Hand-Made Cards
A multi-chapter story by ImInDenial
Summary:- When a wounded, broken man stumbled into the Calm Lands travel agency 10 years ago, Everyone thought it to be a one-off meeting, but 10 years later, the two met again, under diffrent, yet strangley similar circumstances
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Translations at the bottom
Chapter 1 - Lightning Marbles Are Rare, You Know
"Hey, hey!! Lookie at what I found Uncle Rin! Come on, look, look!"
'Uncle Rin' smiled as he took the fist-sized marble from the young girls hands.
"Ah, you've got a genuine lightning marble here, young Rikku, but I just happen to know that these kinds of items aren't just 'found'"
Rikku pouted, "Oh, poops, I just can't keep anything from you can I, Uncle Rin? Pops don't like me nicking stuff from monsters either, but its good fun. So, can I keep it? Huh? Huh? Can I?"
He patted the top of her head, rather hard, and she squeezed her eyes shut and swatted his hand away. "Well, young Rikku, I suppose since you worked for it, if you can call stealing 'work' you can. Now there seems to be someone at our door"
Sure enough, there was a very gentle knocking on the door of the unfinished Calm Lands agency. Rin walked towards the door and opened it wide, a huge grin on his face.
"Welcome to Rin's – Oh my, Rikku, go run and get Keyakku, quick now! Run!"
"Keyakku, Keyakku! Lusa xielg! Ihlma Rin haatc ouin ramb! Drana'c y syh yd dra tuun! E drehg dra veahtc kud res. 'Lyica ra'c rind naym pyt!"
Rikku sat at the foot of the bed, with her legs crossed, and stared. Hard. Lying on the bed in front of her was a man. He was sleeping at that moment, but instead of having the calm look that people have in slumber, his face was instead twisted in pain.
There was a gaping wound, stretching all the way down his chest, it had only just stopped oozing blood. But the worst part was the hideous cut, marring the right side of his face that would without a doubt scar him forever, 'no ordinary fiend could have done this' she thought, and in a way she was in awe, he didn't look like he would take crap from any of the fiends surrounding them in the Calm Lands, maybe this man had come from Mount Gagazet, there were Behemoths there.
If so, that would explain the katana found outside. And, it was this man, that Keyakku and Rin had left her with, while they went to get a healer and the necessary items for the healing process.
She was in awe, but being with someone who could be so dangerous made her scared at the same time. 'But' she reassured herself 'he must be in a lot of pain, he won't even be able to move'
Rikku stared hard at her charge, wondering who this poor man was, and, who did this to him.
Did he deserve it?
Or was he just a victim?
The man groaned, and brought her out of her reverie. Snapping her head up, she watched him, holding her breath so he wouldn't notice her.
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His first thought was pain.
Excruciating pain.
Then, a sensation of all his senses being thrown at him all at once, over powering and bright. He concentrated, and began to distinguish between smell, sound, he could taste the coppery remaints of blood in his mouth, and he could feel the sheets beneath his fingertips.
The first emotion he felt was undying anger and hatred. Hatred at the scantily-clad bitch that served as what may be a messenger of death for all summoners and their guardians. And anger at the scantily-clad bitch that so casually struck him down in his blind rage.
The next emotion was sadness, then regret. Sadness for the loss of his closest friends, regret he was foolish enough to go back to Zanarkand. An emotion only described as fear crossed his mind for a second, fear that he was going to die, never fufilling the last wishes of his friends, to give Yuna a life in Besaid. To find a way to Jecht's Zanarkand, and find his kid, tell him that his dad really did love him. Even if he did have a strange way of showing it.
He groaned, in pain, and in annoyance at the pestering light that would blind him, even if he opend his eyes just a crack. He felt the eyes of another upon him, and he tried to open his right eye, but he couldn't, whether it was from lack of strength, or perhaps he was in a coma. He didn't know. He vaugely remebered it being hard to keep either eye open on the mountain trail, in fact, ever since the Yunalesca episode. He tried his other eye, mentally celebrating when the dimmed light suddenly got brighter. He closed it momentarily, being exposed to light only added to the pain he was already in. He relaxed and tried again, this time, the eye had adjusted to the light enough, and he could make out the room he was in.
The room was sparsley decorated. Unpacked boxes lay open with some of the contents on the floor, there was a pile of sheets next to the bed, it was then he realised that the duvet and pillows had no cases. There was a sand-coloured blanket over the window, filtering the light from outside, and a young girl was sitting on the end of the bed.
He sat up slowly, his body screaming in pain as he adjusted himself so he could look at the girl better. She looked to be about six, and was very tanned, her arms were lined with tiny scars. Straw colored hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the fringe was falling into her pretty green eyes. Her eyes, he noticed, had the trademark spiral of an Al-Bhed.
Being that she was Al-Bhed, he worked out that this must be one of the new travel agencies popping up all over Spira, the closest one to Zanarkand was the one situated in the Calm Lands. How he got there after crawling down Gagazet, he didn't know. How the agency survived the battle with Sin, he didn't know.
"Oui yna yfyga, oac?
Translations:-
Keyakku, Keyakku! Lusa xielg! Ihlma Rin haatc ouin ramb! Drana'c y syh yd dra tuun! E drehg dra veahtc kud res. 'Lyica ra'c rind naym pyt! - Keyakku, Keyakku! Come quick! Uncle Rin needs your help! There's a man at the door! I think the fiends got him. 'Cause he's hurt real bad!
Oui yna yfyga, oac? - You are awake, yes?