly full, she bade Scrooge a fond farewell and made her way back out into the main square of the first district. Yawning briefly as she continued on her way back up the stairs and to the door that would take her back into the Second District, Sarah continued to sing softly under her breath. She didn't particularly want to bother anyone, but she was really starting to miss her iPod in this whole mess. As she pushed open the doors themselves, effort forcing a bit more air from "her" lungs and hence making her song a bit louder for those few moments, Sarah smiled briefly. Some things just didn't change from world to world; or even between universes, come to think of it.
Feeling something brush softly against "her" right calf, Sarah looked down to see Kuromaru staring up at her with those wide, lidless yellow eyes of its.
"Well, at least you stayed back here in Second District," she said, patting the Shadow's head as it stretched up to meet her.
Kuromaru seemed particularly excited to see her right here and now, fluttering its little hand-claws as the two of them continued on their way back toward her current hotel room. Only, when she looked closer, Sarah found that Kuromaru's "fluttering" was less random, excited motions and more-
You-know-sign-language-now? She signed back, biting "her" lower lip even as she kept the motions of "her" hands slow and deliberate.
American Sign Language wasn't something that any of the people she was going to encounter would be remotely likely to know about, particularly considering when and where it had been invented, and how long it took to learn it.
Please-sing-I-like-it.
And yet here Kuromaru was, its signs a bit rushed, but more than clear to someone who understood the language.
How-do-you-know-this?
You-know.
She narrowed "her" eyes slightly; with another human, she'd have called that kind of thing impossible without telepathy, and then she would have given said telepath a stern lecture on privacy and the importance thereof. However, considering the nature of the Heartless and all-
You-learned-from-me?
I-did-please-sing.
She chuckled. "Very well, Kuromaru."
There was no one else in the Second District's central courtyard, no one to hear her singing Belinda Carlisle's "Circle in the Sand" to the clear delight of the Shadow walking beside her, but Sarah briefly amused herself considering their probable reactions. When she and Kuromaru made it back to her hotel room, Sarah sat down on the freshly-made bed – room service was clearly either still operating or had been reinstated when people started staying here once again – and was completely unsurprised when Kuromaru jumped right into "her" lap.
Once she'd finished the last few verses, Kuromaru turned those big, yellow eyes on her once again, and Sarah laughed and began to sing Shakira's "Whenever, wherever." Kuromaru's movements suggested that the Shadow was hearing more than just her singing, and for a few moments she was reminded of Kairi back on Destiny Islands. Still, there would be ample time to solve that particular mystery later; she'd see to it herself if necessary. The sound of her door opening prompted Sarah to open "her" eyes once again, and she nearly broke up laughing in amusement as Squall palmed his face once again.
Yuffie, on the other hand, had nothing holding her back, and so did burst out laughing; though whether at Squall's antics or at Kuromaru the dancing Heartless Sarah wasn't entirely sure. Whatever its ultimate cause, Yuffie's amusement was fairly short-lived, leading the ninja to briefly clear her throat as Sarah and Squall both turned to look her way.
"Well, since we're all here now," she said, still with that amused smile on her face. "Why don't we go see Merlin, so we can get this all cleared up, and Sora can start learning magic?"
"I think that would be best," Squall said, his eyes narrowing slightly as she hopped up off the bed and Kuromaru fell into step by "her" right side.