Zac casually made his way back to the First District, though he had to stop to deal with occasional pack of Heartless. Over the years, he had grown strong enough that fighting the Heartless of Traverse Town had become more of a minor annoyance than a life-or-death situation, so he had hardly broken a sweat by the time he made it to his destination. Dismissing his Keyblade, he beelined it for the shop in the center of the square, where he knew his fellow mechanic would be.
The bell above the door let out a cheerful ring as Zac entered with an equally cheerful, "Heya, Cid! Great seeing you, as always!"
"What'd you break, this time?" came the cantankerous reply. Cid stood behind the counter, the ever-present toothpick in his mouth as he looked at Zac. Though he didn't sound particularly thrilled to see the young man, Zac could see a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of the man's mouth.
"Ah, come on, is that really how you should greet an old friend?" Zac responded, only to add, "Never mind," upon remembering who he was talking to. He reached into his pocket and pulled at a folded sheet of paper, which he placed on the counter and slid over to Cid. "You're right. I need some parts. Long story short, I got attacked, Sigrid took a beating, and I had to make an emergency crash-landing on a world I was near. I was able to jury-rig a patch job while grounded, but Sigrid's not going anywhere until I can get a more permanent fix."
Cid picked up the paper and read over the list of parts written on it before clicking his tongue. "'Took a beating' is a bit of an understatement, don't you think?" he asked. "They must've caught you napping or something. Not often you get this banged up." He slipped the paper in his pocket as he continued, "I've got most of the parts in stock, but I'll have to machine the rest. Shouldn't take me more than a few hours, so if you can handle the repairs yourself, you should be able to take off by the end of the day. I'll loan you a cart so you can take the parts I do have over to your ship."
Zac let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Cid, you're a lifesaver!" he said as he turned for the door...only to be stopped when Cid cleared his throat.
He finished writing something in a small notebook, tore the paper out, and set it on the counter. "Forgetting something?" he asked as he tapped the paper.
Zac swallowed nervously and walked back over to the counter. He picked up the paper and felt his blood run cold. He set the paper, which was actually a receipt for the parts and labor, on the counter and clasped his hands together. "That's just a little bit higher than I can afford right now, Cid. I've still gotta restock for when I take off! Any way you could put that on my tab? You know I'm good for it!" he pleaded.
Cid narrowed his eyes at Zac. Sure, he never had to wait long for Zac to repay his debts, always with interest (that he never asked for), but it was a routine he had grown too familiar with over the years. Still, looking at the young Keyblade wielder, Cid was reminded of the first time they met, how Zac's passion for Gummi ships and even flight in general reminded him of himself. Cid rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Alright, fine," he muttered. "Last time, got it? If people find out about all the breaks I've given you, I'll be out of business."
Zac beamed and picked up the receipt, a reminder of what he owed Cid. "Thank you so much! I'll even bring you a souvenir next time I see you!" He turned to leave, then stopped once more. He turned back and asked, "Before I forget, have you seen any new faces around? The world I was on got taken by darkness, but I managed to get a few people off-world before it was lost. Some others stayed behind, but since people tend to find their way here, I was wondering if you might've seen them?"
Cid thought for a moment before answering. "Well...there was this one girl a little while ago, before you got here. Short, brown hair, liked the color blue. She called herself 'Hoshi.' I told her to hang around until Leon came by and he'd get her situated."
Zac slowly nodded. He thought back to when he made his way to Cid's shop, but couldn't remember if he had seen her or not, though he hadn't been actively looking for her. "He must've found her, then," he muttered. With a shrug, he added, "Well, if I see any of the people I brought, I'll be sure to let them know at least one of their friends are okay." With that, he exited the shop and, within the next hour, he was on his way back to his ship with a cartload of new parts.
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