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author	rlm
date	Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500
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-:dbe144217c71
+:fc00894c1d4a
+Prism Hearts
+Chapter 11
+Love is the Gift
+by Amazoness Duo
+amazonessduo@hotmail.com
+"She just left?" Relm asked anxiously. "She didn't say anything?"
+The painter paced the expansive room, chewing on her lower lip. That
+wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Yuffie was supposed to
+come in and confront her with another girl. To get jealous and demand
+to know what was going on. Granted, they weren't dating so it wasn't
+like Yuffie had a right to demand what she was doing with anyone, but
+she'd hoped Yuffie was too headstrong to care about that tiny fact.
+Eiko had helped make sure Yuffie could escape the dungeon so that
+she'd eventually stumble on her with Celeste, a very realistic
+painting that Relm had made. If Yuffie didn't want anything to do
+with her when she was available, maybe if Yuffie thought she'd lost
+the chance, the ninja would do something. Now it seemed that plan had
+all but fallen apart.
+"Well..." Eiko sat on Relm's bed, looking down at her hands. Yuffie
+hadn't really said much. The ninja girl had looked hurt and confused,
+but that wasn't what Relm had been looking for. Eiko had tried to
+convince Yuffie to go back in to talk to Relm, but Yuffie had
+disappeared. "Not much," she finally decided on saying.
+"This was a stupid idea. I need to go find Yuffie. I need to talk to
+her."
+"And say what?" Eiko asked, looking over at the girl in the
+bandanna. " 'Thanks for treating me like crap. I'm sorry for making
+you sad. Can I hang on your arm again?' " She only had what she'd
+heard from Relm to guess what had happened with Yuffie, but from what
+she'd heard of how they last parted ways, there wasn't a big reason
+to feel guilty over any of this.
+Pausing, Relm considered this. With a sigh, she nodded. "I guess
+you're right. I don't know what I could say to her right now that
+could make her understand. I've tried to get it through to her, but
+it's like she's just not listening." The painter crossed her arms,
+pouting. Looking up, she tried to stare up into the heaven's. "Mom,
+was it this hard with dad? Are all ninjas this difficult? Or am I
+just lucky?"
+Before the heavens could answer Relm's question, the door burst
+open. Or, rather, it would have burst open if it was anyone other
+than the prim and proper princess of Alexandria, Garnet. But even for
+her, it whipped open rather swiftly. "Have either of you seen Kairi?
+I wanted to talk to her about something before she saw my mother, but
+I can't find her."
+Eiko could tell that Garnet was more worried than she was letting
+on. The princess looked terribly distracted. A cold chill passed
+through Eiko as she slid off the bed. "Garnet, what's wrong?" She
+hurried to the princess's side. Despite being a rather regal
+princess, Garnet could be very impulsive at times. Having the
+princess run off into trouble without her didn't sound good to Eiko
+at all.
+"Kairi...?" Relm spoke the name as if speaking it for the first
+time. Her eyes widen as realization slowly sinks in. Everything had
+been happening so fast. She had been too wrapped up in her own
+problems to be thinking clearly. Kairi. The girl who was the key to
+all this. The girl that Celes had sacrificed herself for. If anything
+happened to Kairi, Celes' sacrifice would be in vain "We have to find
+her. Now. She could be in trouble." Whatever her concerns about
+Yuffie, they would have to be put on hold until after Kairi was safe
+and sound. 'Some protector you're turning out to be. I'm sorry,
+Celes.'
+Garnet nodded, turning back to the hallway. "I can't find Kuja
+either," she said, in a whisper that betrayed her fear.
+Though Relm didn't understand the significance of Kuja's
+disappearance, it hit Eiko loud and clear. The gravity of the
+situation weighed heavily on her small frame. The girls that Kuja
+took to his personal workshop never came back. No one knew what
+happened to them. Eiko had almost been taken their herself. Garnet
+had personally ordered the guards to let her go and had been trying
+to keep her from Kuja ever since. If they didn't get to Kairi soon,
+there wouldn't be anything left to save. And if Relm was right about
+Kairi being the Keyblade Mistress and needing to unleash the light,
+then they would all follow shortly afterwards.
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+"No! Not over there! How can we see the moonlight falling over the
+water with all those decorations in the way?" Selphie stood on the
+dock, directing the hapless boys under her command to finish up the
+decorations. The festival was going to be that night and she wanted,
+no, needed it to be perfect. What with all of the strange things
+happening on the Destiny Islands, they all needed a way to relax, to
+forget it all. And she had practiced her dancing every day with Yuna
+so that she and Quistis could dance on the beach under the moonlight
+with the waves lapping at their feet. She wanted that perfect moment
+with the cute blonde girl she was so in love with. It was that
+thought that she fixated on, that pushed her forward to make the
+festival a success. If the adults were too scared to have a festival
+this year, let them stay inside and sulk. She knew that would never
+help. Now, more than ever, they needed a chance to have fun, to laugh
+and twirl under the stars. They all needed this and Selphie was going
+to do her best to make sure they had their festival. "Put that over
+by the waterfall. It'll look great there."
+A soft chuckle behind Selphie shook the brunette from her
+singleminded devotion to the task at hand. "Those poor boys." Quistis
+wrapped her arms around Selphie from behind, rubbing the smaller
+girl's stomach. "I had no idea you could be so bossy, Selphie."
+"Hmph..." Selphie mock pouted as she rested against Quistis. "You're
+mean, Quisty. I'm not being bossy. I'm just... taking charge of the
+situation. Someone needs to if we're gonna be ready in time for the
+festival."
+"Oh, don't pout." Quistis pulled Selphie closer, nuzzling the
+smaller girl's ear. "You're cute when you're bossy. And it's sweet
+that you'd work so hard to get the festival ready." The blonde smiled
+wryly. "Or that you'd make the boys work so hard for the festival."
+Wriggling in Quistis's grasp, Selphie turned to face the other girl,
+looking up into her glasses and smiling brightly. Her hands rested on
+Quistis's shoulders as her green eyes stared up into crystal blue.
+The brunette giggled, smiling brightly. "Like I said, someone has
+to." Standing on her tip toes, the smaller girl's lips brushed across
+the blonde's, a small kiss that still managed to spark an electric
+haze across her heart. Still smiling, she pulled Quistis's glasses
+off and slipped them on herself, looking up at the blonde girl. The
+brunette gave her best scholarly look as she pushed the glasses up
+the way she'd seen Quistis adjust them a thousand times before. "And
+I've even been studying for it. Yuna's been teaching me how to dance."
+Placing a finger on Selphie's nose, Quistis couldn't help but smile
+at the bundle of energy that was her girlfriend. Many people on the
+Destiny Islands admired Quistis. Even many of the adults listened to
+her ideas. But the one she admired was the childish girl in her arms.
+The blonde wanted to try and fix everything, worrying incessently
+over things she couldn't hope to change, working late into the night
+over small details that eluded her. She got depressed easily,
+withdrawing further into her studies in an attempt to drown out her
+concerns. But Selphie always managed to grab her by the arm and drag
+her away from all of that, leaving her worries as well as her books
+in a cluttered pile on the floor.
+It wasn't that Selphie didn't get depressed. Even the energetic
+brunette had been hit by the loss of her friends and the coming storm
+that threatened their island paradise. But Selphie always bounced
+back. No matter what happened, she would see it through, finally
+breaking away from what troubled her with the same exuberance she did
+everything else. And it was this that Quistis admired her for.
+The blonde traced her fingers over Selphie's cheekbones, standing
+close to the smaller girl on the pier. A wild gust of wind brushed
+past them, the smell promising rain that would not be long in coming.
+'In a way, the entire universe is a giant puzzle. One piece doesn't
+make sense without another. To unravel its mystery, you need to have
+the whole. People are the same way. One person alone doesn't make
+sense. You need that other piece to truly understand. That other half
+that balances you out. My Selphie...' Selphie's cheeks began to warm
+under her touch, turning a delicate pink beneath her fingertips. The
+sight of Selphie looking up at her, blushing faintly with the
+blonde's glasses perched on her nose, made Quistis's heart spin
+dizzily. There had been a time when she had wanted to travel just as
+much as Riku had. But eventually she had come to realize that
+sometimes you can find everything you're looking for right at home.
+Maybe in another lifetime, she had searched through worlds to find
+this girl that she held so close. But in this one, she had been right
+next door all this time. Laughing softly, Quistis pulled up the hat
+that hung at Selphie's back. "You took Irvine's hat again?" She set
+it snugly on the brunette's head, resting her fingers under Selphie's
+chin so she could get a good look at her in the hat.
+Pouting again, Selphie met Quistis's warm gaze. "I didn't take it. I
+borrowed it. He's busy helping Tidus and Wakka put up the decorations
+anyway. Besides, I look cuter in his cowboy hat than he does anyway."
+The smile Quisits had been wearing broke into a grin. "You can say
+that again." Leaning forward, she gave Selphie another kiss, not near
+as short at the one Selphie had given her. The two stood upon a world
+in its death throes, preparing for a mad party in an attempt to stave
+off the horrors that awaited them, but that was only one aspect of
+things. At that moment, they were simply lovers basking in the simple
+things, the power that lay in a single kiss. Mirrors upon mirrors
+upon mirrors. At any one second, at any given perspective, reality is
+a thousand different things and reality is nothing at all. In the
+end, reality is simply a suggestion. And rather than let her natural
+inclination to worry turn Quistis's world into a waiting game with
+the Angel of Death, she let her world become a taste of heaven, a
+taste that lingered on Selphie's lips.
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+"Thank God Quistis showed up." Tidus fell back onto the sand,
+staring up at the cloud filled sky. The clouds that he used to
+imagine as all sorts of fun things now merely looked dark and
+malavelont, misshapen boogeymen waiting for their chance to become
+real. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and ignored the
+strangely waiting storm clouds.
+"Ya. I thought we'd never get a break. Selphie can be as bad as
+Lulu." Wakka rested against a tree, stretching.
+"Hmph..." Irvine crossed his arms, still watching the girls kissing
+on the pier. "I gave her my hat and what do I get? Nothin'." He
+sighed, brushing back his ponytail. "Some festival this is gonna be."
+Tidus nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, if it's a festival, there'll
+probably be dancing and stuff." He let that sink in for a moment
+before looking at the other two boys curiously. "Who are you gonna
+ask to dance with you?"
+Wakka shrugged. "I don't know. Dancin's not really my thing, ya
+know? Though if Lu asks, I'll probably dance with her."
+Irvine sat up, shaking his head. "Girls aren't like that, Wakka.
+They want you to go up to them all smooth-like." He grinned,
+pretending to be doing just as he said. He gave Wakka his most
+winning smile, winking. He took the other boy's hand, holding it
+warmly. "Hey there, good looking. How 'bout we show 'em how dancin's
+really done?"
+Wakka blinked in confusion, staring at Irvine for a long moment. He
+finally pulled his hand away from the cowboy, wondering just how
+steeped in fantasy Irvine was at the moment. "Umm... I don't know
+whether other girls go for that or not, but not Lu. She's way too
+bossy to care for that sorta thing. She pretty much gets what she
+wants."
+"Yeah, and it's not like your approach worked on Selphie," Tidus
+added helpfully. He didn't notice Irvine wincing. "She just laughed
+and said that was sweet and that she was going with Quistis." He
+rested his head back on his hands, ignoring the clouds again. "I
+think I'd probably ask Yuna. She's a great dancer. And she's really
+pretty."
+Irvine shook his head. "Well, yeah, I guess. But she's so shy and
+quiet. And she's been spending all of her time with that weird
+catgirl lately. Speaking of which..." The cowboy grinned widely.
+"Maybe the catgirl doesn't have a date yet."
+"But she's a cat..." Wakka pointed out.
+"And what a cat," Irvine said, whistling.
+"But she's still a cat." Wakka blinked again. What wasn't Irvine
+getting? That was just.... weird....
+Tidus laughed, watching the other two boys. "You just wanna ask her
+because she reminds you of Selphie. They're both hyper and bubbly."
+"And what if that's part of it? At least the catgirl isn't already
+chained at the hip to some other girl on the island." Crossing his
+arms, Irvine frowned.
+Yawning tiredly, Tidus pushed himself to his feet. "Well, you can
+ask her in a bit. I'm gonna go find Yuna and see if she wants to
+dance with me at the festival."
+Wakka nodded, not getting up. "You go ahead and do that. I'm just
+gonna wait and see if Lu winds up asking me."
+Grinning, Tidus waved. "Good luck, you two!" He bolted off across
+the beach before Selphie could regain her composure and get them back
+to work.
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+"So what's the festival like?" Rikku asked curiously as she walked
+side by side with Yuna across the beach. The water lapped right up
+near their feet. They were both walking barefoot, Rikku's paws
+leaving strange marks in the sand. She knew that a lot of the rest of
+the Islands' children were on the other side of that particular
+island preparing for the festival, but Yuna had preferred more peace
+and quiet. That didn't particularly bother the catgirl. She usually
+got along well with people, but she'd rather be with Yuna anyway. She
+knew Yuna better than the rest of them, even if she could tell there
+was a lot that the quiet girl wasn't saying. Still, it had been a
+small victory that Yuna had confided in her earlier. It made her
+feel... special. She was happy to be the one that Yuna would tell her
+worries to. It was nice to be close to -someone-. She was on an
+island chain somewhere far, far away from anywhere she'd ever been,
+seperated from her big sister and the rest of the Radical Dreamers by
+countless worlds. It was taking all she had to be optimistic about
+things. But it seemed easier with Yuna. In a way, it felt like the
+other girl needed her. And that let her push her concerns to the
+side. She hadn't been able to help Kairi much, trapped as a cat for
+most of that time. But now she could finally talk again. Maybe she
+could actually help.
+"Well... It's just something we have every year or so. All of the
+Islanders gather together and celebrate late into the night. There
+are feasts and dancing and singing and...." Yuna smiled, twirling
+lithely on one foot. The wind tugged at her kimono as she did. "It's
+wonderful. Some people tell stories and you get to play all sorts of
+games. Sometimes father would...." For one bittersweet moment, Yuna
+couldn't tell if the memory of her father made her feel warm and
+happy inside or if the emptiness that his absence at this festival
+and every festival she would ever go to in the future created inside
+of her would drag her down into a sea of tears. All she could do was
+try to freeze the thought exactly as it was, pushing it back deep
+inside of herself and continuing. "But this year, the adults are too
+worried about everything. The storms that are approaching, the weird
+holes that have been appearing on some of the islands, the
+disappearance of Kairi, Riku, and Sora, everything. Because of all
+that, they cancelled the festival. Selphie thinks that's a mistake,
+so she's organized our own festival."
+Rikku nodded excitedly. "That sounds like fun! I can't wait till
+tonight, then." The catgirl watched the other girl for a moment,
+trying to pick up on that shadow that covered Yuna when she spoke of
+her father. Whatever it had been, it seemed to be gone now.
+Nevertheless, Rikku wanted to be careful not to let it get any worse.
+She knew that Yuna had lost her father some time ago, but she didn't
+know much beyond that. And Yuna seemed to try to ignore the topic, so
+it was difficult to find out anything else. But even then, Rikku
+wanted to protect the blue- and green-eyed girl. She might be younger
+than Yuna, but that didn't mean she couldn't protect her. After all,
+Yuna had saved her life. And besides, the quiet girl seemed like she
+could use a guardian. And who better than thief extraordinaire,
+Rikku? Grinning inwardly, the catgirl pictured herself in some of her
+older sister's self-serving poses. Yep. She could help. Any trouble
+she saw coming, she'd send it yelping off in pain.
+"Are you okay, Rikku?" Yuna asked at last, watching her friend's
+goofy expression.
+Laughing nervously, Rikku shook her head. "I'm fine. I was just
+thinking. It's been a long time since I've been to a festival. The
+last time I went was with the rest of the Radical Dreamers. My
+friends," she added helpfully. "It was at East Heaven Kindom. It was
+really, really nice. All sorts of food you could ever even dream
+about. One of the princesses there, Mint, kinda reminded me of big
+sis. We were there to steal this Relic, an ancient magical book, and
+she showed up to steal it, too. It seemed she'd been kicked out of
+the kingdom. So she and Yuffie were both bragging about how they'd
+kick the other one's ass until they finally ended up wrestling on the
+floor. It was so funny! Zidane and I were just laughing and Kid was
+all pissed off about it." She grinned at the memory, her cat ears
+twitching subconsciously in the wind. "We all got thrown in the
+dungeon after that, because we were all just standing there while
+Mint and Yuffie were rolling around on the floor, trying to take the
+book from the other."
+Yuna giggled into her hand, watching the catgirl. She certainly was
+interesting. She'd never met anyone like her. Rikku was part of a
+mysterious band of theives/performers who travelled the worlds in
+search of various treasure. Yet she wasn't scary or menacing in the
+least. She was just... silly. And spirited. It was interesting
+hearing her stories as they sat up late at night in her usually empty
+home. Yuna shook her head, her hair fluttering in the breeze. She
+tried to stifle her giggle. "But that's awful that you all ended up
+in the dungeon."
+Shaking her head, Rikku just smiled again. "No, it wasn't that bad.
+We didn't stay in that long. Mint knew the guards, some guys named
+Biggs and Wedge that I swear I've met in half a dozen other places,
+and they let us all out." Laughing again, she placed her hands behind
+her head. "Mint and Yuffie kept bitching at each other until Kid and
+I finally had to drag Yuffie off so we could catch our ship out of
+there. I guess if you travel enough, eventually you'll meet someone
+like you."
+"I don't think so. I think you might find someone who seems a bit
+like you, or who acts similarly. But we're all different somehow. If
+I looked over a thousand different worlds, I'd never meet someone
+quite like you," Yuna explained, watching the catgirl.
+Blushing faintly, Rikku was glad that her fur made it impossible to
+tell. She smiled ecstatically, her embarrassment growing as she heard
+a steady purr resonating within her. She tried to stifle the purr,
+but it refused to die down. She was glad that Yuna would think that
+about her. Even worse, her tail was swishing about happily behind
+her. Before she could get it under control, it thumped against Yuna's
+rear, making the other girl take a quick step forward in surprise.
+Rikku could only stare forward, mortified. Stupid Dragon's Tear and
+it's half-done job. Stupid half-cat body.  Her heart thundered in her
+chest, feeling to Rikku as if it should be just as audible as her
+purr by now. Surprisingly, Yuna simply turned, walking backwards
+slowly so she could look at Rikku. The young summoner was still
+smiling. A wave of relief crashed down over the catgirl's head, cold
+and refreshing. Maybe she hadn't totally screwed that up after all.
+"Thanks, Yunie," she said at last, smiling wide enough to show her
+fangs. "I don't think I'd ever find anyone like you, either."
+"I'd argue, but then I'd be contradicting myself." Yuna giggled.
+"And I can't let you do that," Rikku agreed, purring happily.
+Without warning and with only the barest of thoughts, Rikku took one
+of Yuna's hands in one of her soft paws. It felt like there were a
+thousand different things that she wanted to say at once, but the
+words eluded her. Just a cacophony of emotions and feelings surged
+through her. But being here with Yuna... She had to say -something-.
+Anything would do. She hoped. Squeezing the brunette's hand in her
+own, swirly green eyes gazed into Yuna's blue and green eyes, hoping
+to get across whatever her words failed to through her eyes. "Yunie,
+I won't let anything bad happen to you. Whatever's happened to you
+before now... I won't let it ever happen again. I'll... I'll protect
+you. From everything. I promise." It was and wasn't what she wanted
+to say at the same time. Whatever the case, she knew it was the
+truth. She wanted to protect this fragile flower, wherever the winds
+may carry her. She wanted to be there by Yuna's side, there to help
+her through everything. Yuna needed her, right? And she wanted that
+so badly. To be needed. To help. To be able to make things better.
+She'd always been Yuffie's little sister. She loved her sister
+dearly, but she'd never been able to protect Yuffie, only managing to
+help a bit here and there. Yuffie was too sure of herself to allow
+anyone else to do things for her. But with Yuna... She wanted to make
+sure nothing bad ever had to happen to her again. She wanted to fight
+off Fate itself to make sure she could always have a smile. A real
+smile.
+"I..." Yuna blushed, her eyes locked onto those swirly emeralds,
+almost drowning in them as they pulled her in. "I want that, too..."
+she whispered at last, furiously embarrassed that she'd admit that.
+But she did. Sometimes she could get so tired of being strong for
+everyone. She wanted to be able to collapse sometimes, to have
+someone to catch her when she stumbled. She trusted this catgirl,
+this thief from another world, this bouncy young girl with an
+indomitable spirit. Rikku was sweet and devoted and warm and... For a
+moment, Yuna couldn't tell which way was up. Her world seemed to have
+turned upside down. Her heart was dizzy, lost in conflicting
+thoughts. What she wanted to do and say clashed with what she thought
+she should do and say. Her mind and heart struggled on the
+battlefield of her soul for what felt like a short eternity. And
+finally, it ceased to matter what the outcome was going to be. Soft
+lips pressed against hers, paws holding tightly enough onto her
+shoulders that she could feel the claws digging through the fabric of
+her dress. Whiskers tickled her upper lip, and Rikku's soft, furry
+form pressed against her. Yuna slowly melted into the kiss. For this
+moment, she didn't need to know what to say or what to do. There was
+only this moment. Of soft, neko kisses and the wonderful fragrance of
+the rain encircling them.
+By now, trying to stop her purring would be almost impossible.
+Rikku's chest and throat vibrated with the happy purr that seemed to
+come from the very depths of her soul. She couldn't explain why she
+had kissed the quiet, sometimes sad girl, but she also couldn't
+explain why not. It just seemed right. It was what she'd wanted to
+do. It was what her words had wanted to express but couldn't. It was
+the manifestation of the emotions and feelings that burst through her
+like a fireworks display. And now it seemed perfectly right. Yuna's
+soft lips opened and closed against her own lips as the taller girl's
+hands went to her furry waist, pulling her closer. Thoughts were lost
+to Rikku as she kissed deeper, her scratchy tongue pushing between
+Yuna's lips as her claws nearly dug into the brunette's shoulders.
+So this was a kiss... A beautiful moment in time wrapped up in silk
+and offered up on the wings of angels. It was a precious gift that
+could topple kingdoms and move mountains, a gift that when combined
+with the dewdrops of love could become a force that could move the
+very stars in the sky. And now it was in Yuna's hands. So delicate,
+so fragile, yet so strong and powerful that it left her breathless
+and shaking. So enraptured by Rikku's kiss was Yuna, her mind so far
+away from the world around her, that she didn't see the waves moving
+as something large pushed through the water towards the Destiny
+Islands.

Mercurial > moonlitnights

comparison old/stories/prismhearts-11.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights