Chapter One: Mirror Image
By:Slash Fanatic
Warnings: Drinking, Cross-Over Fic, WIP, AU, citrus, and WILL be yaoi eventually. Male/Male slash!
A/N: This story is Alternate Universeand is a cross-over and is crack-fic! Keep that in mind. The Wings of the Heart STAY because I say so! P Please read this author note and the warnings before you read. Thank you.
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"Today, is a perfect day for fishing," Gibari said to himself, grinning widely. He had just woken up and taken a glimpse of the nice, sunny weather outside his window. The sun, just rising over the horizon, was truly a sight to see; Diadem's trademark pinkish clouds made the sky look like pillows of cotton candy amongst a bright yellow gum drop.
After stretching the stiffness out of himself, Gibari got out of bed. He was practically naked; all he wore when he slept at night were just boxers. His many colorful necklaces and other accessories were laid out on a dresser nearby.
The man of the Sky made his way to his washroom and stood before the sink. His hair was all over the place! The man chuckled at the state of his hair. He'll fix it in a minute. First, he brushed his teeth and then washed his face. Then he fetched his bandana (the one with the loop rings attached to it) and secured it on his head, fitting the rings over his ears so they staid in place. Finally, he fixed his hair by running gelled fingers here and there till the tips of his green highlighted hair looked like they were clumps of wavy seaweed.
Grinning a satisfied smile, Gibari went to the main room to get dressed.
He put on his good ol'fisherman trousers; they were worn and torn, but they got the job done. Next, he picked up the elaborate necklace that he used in conjunction with his yellow cloth that he used as a belt. He first put the brown necklace part over his head till it covered his chest, then tied the ends of the cloth into a tight knot on the V of his shoulder blades, then stretched it over him; going under his arms till the fabric crossed each other at the small of his lower back. Finally, he wrapped it firmly around his waist a couple of times and tied it off into a bow at his belly button.
Turning his head sideways, Gibari looked out his window to see if Reblys had made it out to the docks yet. The two fishermen competed at everything, which included who got to their boat first after sunrise. He didn't see him.
Gibari looked for his sandals, slipped them on, and then exited his home.
Narshira was now the largest port on Earth and Gibari was one of the best fisherman out there. More buildings and docks were constructed to accommodate the increase in population. It was still a peaceful town though, with more people in it trying to make an honest living off of seafaring. Diadem was fortunate to be the closest Whale near the newly returned Ocean.
Gibari walked the path to the harbor, greeting various people with good mornings as he went along. When he reached his boat, he was happy to see that Reblys was nowhere in sight.
"Heh heh. Looks like I win today," the man chuckled to himself. He prepared his boat for departure. When he was ready, he set sail.
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"Phew! This may be my biggest catch of a lifetime. Funny that I didn't have much competition out there though. Guess Reblys went to the old river again." The brunette strapped up his bounty of Seabream. His seller would handle his catch from here, Gibari just caught the fish nowadays and kept some fish for himself if he wanted.
Gibari rubbed his left arm/shoulder, it was bothering him a bit, as he made his way back home. He was just going down the main street of Nashira when he overheard some people talking.
"Did you see that new stranger. Talk about freaky! The resemblance is scary…"
"Tell me about it. I wonder what his story is. It can't be good if he's drinking so much like that…"
The two young ladies kept gossiping to each other as the rounded a corner, not paying attention to anything else but themselves.
"Hmmm…wonder who they're talkin about? Guess I'll check this guy out before I go home," Gibari said, interested in this stranger. He liked meeting new people.
There was only one place to drink in this town, and that was at Anna's Bar. As he made his way there, Gibari got strange looks and whispered gossip himself. Now he was really curious as to what was going on.
He soon entered the bar and took a look around for someone out of place. It didn't take long to find who he was looking for, and the sight startled him.
There was a guy in the corner, drinking by himself, that looked EXACTLY like Gibari. Well, not exactly, but the similarity was uncanny and unnerving.
The stranger was young, he looked like he was in his early twenties. His hair was thick and could be described as gravity-defying; it was orange-red with a biggest cowlick in the center that was surrounded by spikes, resembling a crown in a way. His blue bandana helped to support his radical hairstyle, no doubt. Even his attire resembled Gibari's somewhat, except it appeared to be some sort of uniform.
Gibari walked further inside and began to approach the man, filled internally with questions as to why he looked so much like him and who he was and what brought him here and whatnot.
"Hey guy…" Gibari began to say as he stood beside the man, but he stopped in mid-sentence when he realized that the man looked utterly miserable.
…he's drinking his sorrows away...
The foreigner looked up at Gibari with sad and slightly irritated eyes. "So I you're /I da one everyone keeps yappin about that I look like when they're I not /I tellin me ta get out of town…look…I'm not in da'best of moods right now so if you don't mind, I wanna be by myself," he said, turning his attention back to his mug. He put it to his lips and began to drink again.
"Oh…sorry for-"
"I see the two look-alikes have finally met."
Gibari turned to see Reblys standing at the entrance. "Crap. This isn't gonna be good," he thought, folding his arms as he waited for Reblys to come over and rant about something. He knew the guy all too well.
Sure enough, Reblys came over to the table, followed by some fellow fishermen.
"You don't belong here. You should leave this town at once, before we throw you out. Right boys?" The gray haired man glanced back at his followers; the group conveyed a menacing nature, but the Gibari-look-alike didn't pay them any attention.
"Now, now Reblys. What beef do ya have against this guy, anyway? Not that superstitious nonsense again?" Gibari, like everyone else in Nashira, knew of the fishermen fallacy of strangers being an ill omen for seafaring. Gibari never took any of that stuff seriously though.
"You didn't see what we saw, Gibari. He fell from a hole in the sky into the Celestial River this morning as we were fishing. We thought he had died…it turns out he can breathe underwater like some sort of creature from the sea! He's from a different dimension or even a different world from our own. He should go back from wherever he came from, or we'll do something about you," the man threatened.
The redhead stood up and turned to Reblys, getting directly in his face. Reblys gulped, the stranger was much taller than him.
"Listen, bruddah. I haven't done nothin ta nobody, ya? You 'n' ya lot have been buggin me all day, 'n' I'm getting real sick of it real fast. Lay offa me or I'll be forced ta do somethin about you ." The liquor made his accent even thicker as he spoke.
"You…!" Reblys panicked, turning to his men for support. "C'mon, boys. Let's show this guy the exit."
"Don't go thinkin that I'm just gonna stand here and let ya do whatever you want to this guy, Reblys" Gibari quickly stepped between both parties. "I won't hesitate to bust some heads if I have to, and tough odds make it all the more fun!" he said, stretching out his arm and warming it up (it was something he did to intimidate idiots for the most part, but he still meant business).
Some of Reblys' men backed up, not willing to fight the stranger and Gibari.
"Humph. Fine. I know this guy will be some trouble in the future. Guess you'll have to deal with it and see for yourself, like always, right Gibari?"
Gibari didn't reply.
"C'mon boys. Let's go." The troublemakers left the pub. Shortly after, the piano player started his music once again and everyone else in the bar stopped listening/looking at the commotion and went about their own business.
Anna, the bartender and owner of the establishment, had been watching the men bicker the whole time from behind the counter (in case she needed to break up a fight, but she knew Gibari would handle things).
She approached the two gentlemen.
"Well ain't that the good ol'Reblys we know and love, right Gibari?" Anna placed her hands on her hip as she shook her head. She then looked at the stranger.
"Sorry about that, Wakka. Reblys and the older fishermen crowd are highly superstitious. They don't take kindly to strangers; they think they're bad luck," the woman apologized.
"They're lucky that this guy stepped in front of me," Wakka nodded his head sideways to Gibari, "or things coulda gotten ugly real fast. Thanks bruddah."
"No problem," Gibari smiled.
"N'thanks for the drinks, Anna. I dunno how I'll repay yah. I have no gil, er'ah, I don't have any money on me." Wakka rubbed the back of his neck.
"Don't worry yourself about that. Your drinks are on the house," she replied with a warm smile.
"Okay then. Guess I'll be leavin town, I'm thinkin I've overstayed my welcome."
With that, Wakka started walking and made his way out.
Anna turned to Gibari. "Why don't you help a guy out and offer that man a place to stay? He's got nowhere else to go, and you could get to know him. I've seen a lot of people come through my bar, but something is different about that one."
"But…he looks just like me, it's freaky," Gibari replied without really thinking.
"So? Don't tell me you're scared to talk to him…" Anna replied slyly.
"Scared? A man of the Sky is never scared of anything," Gibari said matter-of-factly. "It's just…weird. I dunno. But you're right. That guy needs a friendly face to help him out with whatever he's going through." Gibari walked to the exit. "See ya later Anna."
"See you," she replied, smiling at the man as he left to find Wakka. It always seemed like whenever a stranger that had an air of mystery about them, and not just any stranger, the ones with destiny and adventure radiating from them like visible beams of light, were the kind that Gibari were drawn to.
The female bartender went to Wakka's previous table and started cleaning up. One of her lackeys came over and started taking away all the empty beer mugs that the tall redhead had consumed. She shook her head at the thought. The man was clearly troubled, but he wouldn't talk about it. Anna knew he had to be a foreigner, but she couldn't think of a Whale he belonged to; many travelers from every known nation, even Wazn, came through her bar, but the man seemed like he came from another world completely. Maybe Reblys was right about that, she thought, but Wakka didn't seem like a bad guy to her at all.
She pulled out a rag from her pocket and started cleaning the table top.
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From the short head start Wakka had on leaving the bar, he had already managed to disappear into the streets of Narshira and out of Gibari's sight.
The auburn haired man stood in place and pondered what direction he should go in, humming to himself as he considered the routes each street lead to. A few screams and the sounds of a brawl in the northwest direction ended up making the decision for him.
He quickly ran as fast as he could, assuming the worst: Wakka was being attacked by Reblys and his friends.
Turning a corner and dodging some people as they came running to avoid the fight, Gibari saw that Wakka was holding his own pretty well, despite the alcohol in his blood. He had taken out quite a few guys already; some were thrown over little shops that lined the cobbled streets of Nashira.
Then he saw how extreme Reblys could get; before he could stop him, the silver haired man pulled out a fisherman paddle magnus and when it materialized into reality, he swung it and brought it down hard on Wakka's shoulder, the blow knocking the man onto his knees, stunning him.
Gibari's magnificent wings of the heart flourished out from his upper back as he sprinted into the fray. His fist made a solid punch to Reblys' jaw, who saw flashes of color and stars as he swayed sideways to the ground and lost consciousness almost instantly, his weapon dropping beside him.
The few guys that were coward enough to not attack Wakka, but brave enough to stick around, finally realized to give up the fight and took off, leaving behind the knocked out fools that were stupid enough to have fought and lost to the fierce redhead earlier.
"Those bastards. They're lucky I didn't get here faster," Gibari said, his wings of the heart disappearing behind him in a mist of bubbles.
"Hey, you okay guy?" Gibari asked with concern, stepping near the redhead.
"…ugh…do'ya need ta ask?" Wakka said, wincing as he tried to stand. He managed to get on one knee on his own.
"Here, lemme help." Gibari offered a friendly hand to the redhead.
Wakka looked up at the older man for a moment and then took his hand. "Thanks…bruddah. You seem ta be the only guy I can trust around here," he said gratefully as he stood up with the aid of Gibari.
"Yeah, sorry about those old dogs. They don't know any better. After what's happened, they're very paranoid about anything and everyone that may seem funny or weird to them."
"Not exactly friendly, are they?" Wakka said with an ironic chuckle, rubbing his shoulder that took damage.
Gibari took a look at Wakka's injury. "Looks like you're injured. How how'bout you come to my place and I fix you up? You can even stay there for as long as you want. You could use a place to stay, am I right?"
A moment passed before Wakka answered. "Yeah…I do need a place at stay…" The way he said it made it seem he couldn't make up his mind at first or wasn't sure if it were the right thing to do.
"If you're worried about Reblys and his buddies tryin to hurt ya again, don't worry about them. If they're smart, they won't attack you any time soon. And if they do, I'll report them to the King," Gibari assured.
"King? Oh Shiva, that confirms it. I ain't in Spira no more," Wakka thought. "I don't feel so good…" the redhead said, nearly falling over. The adrenaline he got from the fight had stopped kicking in.
Gibari quickly caught Wakka by the waist. "I got ya. C'mon, this way."
Wakka held onto Gibari as he was lead along. It didn't take much time to reach their destination.
Gibari kicked his door open and ushered Wakka in his humble abode. He took him to his bed, where Wakka slumped down and took a seat on the edge.
"Hmm…let me check if I have any medicine or magnus for that wound of yours," Gibari said, heading to the washroom. He started rummaging through a cabinet.
"S'okay. I have a Potion with me."
"Potion?" Gibari asked, soaking a washrag under the faucet as he peered through the door to look at Wakka.
"Yeah…" Wakka stuck his hand in his front pocket and fished out a small vial. The contents within glowed a magical green color. "Could ya do me a favor 'n' rub this on my back, please?"
"Sure thing," Gibari nodded, walking up to the redhead and taking the vial from him. He sat beside him on the edge of the bed.
Wakka turned his upper-body sideways so Gibari could reach his wound better. It was bleeding, but not profusely. Though, it had worked its way to Wakka's clothes, staining it into an orange-red color.
"Why don't we take off your vest, it's blood-stained back here."
It took a moment for Wakka's brain to register Gibari's request and another moment for him to begin unbuttoning the two straps on the front of his vest. The older man grabbed the article of clothing as it fell down Wakka's mocha skin and he set it aside.
First, Gibari took the washrag and cleaned up the cut as best as he could, trying not be rough. Wakka hissed at the pain he felt, but it wasn't something he couldn't endure. When Gibari was done, he put the washcloth on his lap before thumbing off the cap of the potion. He poured its contents into his palm and felt the magic of the Potion tingle his skin. He put the empty vial away on his dresser and then proceeded to rub his palms together to spread the potion evenly.
Wakka shivered as Gibari began to massage the restorative over his injury. The magic stung fiercely at first as the wound began to heal, but eventually subsided into a pleasant sensation. In fact, the massage ended up feeling so good that it was making Wakka drowsy.
"Mmmm…I'm gettin real sleepy…" Wakka murmured, his eyes struggling to stay open.
Gibari chuckled lightly, "Well, you're welcome to use my bed and anythin else. Make yourself at home." He patted the man on his newly recovered shoulder before standing up.
"I got some business to take care of. You go ahead and rest, okay?"
"Don't mind if I do," Wakka replied, moving to face Gibari. "Mind if I sleep in the buff?" The redhead didn't seem abashed from his request and Gibari didn't seem fazed by it either.
"Go right ahead," Gibari replied with a grin. "I sleep like that too."
"It's the only way ta sleep, ya?" Wakka chuckled, slipping off his green sandals and then slipping them under the bed.
Gibari just chuckled and shook his head. He then remembered about Wakka's vest. He fetched it from the side of the bed and then went back into the washroom. He retrieved a blank magnus from his pocket that he always carried with him. When he found it, he took the magna essence of Wakka's blood from his vest and then proceeded to empty the magnus into the sink and wash the blood down the drain.
As he went back to the main room with the restored vest in hand, he saw Wakka drop his pants to the floor. He watched him step out of them, followed by his boxer-briefs. Wakka left his clothes there on the floor as he climbed into Gibari's bed, covering himself with a thin sheet. The redhead was too out of it to have noticed or cared that Gibari had watched him the whole time.
After seeing that Wakka was settled in, the older man started to head out of his home, intending to sell his catch of the day. The man of the sky couldn't help but chuckle and smile at the thought that today's catch wasn't the Seabream after all.
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To be continued.
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If you read, please leave a review! Thanks. :D