rlm@2
|
1 Prism Hearts
|
rlm@2
|
2 Chapter 11
|
rlm@2
|
3 Love is the Gift
|
rlm@2
|
4 by Amazoness Duo
|
rlm@2
|
5 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
|
rlm@2
|
6
|
rlm@2
|
7
|
rlm@2
|
8
|
rlm@2
|
9 "She just left?" Relm asked anxiously. "She didn't say anything?"
|
rlm@2
|
10 The painter paced the expansive room, chewing on her lower lip. That
|
rlm@2
|
11 wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Yuffie was supposed to
|
rlm@2
|
12 come in and confront her with another girl. To get jealous and demand
|
rlm@2
|
13 to know what was going on. Granted, they weren't dating so it wasn't
|
rlm@2
|
14 like Yuffie had a right to demand what she was doing with anyone, but
|
rlm@2
|
15 she'd hoped Yuffie was too headstrong to care about that tiny fact.
|
rlm@2
|
16 Eiko had helped make sure Yuffie could escape the dungeon so that
|
rlm@2
|
17 she'd eventually stumble on her with Celeste, a very realistic
|
rlm@2
|
18 painting that Relm had made. If Yuffie didn't want anything to do
|
rlm@2
|
19 with her when she was available, maybe if Yuffie thought she'd lost
|
rlm@2
|
20 the chance, the ninja would do something. Now it seemed that plan had
|
rlm@2
|
21 all but fallen apart.
|
rlm@2
|
22
|
rlm@2
|
23 "Well..." Eiko sat on Relm's bed, looking down at her hands. Yuffie
|
rlm@2
|
24 hadn't really said much. The ninja girl had looked hurt and confused,
|
rlm@2
|
25 but that wasn't what Relm had been looking for. Eiko had tried to
|
rlm@2
|
26 convince Yuffie to go back in to talk to Relm, but Yuffie had
|
rlm@2
|
27 disappeared. "Not much," she finally decided on saying.
|
rlm@2
|
28
|
rlm@2
|
29 "This was a stupid idea. I need to go find Yuffie. I need to talk to
|
rlm@2
|
30 her."
|
rlm@2
|
31
|
rlm@2
|
32 "And say what?" Eiko asked, looking over at the girl in the
|
rlm@2
|
33 bandanna. " 'Thanks for treating me like crap. I'm sorry for making
|
rlm@2
|
34 you sad. Can I hang on your arm again?' " She only had what she'd
|
rlm@2
|
35 heard from Relm to guess what had happened with Yuffie, but from what
|
rlm@2
|
36 she'd heard of how they last parted ways, there wasn't a big reason
|
rlm@2
|
37 to feel guilty over any of this.
|
rlm@2
|
38
|
rlm@2
|
39 Pausing, Relm considered this. With a sigh, she nodded. "I guess
|
rlm@2
|
40 you're right. I don't know what I could say to her right now that
|
rlm@2
|
41 could make her understand. I've tried to get it through to her, but
|
rlm@2
|
42 it's like she's just not listening." The painter crossed her arms,
|
rlm@2
|
43 pouting. Looking up, she tried to stare up into the heaven's. "Mom,
|
rlm@2
|
44 was it this hard with dad? Are all ninjas this difficult? Or am I
|
rlm@2
|
45 just lucky?"
|
rlm@2
|
46
|
rlm@2
|
47 Before the heavens could answer Relm's question, the door burst
|
rlm@2
|
48 open. Or, rather, it would have burst open if it was anyone other
|
rlm@2
|
49 than the prim and proper princess of Alexandria, Garnet. But even for
|
rlm@2
|
50 her, it whipped open rather swiftly. "Have either of you seen Kairi?
|
rlm@2
|
51 I wanted to talk to her about something before she saw my mother, but
|
rlm@2
|
52 I can't find her."
|
rlm@2
|
53
|
rlm@2
|
54 Eiko could tell that Garnet was more worried than she was letting
|
rlm@2
|
55 on. The princess looked terribly distracted. A cold chill passed
|
rlm@2
|
56 through Eiko as she slid off the bed. "Garnet, what's wrong?" She
|
rlm@2
|
57 hurried to the princess's side. Despite being a rather regal
|
rlm@2
|
58 princess, Garnet could be very impulsive at times. Having the
|
rlm@2
|
59 princess run off into trouble without her didn't sound good to Eiko
|
rlm@2
|
60 at all.
|
rlm@2
|
61
|
rlm@2
|
62 "Kairi...?" Relm spoke the name as if speaking it for the first
|
rlm@2
|
63 time. Her eyes widen as realization slowly sinks in. Everything had
|
rlm@2
|
64 been happening so fast. She had been too wrapped up in her own
|
rlm@2
|
65 problems to be thinking clearly. Kairi. The girl who was the key to
|
rlm@2
|
66 all this. The girl that Celes had sacrificed herself for. If anything
|
rlm@2
|
67 happened to Kairi, Celes' sacrifice would be in vain "We have to find
|
rlm@2
|
68 her. Now. She could be in trouble." Whatever her concerns about
|
rlm@2
|
69 Yuffie, they would have to be put on hold until after Kairi was safe
|
rlm@2
|
70 and sound. 'Some protector you're turning out to be. I'm sorry,
|
rlm@2
|
71 Celes.'
|
rlm@2
|
72
|
rlm@2
|
73 Garnet nodded, turning back to the hallway. "I can't find Kuja
|
rlm@2
|
74 either," she said, in a whisper that betrayed her fear.
|
rlm@2
|
75
|
rlm@2
|
76 Though Relm didn't understand the significance of Kuja's
|
rlm@2
|
77 disappearance, it hit Eiko loud and clear. The gravity of the
|
rlm@2
|
78 situation weighed heavily on her small frame. The girls that Kuja
|
rlm@2
|
79 took to his personal workshop never came back. No one knew what
|
rlm@2
|
80 happened to them. Eiko had almost been taken their herself. Garnet
|
rlm@2
|
81 had personally ordered the guards to let her go and had been trying
|
rlm@2
|
82 to keep her from Kuja ever since. If they didn't get to Kairi soon,
|
rlm@2
|
83 there wouldn't be anything left to save. And if Relm was right about
|
rlm@2
|
84 Kairi being the Keyblade Mistress and needing to unleash the light,
|
rlm@2
|
85 then they would all follow shortly afterwards.
|
rlm@2
|
86
|
rlm@2
|
87 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
rlm@2
|
88
|
rlm@2
|
89 "No! Not over there! How can we see the moonlight falling over the
|
rlm@2
|
90 water with all those decorations in the way?" Selphie stood on the
|
rlm@2
|
91 dock, directing the hapless boys under her command to finish up the
|
rlm@2
|
92 decorations. The festival was going to be that night and she wanted,
|
rlm@2
|
93 no, needed it to be perfect. What with all of the strange things
|
rlm@2
|
94 happening on the Destiny Islands, they all needed a way to relax, to
|
rlm@2
|
95 forget it all. And she had practiced her dancing every day with Yuna
|
rlm@2
|
96 so that she and Quistis could dance on the beach under the moonlight
|
rlm@2
|
97 with the waves lapping at their feet. She wanted that perfect moment
|
rlm@2
|
98 with the cute blonde girl she was so in love with. It was that
|
rlm@2
|
99 thought that she fixated on, that pushed her forward to make the
|
rlm@2
|
100 festival a success. If the adults were too scared to have a festival
|
rlm@2
|
101 this year, let them stay inside and sulk. She knew that would never
|
rlm@2
|
102 help. Now, more than ever, they needed a chance to have fun, to laugh
|
rlm@2
|
103 and twirl under the stars. They all needed this and Selphie was going
|
rlm@2
|
104 to do her best to make sure they had their festival. "Put that over
|
rlm@2
|
105 by the waterfall. It'll look great there."
|
rlm@2
|
106
|
rlm@2
|
107 A soft chuckle behind Selphie shook the brunette from her
|
rlm@2
|
108 singleminded devotion to the task at hand. "Those poor boys." Quistis
|
rlm@2
|
109 wrapped her arms around Selphie from behind, rubbing the smaller
|
rlm@2
|
110 girl's stomach. "I had no idea you could be so bossy, Selphie."
|
rlm@2
|
111
|
rlm@2
|
112 "Hmph..." Selphie mock pouted as she rested against Quistis. "You're
|
rlm@2
|
113 mean, Quisty. I'm not being bossy. I'm just... taking charge of the
|
rlm@2
|
114 situation. Someone needs to if we're gonna be ready in time for the
|
rlm@2
|
115 festival."
|
rlm@2
|
116
|
rlm@2
|
117 "Oh, don't pout." Quistis pulled Selphie closer, nuzzling the
|
rlm@2
|
118 smaller girl's ear. "You're cute when you're bossy. And it's sweet
|
rlm@2
|
119 that you'd work so hard to get the festival ready." The blonde smiled
|
rlm@2
|
120 wryly. "Or that you'd make the boys work so hard for the festival."
|
rlm@2
|
121
|
rlm@2
|
122 Wriggling in Quistis's grasp, Selphie turned to face the other girl,
|
rlm@2
|
123 looking up into her glasses and smiling brightly. Her hands rested on
|
rlm@2
|
124 Quistis's shoulders as her green eyes stared up into crystal blue.
|
rlm@2
|
125 The brunette giggled, smiling brightly. "Like I said, someone has
|
rlm@2
|
126 to." Standing on her tip toes, the smaller girl's lips brushed across
|
rlm@2
|
127 the blonde's, a small kiss that still managed to spark an electric
|
rlm@2
|
128 haze across her heart. Still smiling, she pulled Quistis's glasses
|
rlm@2
|
129 off and slipped them on herself, looking up at the blonde girl. The
|
rlm@2
|
130 brunette gave her best scholarly look as she pushed the glasses up
|
rlm@2
|
131 the way she'd seen Quistis adjust them a thousand times before. "And
|
rlm@2
|
132 I've even been studying for it. Yuna's been teaching me how to dance."
|
rlm@2
|
133
|
rlm@2
|
134 Placing a finger on Selphie's nose, Quistis couldn't help but smile
|
rlm@2
|
135 at the bundle of energy that was her girlfriend. Many people on the
|
rlm@2
|
136 Destiny Islands admired Quistis. Even many of the adults listened to
|
rlm@2
|
137 her ideas. But the one she admired was the childish girl in her arms.
|
rlm@2
|
138 The blonde wanted to try and fix everything, worrying incessently
|
rlm@2
|
139 over things she couldn't hope to change, working late into the night
|
rlm@2
|
140 over small details that eluded her. She got depressed easily,
|
rlm@2
|
141 withdrawing further into her studies in an attempt to drown out her
|
rlm@2
|
142 concerns. But Selphie always managed to grab her by the arm and drag
|
rlm@2
|
143 her away from all of that, leaving her worries as well as her books
|
rlm@2
|
144 in a cluttered pile on the floor.
|
rlm@2
|
145
|
rlm@2
|
146 It wasn't that Selphie didn't get depressed. Even the energetic
|
rlm@2
|
147 brunette had been hit by the loss of her friends and the coming storm
|
rlm@2
|
148 that threatened their island paradise. But Selphie always bounced
|
rlm@2
|
149 back. No matter what happened, she would see it through, finally
|
rlm@2
|
150 breaking away from what troubled her with the same exuberance she did
|
rlm@2
|
151 everything else. And it was this that Quistis admired her for.
|
rlm@2
|
152
|
rlm@2
|
153 The blonde traced her fingers over Selphie's cheekbones, standing
|
rlm@2
|
154 close to the smaller girl on the pier. A wild gust of wind brushed
|
rlm@2
|
155 past them, the smell promising rain that would not be long in coming.
|
rlm@2
|
156 'In a way, the entire universe is a giant puzzle. One piece doesn't
|
rlm@2
|
157 make sense without another. To unravel its mystery, you need to have
|
rlm@2
|
158 the whole. People are the same way. One person alone doesn't make
|
rlm@2
|
159 sense. You need that other piece to truly understand. That other half
|
rlm@2
|
160 that balances you out. My Selphie...' Selphie's cheeks began to warm
|
rlm@2
|
161 under her touch, turning a delicate pink beneath her fingertips. The
|
rlm@2
|
162 sight of Selphie looking up at her, blushing faintly with the
|
rlm@2
|
163 blonde's glasses perched on her nose, made Quistis's heart spin
|
rlm@2
|
164 dizzily. There had been a time when she had wanted to travel just as
|
rlm@2
|
165 much as Riku had. But eventually she had come to realize that
|
rlm@2
|
166 sometimes you can find everything you're looking for right at home.
|
rlm@2
|
167 Maybe in another lifetime, she had searched through worlds to find
|
rlm@2
|
168 this girl that she held so close. But in this one, she had been right
|
rlm@2
|
169 next door all this time. Laughing softly, Quistis pulled up the hat
|
rlm@2
|
170 that hung at Selphie's back. "You took Irvine's hat again?" She set
|
rlm@2
|
171 it snugly on the brunette's head, resting her fingers under Selphie's
|
rlm@2
|
172 chin so she could get a good look at her in the hat.
|
rlm@2
|
173
|
rlm@2
|
174 Pouting again, Selphie met Quistis's warm gaze. "I didn't take it. I
|
rlm@2
|
175 borrowed it. He's busy helping Tidus and Wakka put up the decorations
|
rlm@2
|
176 anyway. Besides, I look cuter in his cowboy hat than he does anyway."
|
rlm@2
|
177
|
rlm@2
|
178 The smile Quisits had been wearing broke into a grin. "You can say
|
rlm@2
|
179 that again." Leaning forward, she gave Selphie another kiss, not near
|
rlm@2
|
180 as short at the one Selphie had given her. The two stood upon a world
|
rlm@2
|
181 in its death throes, preparing for a mad party in an attempt to stave
|
rlm@2
|
182 off the horrors that awaited them, but that was only one aspect of
|
rlm@2
|
183 things. At that moment, they were simply lovers basking in the simple
|
rlm@2
|
184 things, the power that lay in a single kiss. Mirrors upon mirrors
|
rlm@2
|
185 upon mirrors. At any one second, at any given perspective, reality is
|
rlm@2
|
186 a thousand different things and reality is nothing at all. In the
|
rlm@2
|
187 end, reality is simply a suggestion. And rather than let her natural
|
rlm@2
|
188 inclination to worry turn Quistis's world into a waiting game with
|
rlm@2
|
189 the Angel of Death, she let her world become a taste of heaven, a
|
rlm@2
|
190 taste that lingered on Selphie's lips.
|
rlm@2
|
191
|
rlm@2
|
192 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
rlm@2
|
193
|
rlm@2
|
194 "Thank God Quistis showed up." Tidus fell back onto the sand,
|
rlm@2
|
195 staring up at the cloud filled sky. The clouds that he used to
|
rlm@2
|
196 imagine as all sorts of fun things now merely looked dark and
|
rlm@2
|
197 malavelont, misshapen boogeymen waiting for their chance to become
|
rlm@2
|
198 real. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and ignored the
|
rlm@2
|
199 strangely waiting storm clouds.
|
rlm@2
|
200
|
rlm@2
|
201 "Ya. I thought we'd never get a break. Selphie can be as bad as
|
rlm@2
|
202 Lulu." Wakka rested against a tree, stretching.
|
rlm@2
|
203
|
rlm@2
|
204 "Hmph..." Irvine crossed his arms, still watching the girls kissing
|
rlm@2
|
205 on the pier. "I gave her my hat and what do I get? Nothin'." He
|
rlm@2
|
206 sighed, brushing back his ponytail. "Some festival this is gonna be."
|
rlm@2
|
207
|
rlm@2
|
208 Tidus nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, if it's a festival, there'll
|
rlm@2
|
209 probably be dancing and stuff." He let that sink in for a moment
|
rlm@2
|
210 before looking at the other two boys curiously. "Who are you gonna
|
rlm@2
|
211 ask to dance with you?"
|
rlm@2
|
212
|
rlm@2
|
213 Wakka shrugged. "I don't know. Dancin's not really my thing, ya
|
rlm@2
|
214 know? Though if Lu asks, I'll probably dance with her."
|
rlm@2
|
215
|
rlm@2
|
216 Irvine sat up, shaking his head. "Girls aren't like that, Wakka.
|
rlm@2
|
217 They want you to go up to them all smooth-like." He grinned,
|
rlm@2
|
218 pretending to be doing just as he said. He gave Wakka his most
|
rlm@2
|
219 winning smile, winking. He took the other boy's hand, holding it
|
rlm@2
|
220 warmly. "Hey there, good looking. How 'bout we show 'em how dancin's
|
rlm@2
|
221 really done?"
|
rlm@2
|
222
|
rlm@2
|
223 Wakka blinked in confusion, staring at Irvine for a long moment. He
|
rlm@2
|
224 finally pulled his hand away from the cowboy, wondering just how
|
rlm@2
|
225 steeped in fantasy Irvine was at the moment. "Umm... I don't know
|
rlm@2
|
226 whether other girls go for that or not, but not Lu. She's way too
|
rlm@2
|
227 bossy to care for that sorta thing. She pretty much gets what she
|
rlm@2
|
228 wants."
|
rlm@2
|
229
|
rlm@2
|
230 "Yeah, and it's not like your approach worked on Selphie," Tidus
|
rlm@2
|
231 added helpfully. He didn't notice Irvine wincing. "She just laughed
|
rlm@2
|
232 and said that was sweet and that she was going with Quistis." He
|
rlm@2
|
233 rested his head back on his hands, ignoring the clouds again. "I
|
rlm@2
|
234 think I'd probably ask Yuna. She's a great dancer. And she's really
|
rlm@2
|
235 pretty."
|
rlm@2
|
236
|
rlm@2
|
237 Irvine shook his head. "Well, yeah, I guess. But she's so shy and
|
rlm@2
|
238 quiet. And she's been spending all of her time with that weird
|
rlm@2
|
239 catgirl lately. Speaking of which..." The cowboy grinned widely.
|
rlm@2
|
240 "Maybe the catgirl doesn't have a date yet."
|
rlm@2
|
241
|
rlm@2
|
242 "But she's a cat..." Wakka pointed out.
|
rlm@2
|
243
|
rlm@2
|
244 "And what a cat," Irvine said, whistling.
|
rlm@2
|
245
|
rlm@2
|
246 "But she's still a cat." Wakka blinked again. What wasn't Irvine
|
rlm@2
|
247 getting? That was just.... weird....
|
rlm@2
|
248
|
rlm@2
|
249 Tidus laughed, watching the other two boys. "You just wanna ask her
|
rlm@2
|
250 because she reminds you of Selphie. They're both hyper and bubbly."
|
rlm@2
|
251
|
rlm@2
|
252 "And what if that's part of it? At least the catgirl isn't already
|
rlm@2
|
253 chained at the hip to some other girl on the island." Crossing his
|
rlm@2
|
254 arms, Irvine frowned.
|
rlm@2
|
255
|
rlm@2
|
256 Yawning tiredly, Tidus pushed himself to his feet. "Well, you can
|
rlm@2
|
257 ask her in a bit. I'm gonna go find Yuna and see if she wants to
|
rlm@2
|
258 dance with me at the festival."
|
rlm@2
|
259
|
rlm@2
|
260 Wakka nodded, not getting up. "You go ahead and do that. I'm just
|
rlm@2
|
261 gonna wait and see if Lu winds up asking me."
|
rlm@2
|
262
|
rlm@2
|
263 Grinning, Tidus waved. "Good luck, you two!" He bolted off across
|
rlm@2
|
264 the beach before Selphie could regain her composure and get them back
|
rlm@2
|
265 to work.
|
rlm@2
|
266
|
rlm@2
|
267 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
rlm@2
|
268
|
rlm@2
|
269
|
rlm@2
|
270 "So what's the festival like?" Rikku asked curiously as she walked
|
rlm@2
|
271 side by side with Yuna across the beach. The water lapped right up
|
rlm@2
|
272 near their feet. They were both walking barefoot, Rikku's paws
|
rlm@2
|
273 leaving strange marks in the sand. She knew that a lot of the rest of
|
rlm@2
|
274 the Islands' children were on the other side of that particular
|
rlm@2
|
275 island preparing for the festival, but Yuna had preferred more peace
|
rlm@2
|
276 and quiet. That didn't particularly bother the catgirl. She usually
|
rlm@2
|
277 got along well with people, but she'd rather be with Yuna anyway. She
|
rlm@2
|
278 knew Yuna better than the rest of them, even if she could tell there
|
rlm@2
|
279 was a lot that the quiet girl wasn't saying. Still, it had been a
|
rlm@2
|
280 small victory that Yuna had confided in her earlier. It made her
|
rlm@2
|
281 feel... special. She was happy to be the one that Yuna would tell her
|
rlm@2
|
282 worries to. It was nice to be close to -someone-. She was on an
|
rlm@2
|
283 island chain somewhere far, far away from anywhere she'd ever been,
|
rlm@2
|
284 seperated from her big sister and the rest of the Radical Dreamers by
|
rlm@2
|
285 countless worlds. It was taking all she had to be optimistic about
|
rlm@2
|
286 things. But it seemed easier with Yuna. In a way, it felt like the
|
rlm@2
|
287 other girl needed her. And that let her push her concerns to the
|
rlm@2
|
288 side. She hadn't been able to help Kairi much, trapped as a cat for
|
rlm@2
|
289 most of that time. But now she could finally talk again. Maybe she
|
rlm@2
|
290 could actually help.
|
rlm@2
|
291
|
rlm@2
|
292 "Well... It's just something we have every year or so. All of the
|
rlm@2
|
293 Islanders gather together and celebrate late into the night. There
|
rlm@2
|
294 are feasts and dancing and singing and...." Yuna smiled, twirling
|
rlm@2
|
295 lithely on one foot. The wind tugged at her kimono as she did. "It's
|
rlm@2
|
296 wonderful. Some people tell stories and you get to play all sorts of
|
rlm@2
|
297 games. Sometimes father would...." For one bittersweet moment, Yuna
|
rlm@2
|
298 couldn't tell if the memory of her father made her feel warm and
|
rlm@2
|
299 happy inside or if the emptiness that his absence at this festival
|
rlm@2
|
300 and every festival she would ever go to in the future created inside
|
rlm@2
|
301 of her would drag her down into a sea of tears. All she could do was
|
rlm@2
|
302 try to freeze the thought exactly as it was, pushing it back deep
|
rlm@2
|
303 inside of herself and continuing. "But this year, the adults are too
|
rlm@2
|
304 worried about everything. The storms that are approaching, the weird
|
rlm@2
|
305 holes that have been appearing on some of the islands, the
|
rlm@2
|
306 disappearance of Kairi, Riku, and Sora, everything. Because of all
|
rlm@2
|
307 that, they cancelled the festival. Selphie thinks that's a mistake,
|
rlm@2
|
308 so she's organized our own festival."
|
rlm@2
|
309
|
rlm@2
|
310 Rikku nodded excitedly. "That sounds like fun! I can't wait till
|
rlm@2
|
311 tonight, then." The catgirl watched the other girl for a moment,
|
rlm@2
|
312 trying to pick up on that shadow that covered Yuna when she spoke of
|
rlm@2
|
313 her father. Whatever it had been, it seemed to be gone now.
|
rlm@2
|
314 Nevertheless, Rikku wanted to be careful not to let it get any worse.
|
rlm@2
|
315 She knew that Yuna had lost her father some time ago, but she didn't
|
rlm@2
|
316 know much beyond that. And Yuna seemed to try to ignore the topic, so
|
rlm@2
|
317 it was difficult to find out anything else. But even then, Rikku
|
rlm@2
|
318 wanted to protect the blue- and green-eyed girl. She might be younger
|
rlm@2
|
319 than Yuna, but that didn't mean she couldn't protect her. After all,
|
rlm@2
|
320 Yuna had saved her life. And besides, the quiet girl seemed like she
|
rlm@2
|
321 could use a guardian. And who better than thief extraordinaire,
|
rlm@2
|
322 Rikku? Grinning inwardly, the catgirl pictured herself in some of her
|
rlm@2
|
323 older sister's self-serving poses. Yep. She could help. Any trouble
|
rlm@2
|
324 she saw coming, she'd send it yelping off in pain.
|
rlm@2
|
325
|
rlm@2
|
326 "Are you okay, Rikku?" Yuna asked at last, watching her friend's
|
rlm@2
|
327 goofy expression.
|
rlm@2
|
328
|
rlm@2
|
329 Laughing nervously, Rikku shook her head. "I'm fine. I was just
|
rlm@2
|
330 thinking. It's been a long time since I've been to a festival. The
|
rlm@2
|
331 last time I went was with the rest of the Radical Dreamers. My
|
rlm@2
|
332 friends," she added helpfully. "It was at East Heaven Kindom. It was
|
rlm@2
|
333 really, really nice. All sorts of food you could ever even dream
|
rlm@2
|
334 about. One of the princesses there, Mint, kinda reminded me of big
|
rlm@2
|
335 sis. We were there to steal this Relic, an ancient magical book, and
|
rlm@2
|
336 she showed up to steal it, too. It seemed she'd been kicked out of
|
rlm@2
|
337 the kingdom. So she and Yuffie were both bragging about how they'd
|
rlm@2
|
338 kick the other one's ass until they finally ended up wrestling on the
|
rlm@2
|
339 floor. It was so funny! Zidane and I were just laughing and Kid was
|
rlm@2
|
340 all pissed off about it." She grinned at the memory, her cat ears
|
rlm@2
|
341 twitching subconsciously in the wind. "We all got thrown in the
|
rlm@2
|
342 dungeon after that, because we were all just standing there while
|
rlm@2
|
343 Mint and Yuffie were rolling around on the floor, trying to take the
|
rlm@2
|
344 book from the other."
|
rlm@2
|
345
|
rlm@2
|
346 Yuna giggled into her hand, watching the catgirl. She certainly was
|
rlm@2
|
347 interesting. She'd never met anyone like her. Rikku was part of a
|
rlm@2
|
348 mysterious band of theives/performers who travelled the worlds in
|
rlm@2
|
349 search of various treasure. Yet she wasn't scary or menacing in the
|
rlm@2
|
350 least. She was just... silly. And spirited. It was interesting
|
rlm@2
|
351 hearing her stories as they sat up late at night in her usually empty
|
rlm@2
|
352 home. Yuna shook her head, her hair fluttering in the breeze. She
|
rlm@2
|
353 tried to stifle her giggle. "But that's awful that you all ended up
|
rlm@2
|
354 in the dungeon."
|
rlm@2
|
355
|
rlm@2
|
356 Shaking her head, Rikku just smiled again. "No, it wasn't that bad.
|
rlm@2
|
357 We didn't stay in that long. Mint knew the guards, some guys named
|
rlm@2
|
358 Biggs and Wedge that I swear I've met in half a dozen other places,
|
rlm@2
|
359 and they let us all out." Laughing again, she placed her hands behind
|
rlm@2
|
360 her head. "Mint and Yuffie kept bitching at each other until Kid and
|
rlm@2
|
361 I finally had to drag Yuffie off so we could catch our ship out of
|
rlm@2
|
362 there. I guess if you travel enough, eventually you'll meet someone
|
rlm@2
|
363 like you."
|
rlm@2
|
364
|
rlm@2
|
365 "I don't think so. I think you might find someone who seems a bit
|
rlm@2
|
366 like you, or who acts similarly. But we're all different somehow. If
|
rlm@2
|
367 I looked over a thousand different worlds, I'd never meet someone
|
rlm@2
|
368 quite like you," Yuna explained, watching the catgirl.
|
rlm@2
|
369
|
rlm@2
|
370 Blushing faintly, Rikku was glad that her fur made it impossible to
|
rlm@2
|
371 tell. She smiled ecstatically, her embarrassment growing as she heard
|
rlm@2
|
372 a steady purr resonating within her. She tried to stifle the purr,
|
rlm@2
|
373 but it refused to die down. She was glad that Yuna would think that
|
rlm@2
|
374 about her. Even worse, her tail was swishing about happily behind
|
rlm@2
|
375 her. Before she could get it under control, it thumped against Yuna's
|
rlm@2
|
376 rear, making the other girl take a quick step forward in surprise.
|
rlm@2
|
377 Rikku could only stare forward, mortified. Stupid Dragon's Tear and
|
rlm@2
|
378 it's half-done job. Stupid half-cat body. Her heart thundered in her
|
rlm@2
|
379 chest, feeling to Rikku as if it should be just as audible as her
|
rlm@2
|
380 purr by now. Surprisingly, Yuna simply turned, walking backwards
|
rlm@2
|
381 slowly so she could look at Rikku. The young summoner was still
|
rlm@2
|
382 smiling. A wave of relief crashed down over the catgirl's head, cold
|
rlm@2
|
383 and refreshing. Maybe she hadn't totally screwed that up after all.
|
rlm@2
|
384 "Thanks, Yunie," she said at last, smiling wide enough to show her
|
rlm@2
|
385 fangs. "I don't think I'd ever find anyone like you, either."
|
rlm@2
|
386
|
rlm@2
|
387 "I'd argue, but then I'd be contradicting myself." Yuna giggled.
|
rlm@2
|
388
|
rlm@2
|
389 "And I can't let you do that," Rikku agreed, purring happily.
|
rlm@2
|
390 Without warning and with only the barest of thoughts, Rikku took one
|
rlm@2
|
391 of Yuna's hands in one of her soft paws. It felt like there were a
|
rlm@2
|
392 thousand different things that she wanted to say at once, but the
|
rlm@2
|
393 words eluded her. Just a cacophony of emotions and feelings surged
|
rlm@2
|
394 through her. But being here with Yuna... She had to say -something-.
|
rlm@2
|
395 Anything would do. She hoped. Squeezing the brunette's hand in her
|
rlm@2
|
396 own, swirly green eyes gazed into Yuna's blue and green eyes, hoping
|
rlm@2
|
397 to get across whatever her words failed to through her eyes. "Yunie,
|
rlm@2
|
398 I won't let anything bad happen to you. Whatever's happened to you
|
rlm@2
|
399 before now... I won't let it ever happen again. I'll... I'll protect
|
rlm@2
|
400 you. From everything. I promise." It was and wasn't what she wanted
|
rlm@2
|
401 to say at the same time. Whatever the case, she knew it was the
|
rlm@2
|
402 truth. She wanted to protect this fragile flower, wherever the winds
|
rlm@2
|
403 may carry her. She wanted to be there by Yuna's side, there to help
|
rlm@2
|
404 her through everything. Yuna needed her, right? And she wanted that
|
rlm@2
|
405 so badly. To be needed. To help. To be able to make things better.
|
rlm@2
|
406 She'd always been Yuffie's little sister. She loved her sister
|
rlm@2
|
407 dearly, but she'd never been able to protect Yuffie, only managing to
|
rlm@2
|
408 help a bit here and there. Yuffie was too sure of herself to allow
|
rlm@2
|
409 anyone else to do things for her. But with Yuna... She wanted to make
|
rlm@2
|
410 sure nothing bad ever had to happen to her again. She wanted to fight
|
rlm@2
|
411 off Fate itself to make sure she could always have a smile. A real
|
rlm@2
|
412 smile.
|
rlm@2
|
413
|
rlm@2
|
414 "I..." Yuna blushed, her eyes locked onto those swirly emeralds,
|
rlm@2
|
415 almost drowning in them as they pulled her in. "I want that, too..."
|
rlm@2
|
416 she whispered at last, furiously embarrassed that she'd admit that.
|
rlm@2
|
417 But she did. Sometimes she could get so tired of being strong for
|
rlm@2
|
418 everyone. She wanted to be able to collapse sometimes, to have
|
rlm@2
|
419 someone to catch her when she stumbled. She trusted this catgirl,
|
rlm@2
|
420 this thief from another world, this bouncy young girl with an
|
rlm@2
|
421 indomitable spirit. Rikku was sweet and devoted and warm and... For a
|
rlm@2
|
422 moment, Yuna couldn't tell which way was up. Her world seemed to have
|
rlm@2
|
423 turned upside down. Her heart was dizzy, lost in conflicting
|
rlm@2
|
424 thoughts. What she wanted to do and say clashed with what she thought
|
rlm@2
|
425 she should do and say. Her mind and heart struggled on the
|
rlm@2
|
426 battlefield of her soul for what felt like a short eternity. And
|
rlm@2
|
427 finally, it ceased to matter what the outcome was going to be. Soft
|
rlm@2
|
428 lips pressed against hers, paws holding tightly enough onto her
|
rlm@2
|
429 shoulders that she could feel the claws digging through the fabric of
|
rlm@2
|
430 her dress. Whiskers tickled her upper lip, and Rikku's soft, furry
|
rlm@2
|
431 form pressed against her. Yuna slowly melted into the kiss. For this
|
rlm@2
|
432 moment, she didn't need to know what to say or what to do. There was
|
rlm@2
|
433 only this moment. Of soft, neko kisses and the wonderful fragrance of
|
rlm@2
|
434 the rain encircling them.
|
rlm@2
|
435
|
rlm@2
|
436 By now, trying to stop her purring would be almost impossible.
|
rlm@2
|
437 Rikku's chest and throat vibrated with the happy purr that seemed to
|
rlm@2
|
438 come from the very depths of her soul. She couldn't explain why she
|
rlm@2
|
439 had kissed the quiet, sometimes sad girl, but she also couldn't
|
rlm@2
|
440 explain why not. It just seemed right. It was what she'd wanted to
|
rlm@2
|
441 do. It was what her words had wanted to express but couldn't. It was
|
rlm@2
|
442 the manifestation of the emotions and feelings that burst through her
|
rlm@2
|
443 like a fireworks display. And now it seemed perfectly right. Yuna's
|
rlm@2
|
444 soft lips opened and closed against her own lips as the taller girl's
|
rlm@2
|
445 hands went to her furry waist, pulling her closer. Thoughts were lost
|
rlm@2
|
446 to Rikku as she kissed deeper, her scratchy tongue pushing between
|
rlm@2
|
447 Yuna's lips as her claws nearly dug into the brunette's shoulders.
|
rlm@2
|
448
|
rlm@2
|
449 So this was a kiss... A beautiful moment in time wrapped up in silk
|
rlm@2
|
450 and offered up on the wings of angels. It was a precious gift that
|
rlm@2
|
451 could topple kingdoms and move mountains, a gift that when combined
|
rlm@2
|
452 with the dewdrops of love could become a force that could move the
|
rlm@2
|
453 very stars in the sky. And now it was in Yuna's hands. So delicate,
|
rlm@2
|
454 so fragile, yet so strong and powerful that it left her breathless
|
rlm@2
|
455 and shaking. So enraptured by Rikku's kiss was Yuna, her mind so far
|
rlm@2
|
456 away from the world around her, that she didn't see the waves moving
|
rlm@2
|
457 as something large pushed through the water towards the Destiny
|
rlm@2
|
458 Islands.
|
rlm@2
|
459
|
rlm@2
|
460
|