A/N: Welcome to my story! waves I got the idea from my ponderings about how I think Rikku might be better for Tidus, rather than Yuna. I then read a story called "Al Bhed Blue" (which was very good, by the way, even if it's unfinished) that posed the question of what would have happened if Sin hadn't come in the beginning when Tidus was with Rikku on the salvage ship. I decided to use that idea for Eyes like Yours, too.
So, I hope you like this story and I would appreciate feedback, as this is my first FF story. Oh! And by the way, the Al Bhed translations will be right below the actual Al Bhed, in italics. Yeah
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X. I do, however, own the video game, the soundtrack and the official guide. )
Eyes like Yours
1. Dive into the Heart
I had the distinct feeling that I'd fallen from the frying pan into the fire. I'd awoken at one of the most desolate, dank and dark crumbling temples I'd ever seen. I had then considered that thought and realized I'd never really seen a temple before, but I digress. After encountering a fiend about twice the size of me and somehow managing to escape, I took refuge inside the broken temple. It looked like it may have been a majestic place once upon a time, but now it looked like something out of a horror film.
It was also very cold. I'd fallen asleep next to a wimpy little fire that I'd managed to create, and woke up to yet another fiend, although it wasn't quite as hellish as the previous one. That was when I started sliding into the fire, figuratively of course. A person had come in to help me, appearing almost out of nowhere. Although oddly dressed, her feminine shape was still obvious through her wetsuit, and I imagined she was about my age, though I couldn't see her eyes, or much of her face for that matter, with her goggles on.
We'd defeated the fiend, and then she and her companions, who also seemed to appear out of nowhere, turned on me.
And now, here I am on this cold deck of a ship in the middle of an unknown ocean, my vision blurry and my head throbbing. The girl stood above me, arguing with some men.
"Ra ec hu veaht! Muug yd res! Ra'c zicd...y meddma tevvanahd," she was gesturing towards me, and I felt sick to my stomach. What was going on? It would be rather nice if I could understand what they were saying.
He is no fiend! Look at him! He's just a little…different.
"Syh un veaht: drao yna dra cysa eh taydr," a man with a blonde mohawk responded, crossing his arms and sneering at me. When he saw that I was awake, he lifted me roughly off the ground and held his gun to my back. I immediately stiffened, but my patience was at a breaking point.
Man or fiend: they are the same in death.
"Hey!" I yelled. "What the-"
"Cdub!" the girl shouted. "Mad res fung vun ic. Ra syo ryja cusa etay uv ruf du yldejyda dra niehc. E drehg dryd'c y meddma suna esbundyhd nekrd huf."
Stop! Let him work for us. He may have some idea of how to activate the ruins. I think that's a little more important right now.
Mohawk guy scratched his head but seemed to agree. "Lyh ra cbayg yd ymm?" he asked her. She shrugged and turned to me. She leaned close, and I noticed that she'd removed her goggles, showing her eyes. I had to admit, they were pretty awesome. They were a vibrant green with dark spirals in them.
Does he speak at all?
"Tu oui cbayg Ym Prat?" she asked softly. I shrugged, laughing nervously at the situation.
Do you speak Al Bhed?
"I don't know what you're saying." She helped me up and tried again.
"Are you okay?" I started, not expecting the smooth voice to be understandable.
"You understand me?" I gasped, a grin spreading across my face as my headache started slowly ebbing away. "Awesome!"
"He says that if you help us activate these old ruins that we discovered beneath the boat, then you can stay. They haven't been touched for a long time, but soon…" she trailed off, smiling. "We should be able to salvage the big prize! What do you say?" she asked cheerfully.
"Uh, sure!" I replied, not having much of a choice either way. Get shot, or get wet. Considering I practically lived in water anyway, what with blitzball, the choice was easy. "When do we leave?"
"Hang on, just let me talk with Brother for a sec…" she headed over to mohawk guy, or apparently, 'Brother', leaving me by myself. I wandered about the deck aimlessly, trying to blend in to keep the gun faced away from me. I leaned against the railing, gazing out at the dark sea spread out before me. Before I had a chance to even think, the girl approached me again.
"Let's work!" she said, throwing a fist in the air. I couldn't help smiling at her silly grin. My bad mood was starting to go away, and I realized that this girl was actually not half bad. In fact, she was rather friendly. I decided to not mess things up, as these people were the only ones I knew in this strange new place.
"Roger!" And with that, we jumped over the side of the boat and into the water.
One hour and one angry octopus fiend later and the girl and I were swimming back to the salvage ship. The submerged ruins had been activated, and high beams of light lit of the dark water of the ocean. Despite my blitz training, I was starting to notice the need for air, and I was grateful we were returning. We'd activated several different devices on what I realized was an airship, and I could practically sense the girl's excitement from up ahead of me where she swam.
Finally, we reached the boat, and as I climbed on deck, I shook the water off me. The others were chattering animatedly, broad smiles everywhere as they headed through a door deeper into the ship. I went to follow, and mohawk guy immediately turned around and shoved me back.
"Oui, cdyo uidceta!" he shouted, and the door closed before I had a chance to escape inside. I groaned. I'd worked, hadn't I?
You, stay outside!
I went over to the railing I'd leaned against earlier before sliding to the floor. I rested my chin on my hands and leaned against the wall behind me, sighing. I realized with a start that I was very hungry. Apparently, in their eyes I was a fiend that didn't need to eat.
I must have dozed off because I awoke with a start to a quick tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see the girl smiling down at me and a tray in food in her hands.
"I figured you must be hungry," she explained, handing it down to me.
"Thanks," I said gratefully before digging in. She waited patiently for me to finish, wandering around the deck and fiddling with various machines.
I finally finished, but with my final bite started coughing a little when it went down the wrong tube. I laughed sheepishly as she giggled.
"You eat too fast!" she chided. There was a brief silence.
"So uh, what's your name?" I finally asked, feeling silly for constantly referring to her as 'the girl' in my thoughts.
"Rikku," she replied. My first thought was that it was a cute name. "Yours?"
"Tidus. So, where are we exactly?"
"We're a little ways north of where we found you at Baaj Temple," she replied. "We're now heading Home, which is on an island much further north. It'll take a few days."
"What are you guys?" I asked, and then realized that that probably sounded fairly rude. "I mean-"
Rikku laughed. I loved her smile. "Did you get hit with Sin's toxin or something?" I immediately went silent, not really understanding what she meant. She paused, noticing my serious look. "Wait, did you really?"
"I don't know, all I know is that Zanarkand, umm, the city where I live was attacked by this Sin thing and then I just ended up at that temple and you know the rest from there," I confided with frustration. Rikku, for her part, was very silent.
"Is…something wrong?" I asked hesitantly. She shook her head.
"You must have been hit by the toxin," she concluded. "After all, Zanarkand has been in ruins for a thousand years."
I burst out laughing. "Of course it hasn't. I was just playing blitzball for the Zanarkand Abes last night!" This had to be a joke, but Rikku looked at me solemnly.
"Sin destroyed Zanarkand one thousand years ago," she stated.
"But, I saw it being attacked! Last night! Do I look a thousand years old to you?" Tidus asked, a little shaken. She shook her head.
"It's just the toxin. You'll be back to normal in no time, I'm sure. But you might not want to mention you're from Zanarkand to anyone else. We're Al Bhed, so we don't mind, but the teachings of Yevon say that it's some kind of a holy place. You might offend someone."
Zanarkand? A holy place? Confused though I was, the thought of that was still highly amusing. But the matter at hand was still pressing at the forefront of my mind. I knew that I had lived in Zanarkand. I had been the Abes' star player! That wasn't just some dream. And who were the Al Bhed?
"Who are the Al Bhed?" I asked, deciding to let the previous topic drop for now.
"We are. See our eyes?" I nodded, once again remembering her crazy cool eyes. "Well, that's one of the characteristics that make us Al Bhed. Also, we don't follow the teachings of Yevon. We live on an island called Bikanel Island…" She held up a startled hand, her eyes widening. "But don't repeat that to anyone! It's hidden, and for a good reason!"
After that, things got a little quiet as I contemplated her words. I suddenly felt exhausted after the long day. We leaned against the railing, and she removed her mask thing. She turned out to have long blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail with two braids falling from the bottom down her back, feathers attached to the ends. Once again, pretty cool.
"Well, I'm bushed; I'm going to go get some sleep." I looked down, wishing I could climb into a soft bed, but knowing I would probably be stuck out here if mohawk Brother guy wanted it so.
She must have seen my disappointed look, and she touched my shoulder. "Oh, it's okay; you have a room, too." I looked up, surprised, but with relief flooding through me. "I talked with Brother and he agreed that you could have a room here for a while and when we get to Home, then we can figure out what to do." She paused for a moment. "Do you remember where you live, or anything like that?"
I wanted to shout that I was from Zanarkand, but couldn't, so I shook my head. "Well, no problem! I'll just talk with Cid when we get there."
"How's the airship going to be? How did it end up all the way down there?" I asked, thinking fast. Maybe, if they were able to restore it, we could use it to fly to Zanarkand…
Rikku turned and looked at me, obviously shocked. I looked around, feeling put under the spotlight as she gazed at me calculatingly. "How did you know that was an airship?" She walked up, looking into my eyes. "You're obviously not Al Bhed."
"Because…why wouldn't I? I've been on them before, though not many times. I'm not a huge fan of flying…" I babbled. She was looking at me strangely again. "What?"
"Nobody else in Spira, other than the Al Bhed, knows of the airship. The rest of the airships from the past have been destroyed either by Sin or by time. We were lucky to find this one from a whispered rumor…"
I shrugged. What was there to really say? It was kinda difficult to prove that I knew what an airship was at this point in time. "Let's go to bed."
She stood for a moment longer, and then turned and led the way, her mind obviously distracted by my apparently surprising knowledge. I wish she would believe me about Zanarkand. Maybe, in time, she will.
As we walked through the dimly lit hallways of the ship, Rikku pointed out various important places. We'd passed by the kitchen a little ways back and were now heading past the bedrooms. "Your room will be on the other side of mine. We have a connected bathroom. If you wake up early, you may want to be careful about where you go…" She looked at me. "The others aren't very pleased that you're still here, or about the fact that you'll be coming to Home. They'll learn to like you though!" she murmured optimistically. I smiled. It wouldn't really matter to me. Rikku was good enough company. Although, it would be nice to walk through Home without being stoned or shot when I wasn't in Rikku's presence.
"Here it is," she whispered, careful not to wake any of the others. The door was painted blue, like most of the rest of the place. "Oh! Let me go get you some clothes!" She rushed off, and I stepped in. It was comfortable enough, with a bed, a small closet and a desk. I was just grateful to have a bed. Rikku came back with an Al Bhed outfit and a loose shirt and shorts in hand to sleep in. "This is Brother's, but it should fit. Everything you need is in here and in the bathroom over there…" She pointed to a door on the far side of the room. "Night!"
"Goodnight. Thanks Rikku." She nodded and off she went, rounding the corner at the end of the hallway. I closed the door and literally collapsed into the bed. I managed to stand up, if only for a minute, in order to change into the comfortable and dry bedclothes, and once again, collapsed. I heard the faucet running for a moment in the bathroom before I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I didn't even know it was morning. I couldn't find an alarm clock and it's not like there were any windows. My watch was on the other side of the room in the pocket of my blitz uniform, and I didn't feel like getting up and grabbing it. I finally decided that I didn't care if it was morning or not, because I was tired and the bed was very comfortable and I had never been a morning person. Besides, it's not like Rikku or the others would need me for whatever they were doing today. I was just an extra in the picture, really.
I flipped over onto my stomach, and just as I was falling asleep again, inhaling the clean scent of the pillow, there was a loud knock on the door and Rikku burst in, all smiles. "Morning!"
"Uh…morning. Was…up?" I asked, yawning, trying not to act irritated at the interruption.
"Brother wants to talk to you, so get dressed and take a shower as fast as you can! I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes." And she was gone. I vaguely wondered just how this Brother guy and I would talk when we spoke completely different languages, but in my fatigue, I didn't much care. I climbed into the shower, and that managed to wake me up a little.
After I'd changed, I glanced in the mirror and noticed just how different I really looked. The clothes looked very Al Bhed, or so I assumed, as I looked quite a bit like the other men I had seen on the ship. I wore a sleeveless black t-shirt with a silver buckle on the bottom right side. Over this I wore a blue vest with various pockets and buckles. I had on long black gloves and a silver buckle on my black belt. I was also wearing light tan pants that were tucked into black and blue boots. Not bad. I didn't have goggles, though.
Finally, I sighed and ran a hand through my damp hair. It clung to the sides of my face now, slightly annoying me, but I knew it would return to its normal spiky style in a little while, anyway. It didn't matter what I did, my hair would forever remain spiky.
Just as I was opening my door, Rikku showed up. She immediately grabbed my arm and started leading me. "He's so excited, Tidus! I told him that you knew about the airship, and he wants to find out everything he can!"
I laughed, letting her guide me down the many long hallways. "Well, I don't know how to run one very well, but I can probably explain how it works and things like that."
"That's great!"
We finally reached our destination, which turned out to be the deck, once again. I couldn't help grinning in relief at the sun high in the sky. It had been so dark the day before, and for some reason I had assumed it would be like this until we reached Home. After all, if Rikku lived there, it couldn't be too dark. It just didn't fit in with her personality.
I could tell that Brother was enthused about the airship and that I knew how to use one, but I could tell he still wasn't particularly fond of me. He was gazing appraisingly at the clothes I was wearing, but didn't say anything. He was somewhat stiff, and I wondered if he still thought of me as a fiend. What caused these people to be so wary of outsiders?
"Rikku, femm oui dnyhcmyda vun ic?" I heard him ask. Rikku nodded. She turned to me.
Rikku, will you translate for us?
"I will be your translator for today, but soon you're going to have to learn the language," she pointed out, teasing. I nodded, figuring that was probably a good idea. I got the feeling that Brother wouldn't be too keen on learning how to speak like me.
"Frana ryc ra paah uh yh yencreb pavuna?"
"Where have you been on an airship before?" Rikku translated for me. "Oh! Umm, here, let me explain for you." I figured she was going to cover up for me by saying that my memory was a little muddled from Sin's toxin, but I didn't mind. "Ra cyoc dryd ra icat du neta dras pylg eh Zanarkand. Oac, E ghuf, dryd'c esbuccepma, pid ra nyh ehdu Sin y meddma frema yku. Cu, E lyh'd naymmo pa cina frana ra'c ahluihdanat yh yencreb, pid uhla rec sasuno lmaync fa lyh ycg ykyeh." Yep, that was definitely the 'Sin's toxin' explanation right there.
He says that he used to ride them back in Zanarkand. Yes, I know, that's impossible, but he ran into Sin a little while ago. So, I can't really be sure where he's encountered an airship, but once his memory clears we can ask again.
Brother nodded, but was obviously a little miffed at whatever Rikku said. "Tuac ra ghuf ruf du ubanyda uha? Tuac ra ghuf dra pycelc?"
"Do you know how to operate one? Do you know the basics?" Rikku asked me.
"Well, like I said, I do know the basics. I could turn one on, I might be able to steer a little and things like that, but how the airship is put together and the anatomy of it I don't know." Rikku translated what I said to her brother.
"Drah fa'na kuehk du haat rec ramb." Brother stated, and Rikku smiled in response.
"Apparently, we'll need your help." She turned to Brother. "Yvdan fa'ja veqat yht lmayhat ib dra yencreb, ra luimt ramb ic ubanyda ed yd Rusa. Cid fuh'd pa lnywo ypuid res paehk drana pid...E drehg ra'mm kad icat du dra etay. Fryd tu oui cyo?"
After we've fixed and cleaned up the airship, he could help us operate it at Home. Cid won't be crazy about him being there but...I think he'll get used to the idea. What do you say?
Brother nodded and left, obviously satisfied with the conversation. "So, do you have any other machina on you or anything that you can show us? Spira's a little short on advanced technology."
I thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Uh, yeah! I've got a watch that I got a long time ago, but I don't think it's very advanced. Just a normal watch." Rikku gave me a questioning look. "You…know what a watch is right?" She looked a little embarrassed, but shook her head no. I laughed out loud, clutching my sides for support.
"Hey!" she protested. "It's not like I can help it! Don't be a jerk!" She giggled a little, despite her 'anger.'
That just made me laugh harder, but I finally agreed to take her down to my room to show it to her.
"I'd taken it off at the temple and put it in my pocket so the water wouldn't hurt it. As far as I know, it's fine; it might have just gotten a little damp. I took it off last night and forgot to put it back on," I explained on the way.
When I pulled the watch out of the my yellow jacket, she cocked her head and took it in her hands. I tried to ignore the cute expression of curiosity on her face. I pressed a button, and it turned on. Her eyes lit up.
"It's got the time, contacts of friends and family, and a few other things, too," I commented.
"I'll have to show this to Brother! I've never seen anything like it…"
"I can't believe they don't have watches in Spira…What do you guys use to tell time?"
"Well, we have normal clocks, but not watches."
"So, want to give me a formal tour of this place?" I suggested, and Rikku smiled, agreeing immediately. We needed something to pass the time, after all.
After exploring the large salvage ship, I found that I was very fond of Rikku. She was the only one who bothered to treat me like a human, even though she must have thought me somewhat odd because of my Zanarkand talk. She had an infectious personality and a contagious smile, and I couldn't tear my gaze from her eyes whenever I looked into them. She was so easy to talk to and though she was upbeat and cheery, she had a sense of maturity and clarity about her that I found alluring.
"So Rikku, is Brother really your brother?"
She giggled. We were sitting at the edge of the ship, our legs in between rails. "Yeah, he is. His real name is Aniki, but when I was little, I couldn't pronounce his name right, so I would just call him Brother. Now, it's caught on to almost everybody."
"Who else is in your family?"
Rikku's eyes darkened a bit, and she gazed down, ignoring the sunset. "Well, there's Brother, and dad is back at home. My mom, well, she died when I was little. Accident with the machina."
I felt guilty for bringing up the topic. "I'm sorry," I said genuinely. She looked over at me, that tiny smile on her face.
"Thanks, but you don't need to be. It was a long time ago, and I've long since moved on." I admired her strength.
I all of a sudden remembered how Rikku had hastily made sure to make me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone about Home's location. "Why can't I tell anybody about Bikanel Island, or your Home?"
She paused a moment, trying to find the right words. "Yevon is basically the government of Spira. If you don't believe in Yevon, you're a heathen, and an outcast. Yevon says that Sin comes because we are too indulgent, and that 1000 years ago, when Sin first came, it was because we used too many machina. Because we don't believe in Yevon, we are basically outcasts. Our first Home was destroyed by angry Yevonites, a long time ago. I'd never lived there, so it didn't upset me much. However, the Al Bhed were scattered across Spira, until Cid brought them all together. Now, we all stay at Bikanel, at the one Home, our Home, hidden from the rest of the world."
I tried to take it all in quickly. I felt frustrated. Who could hate these people so much? No wonder Brother and the others were so aloof to me. They had every right to be! They probably thought I was just another Yevonite and Al Bhed hater because of my blue eyes, and that once I 'regained my memory' I would return to hating them. Well, that wasn't possible. At the moment, I hated the rest of the brainwashed people of Spira.
"It's weird…" I said after a long while, and she glanced at me. "Back in Zanarkand, we didn't have a religion." I laughed. "Our religion was blitzball."
"I think some of the Al Bhed feel the same way," she agreed.
"Where's the main stadium in Spira? I mean, it seems like Sin is attracted to large cities with lots of people, and I would imagine that wherever the stadium was would have both of those things."
Rikku nodded. "You're right. The stadium is in a city called Luca, and though lots of people live there and even more come for the blitz tournaments, it's heavily guarded by the Crusaders. They're the ones who defend Spira from Sin, as best they can. As far as I know, Luca has never been attacked.
"We'll be home in a few days," Rikku said, looking up at the sunset. She turned around and poked me, smirking. "I think you'll like it there."
"I know I'll like it."
Rikku looked at me inquisitively, that mischievous smile on her face, as always. "How?"
'Because you're there," my mind thought, but I opted for a bit safer of a response. "I've never felt so…content in my entire life. Because, yeah, I'm confused have the time here, but I'm learning, and I'm comfortable." Rikku smiled, obviously wanting to say something. "What?"
"You've only been here two days!" she teased.
"Still…" I murmured.
After a long pause, I decided to fill the silence with something I had been wondering about for a while. "Is Sin…really that bad?"
"Well, you say you saw it destroy your city. You tell me."
I considered her. "Yeah…I guess I just can't believe that it actually reduced the world to not even knowing what a watch is. I mean, in Zanarkand, there's technology for everything. There's technology for entertainment, security, factory working, chores…"
"You'll probably feel at home in Home, then." Rikku smiled thoughtfully at her odd sentence. "We're easily the most technologically advanced place in the world. We've got sliding doors, robots, weapons…machine for everything. I'm surprised Sin hasn't killed us a thousand times over."
I found myself regretting that the sun was already going down. I really enjoyed spending time with Rikku. I yawned and stood up. 'I think I'm going to bed. In Zanarkand, it's…" I checked my watch, "1 AM."
"You really are from Zanarkand, aren't you?" she asked, almost dreamily. I paused mid-step. Was she actually going to believe me? I nodded.
"I know nothing about this place," I admitted. "But I remember my whole life back there. I was born and raised in Zanarkand by my mom and dad. My old man was a star blitz player; everybody loved him, except me. He was such an arrogant jerk…" I trailed off, lost in thought. Rikku considered me, wondering what had caused the anger, but she didn't get a chance to ask before I continued. "He thought he was pretty hot stuff. He died when I was eight: fishing accident, out in the ocean. My mom died shortly after. My next door neighbor, an old, kind lady, basically took care of me. I threw myself into blitzball, and eventually became the star player for the Abes, following my old man's footsteps. I used to wonder if one of the only reasons I became star was because I was my father's son. But, I loved the sport, and I wouldn't give it up just because of him." I sat down again next to Rikku and grabbed each of her shoulders. "Surely you don't think I could have made all that up."
In her green swirls, I saw doubt, but I was also relieved to find a bit of understanding, as well as belief. She rested her hand on my one. "I believe you." When she saw the grateful look on my face, she also saw the underlying fatigue. "Now let's go to bed."
A/N: Well, I hope you liked it. The chapter lengths may vary, so bear with me, and since it's the end of the year, updates might be a little rare, like once a month? But I'll try to make them long and worthwhile and it'll get better in June. Please R/R!
A/N 2 (Updated June 8, 2006): Well, I corrected some mistakes that I thought had been weeded out. Hope this is better suited to your reading pleasure! Toodles!
+Anael Marie