I don't own the characters or the world. I just made use of them. They are ALL belonging to SE.
He did not have a single clue as to why he was here instead of at Djose Temple. Gippal had always been able to come up with a quick fix for a malfunction in one of his machina limbs. Now the brat was too busy to do an old friend a favor. Now he was in Luca, taking time from his too busy schedule, to visit the workshop of someone Gippal had recommended to fix his arm. He should just go to Djose and make Gippal fix it.
Nooj had never liked Luca much. It was full of people that lived only for the moment. The Eternal Calm had transformed it into a city of pleasure and leisure. Anything could be found there, if one knew where to look. Numbers of illegal establishments were hidden away from the gleaming façade of Luca. Brothels were a favorite place of escape from the world. Your wildest dreams could be realized in one of those houses. Most had nothing more than women working to get gil enough to buy their vice of choice. Some had 'specialists', that could and did provide otherwise unethical means of pleasure. Masochists are not so rare in the world that these women are poor. Most are beyond rich. Men are willing to part with outrageous amounts of gil for confidentiality in such matters. Who wants their enemies to know that pain is pleasure to them? The imagination is the limit for ways to torture a person like that.
This place held no fascination for him. Why in the world a reputable machina specialist would set up shop there was beyond his understanding. Then again, this is where the money is; where the people who are willing to be parted from it are. There is no better place to set up a shop that caters to the people's desire for the new and advanced machina that would make life superior to what it had been.
Nooj was looking at the building that housed the person Gippal had cajoled into helping him and seriously thought about turning around right then and there. The place was bustling with activity; people were going in with their gil and coming out with empty pockets and empty hands. There was a fee to be paid up front for any kind of work to get done, it seemed. How in Spira was he to get this damn arm fixed in a timely manner? There was probably a month long waiting list.
Gippal is going to pay for this. Next time he needs help with guarding any excavation sites, he can forget about aid from the Youth League. Many curses were being uttered under Nooj's breath as he made his way inside the building.
A woman sat behind the desk inside the building, writing meticulously in a large notebook. She looked up at his approach. Before he could say a word, she touched a machina that was attached to her head and spoke into it with perfect Al Bhed. Nooj had never bothered to learn the language. That was something he should change soon, now that they were dealing with more and more Al Bhed these days. It would be one more thing to take up his time and energy.
A movement on the wall caught his attention. It was a door, perfectly camouflaged to look like the blue-gray walls. There had not been even a crack where the outline of the door should have been.
A man walked out and greeted him cordially, asking him to "Please follow me." The doorway was connected to a short hallway that held numerous side doors and another door at the opposite end. This was the door he was conducted through.
He was ushered into what looked like enormous caverns, only they were made of steel and metal, not rock. Machinery and tools lined the walls; shelving units were dispersed in intervals between them. Parts and schematics were everywhere. Nothing was dangerously placed, but the sheer quantity of machina and such was overwhelming. Giant cranes and pulley-systems were in place as well, taking up the ceiling space. The smell of grease and oil permeated the air, along with the tangy odor of metal. Nooj thought that he had a piece of metal in his mouth, the odor was so strong.
He was thankful that there was a clear walkway against the far wall. Being hit with a crane hook was not something Nooj wanted to experience. It would be more pleasant than losing his limbs again, or having his back sliced open like he was a fish being de-boned, but not what he was in the mood for at the moment. After walking for what seemed to be hours, he was shown to a door and told to go inside.
So inside he went. This new room was large, but not nearly as large as the previous one. It too held parts and papers and had a crane and a pulley-system. A figure was sitting on a stool, concentrating on some intricate piece of machinery. She did not even look up when he entered.
"Am I disturbing you?" he asked, slightly angered by this woman's lack of manners. How can you schedule a meeting and not acknowledge the person you are supposed to meet with?
"Huh?"
The woman looked up at the sound of his voice, obviously startled. So startled that the soldering iron in her hands slipped and burned her thigh. After many Al Bhed curses, she turned around to glare at him.
"You could've knocked or something, you know."
"Usually when someone enters the room, you stop what you are doing to see if they are worth wasting your time on."
She stared at him, and then burst out laughing in full Rikku form. Nooj had not meant the comment to be funny.
"How true is that? Worth wasting my time on…that is so true. Never would have thought you to be a well of wisdom, Nooj."
"Hmm… I never thought you would be serious enough to do anything worthwhile, Rikku."
"That is NOT what you say to someone doing you a favor."
"No, you're doing Gippal a favor, not me."
"Fine. Be a grouch." Rikku reached under the counter she was working from and pulled out another stool. "Sit."
"I am not a dog."
"Sit, please."
Nooj sat down, figuring that it would be easier and less time consuming than arguing with her. Much to his surprise, Rikku was examining the arm before he even got his sleeve rolled up all the way. Those bright eyes were intent on the problem before her.
"You said it won't move right at the elbow or the last two fingers?" She was talking to herself, not to him. Deftly removing the outer covering of his machina arm, she began poking and prodding with various tools and her bare hands. Frowning slightly, Rikku removed a few more pieces and probed a little more. "Move your forearm up." Nooj did so, gratified to see that it was malfunctioning at its worst instead of pretending to be fine. It jerked slightly and a slight squealing sound came from the joint. "Make a fist." Nooj followed directions, making the fist, but without the last two digits fully cooperating. More prodding came about, and then she got up to rummage in a small drawer. The shelves of her workshop held drawers of varying sizes, all labeled with words and pictures.
"I can fix it, Mr. Youth League, but it'll only last for so long. The parts are worn out. Not to mention out dated."
"Are you calling me old?"
"No, I said they were out dated. Geez, take offense to everything, why don't you." Rikku was still searching for something, apparently to fix his arm. "You should probably get a whole new set."
"How long will this last just fixing it? I haven't the time to spare for getting new ones at the moment. Perhaps when I'm old and gray I'll have the time."
"I thought you were a Deathseeker. They don't think about getting old and gray." She gave him a peculiar look before going back to her search.
"Leblanc made me promise not to talk like one. Seemed to bother her somewhat."
"Well, yeah. It would bother me if my boyfriend talked about dying all the time. Not that I have one, but that's beside the point." She made a face at drawer she was looking in and went to another. "I know I have some…anyway, it'll last a few weeks. If you're gentle with it. No guarantees though. I can make you a new arm before that gives out again. But it'll cost you. Big time."
"What do you mean, 'big time'?"
"I'll have to put it together before that one malfunctions again. There are only so many times you can fix a part before the surrounding parts start to wear out too."
"So it will cost me because you need to do it quickly?"
"Not just that, Mr. Grump." Rikku was now starting to get angry at the lack of success she was having in her hunt. A foot stool was now being deployed in an effort to find whatever part she was searching for. Before Nooj could respond to the 'Mr. Grump' comment, she continued talking. "It'll be labor intensive and cost a hefty amount of gil just to make. You do want it to last, don't you?"
"Of course I do. Getting these fixed is the bane of my existence. One of them, at least."
"Are you including Leblanc in that, or having to deal with me?"
"Both. What is it that you are looking for? I do not have time to waste sitting here."
"Leave if you want, but you'll take all those parts with you and pay me for taking up my time. I do have plenty of orders to take care of." She nodded her head to a stack of papers that was threatening to topple over on a desk in a corner.
"You are as annoying as Gippal, did you know that?"
"Hey! Don't you go comparing me to Gippal! I'm not a one eyed man whore who thinks he's the gods' gift to women."
"I'm sure he'll be glad to know what you think of him."
"Go ahead and tell him. I've told him that to his face. I've also called him-WOO HOO!" Nooj winced at the jubilant victory cry. "Hiding from me, you little pycdynt!"
"Must you be so loud?"
"Just to annoy you, Mr. Grump. You're a worse grump than Auron was."
Rikku returned to the counter and began making the repairs. She remained silent, apparently concentrating as she had been when he had walked in the room. Nooj took the opportunity to asses the young woman in front of him.
She really was beautiful. With a body most other women would die for. No longer bikini-clad, the shorts were still short and the shirt consisted of more material than the shorts did. At least there was a semblance of modesty in her attire. A very small semblance. The idea of spending time between the sheets with her was tempting, but her hyper personality grated on his nerves too much for that to ever happen. Or did he just deny what his body was telling him? Here was a lovely young woman, giving him her full attention, and he was thinking about how he would not bed her because of her personality. How fickle the male mind can be to make him desire yet despise her.
He was tracing the outline of her breasts with his eyes when something made him look closer at her arm. It had tiny scars all over it. The other arm was similarly decorated. They were present along her shoulders and neck as well. They were almost invisible to the naked eye and had been made recently.
"Where did you get those scars?"
"Huh?" Rikku blinked at him in confusion. "What scars?"
"These." Nooj touched her upper arm lightly, and felt the muscles twitch at his touch.
"I get them here."
She was a very good liar. Even looked him in the eyes when she spoke. No trembling or nervous sweating. What gave her away was that she was not being 'Rikku'. Rikku is not calm and cool under any circumstances. There were no vehement denials or waving of arms. Anyone else with that face could have fooled anyone but him.
"I see. You ought to be more careful."
"Uh huh. That coming from you sounds very weird." Rikku replaced the outer casings and stood up. "That'll do it for now. Do you want the new one or not?"
"Can you get it done in a timely manner?" I think I hit a sore spot with those scars. I wonder…never mind. It has nothing to do with me. There is nothing to concern me but her ability to manage machina.
"Didn't we go through this before? Yes, but like I said, it'll cost you."
"Very well. Do I pay up-front? That seems to be the way you operate here."
"Nah." She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "I know you're good for it. But you'd better have the money in full when it's done."
"Agreed."
"Well, then. Let's get to work!"
It took over two hours for Rikku to get all of the measurements and technical information needed to build a new arm. There were pages upon pages of notes, all taken in a remarkably neat hand. Nooj had passed the time thinking. Mostly about how much of his time had just been taken up that should have been spent on more important matters. A few of those thoughts strayed back to Rikku's scarred arms. They were not the kind of scars one would get under normal circumstances. They did not distract from her attractiveness, yet they were disturbing to him.
His thought process was interrupted by someone entering the room and letting the door shut rather loudly. He turned to face the door just as Rikku did. Yuna was standing there, giving them an odd look. She quickly erased it and gave them a smile.
"Rikku, are you going to be too busy for dinner with your cousin? I haven't seen you in ages."
"Sorry Yunie, I'm too busy to even stop for sleep. Let alone eat. Maybe next time."
"Next time, it's always next time with you now! What is wrong with you!"
"Nothing's wrong, Yuna. I'm busy, not ignoring you. I have a business to run, ya know!"
The two were locked in a rather hot stare, both forgetting that Nooj was even present. Yuna was such a calm, collected young woman. He was surprised to see her in a passion. She turned those hot eyes on him and he thought that Yuna was trying to peel his skin off. The idea was rather amusing. Yuna seemed the squeamish type. He could see her retching at the sight of someone being skinned alive.
"I never thought you would end up being a conquest, Nooj. What'll Leblanc say?"
"Yuna! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rikku was on her feet and standing about a foot in front of Yuna. "Insulting a paying customer of mine and entering a restricted area. Just because you're the High Summoner doesn't mean you can stick your nose into everyone's business or break rules at your leisure. Unless you have something like an apology coming out of your mouth within the next ten seconds I suggest you leave."
"What the hell is wrong with you is the question. Don't think for a minute that we don't notice those scars on you. Or that we've not noticed you have a different man in bed nearly every night."
"I've told you before. It's none or your damn business what I do. Stop trying to sort out other peoples problems. I don't need your help and I don't want it. So leave. Now."
Yuna left, giving Nooj a very angry glare before exiting the room.
"What was that about? She is not usually so angry. Or spiteful."
"She's pissed because I keep telling her to mind her own damn business."
"She is concerned for you. Why not tell her and get it over with? Then she would leave you alone."
"I haven't told her because she couldn't handle it."
"And what is that?"
Rikku gave him a suspicious look before answering.
"Why do you care? I'm just the annoying young blond to you."
"I'm curious about those scars. Do you cut yourself, or have another person do it?"
"I do it."
That was all she said, but her face was full of an emotion that he recognized all too easily. It was between despair and apathy. So out of place, yet there it was, clear as day. Her entire body stopped moving for a moment. Then she was replacing the outer casings of his arm.
"Why?"
Rikku stopped moving again, her hands half way to her tools. When she spoke, it was not in the perky Rikku voice he had become somewhat accustomed to. It was quiet, but rang with undertones of steel.
"Why? You want to know why. How funny you should ask that. It's because of two former members of the Youth League. I think you know them. Your patrols found them in that cave off Mushroom Rock Road."
That made Nooj give her a sharp look. No one knew about the bodies in that cave. Very few inside of the Youth League knew of them.
"How do you know about them?"
"Because I was the one who left them there." The look of disbelief on Nooj's face seemed to amuse her. "One of them was in the back of the cave. The other was near the entrance. The idiots made the mistake of keeping my knives handy. I had to break the first one's thick neck and steal my knives back before I could get to the other one. He tried to run away from me."
"And what warranted their murder?"
"Don't you know what most men do to young Al Bhed women? That's why you never see a lone Al Bhed female. They enjoy raping us."
"No member of the Youth League would do such a thing. They may be a motley bunch, but-"
"That's the reason Yuna doesn't know. She wouldn't believe me, just like you don't. Do you want to see the scars they gave me, Nooj? Yuna doesn't know about those ones, just the little ones I give myself."
Rikku pulled her shirt off before he could answer. The skin of her torso had long, angry red scars all over it. They crossed each other here and there, making sickening patterns along her ribs and stomach. He could see where they extended along to the back and how three of them were interrupted by her bra, only to continue on to the collar bone. All of them looked fresh and painful somehow, even though they were healed.
"They hurt me before and during. They enjoyed hurting me. All this blood, pouring out of my body, and they laughed. Laughed and tore what was left of my clothes off so that there was nothing to impede them. The one who wasn't busy raping me was recording his friend and cheering him on. I have the sphere, if you don't believe me. I made sure to take it out of the recorder before I left. After I was finished hacking at them. It recorded that too. Care to watch it, Nooj?"
She turned around and went to a locked cabinet, exposing her back. There were more scars there than on her chest. Only these looked more creative. A sort of pattern had emerged instead of random slices. Rikku turned back to him with a sphere in her hand. Walking back to the counter, she laid it there beside him.
"Take it. I have no reason to keep it anymore. Maybe then you'll believe me, when you watch it."
This was unprecedented news to Nooj. No man or woman was allowed to stay in the ranks of the Youth League if there was any crude or illegal behavior. Yet here Rikku was telling him that two members had raped and tortured her, and that she had proof of it in a sphere and the scars on her body. She was not deceiving him either. No lies had come forth from her.
Anger surged into existence within Nooj. True, he held no love for women. They were there for his pleasure. They were also there to be pleased if he so wished it. But they were not to be abused or harmed. Men could and did receive cruelty from him. Never women. They were the softer side of life. A glimpse into the world of kindness and of life. Such rare things were to be cherished, not destroyed. Emotions other than exhaustion and depression had all but left his mind. Now anger had returned, temporarily banishing all other feelings.
Unwillingly, his hand flesh and blood hand reached out to touch those angry scars. Rikku did not pull away, but he could feel her tense up, like she was ready for something to happen. They almost felt hot. Her soft skin was marred by the rough scar tissue, like a rose petal that had been damaged.
"You're lucky, Nooj. The last guy who touched those scars wound up with some of his own."
"I can imagine." He was still tracing the lines of them with his fingertips. "Why hurt yourself then?"
"It makes me feel clean, for one thing. Like all the badness is whisked away with the blood and the pain. It doesn't last, but for that minute or two, it's heaven."
"And the other 'thing', as you put it?"
She was silent for a moment, debating what to say. Or what not to say. Rikku was not stepping away from his touch, so she would tell him eventually. He would enjoy himself until then. Yes, the actions of those men angered him, yet here he was in a private room with a half naked young woman that had just made him feel for the first time in months, if not years. There was nothing wrong with admiring her body until the moment ended.
"I can't…I can't find any pleasure in sex without the pain from a knife wound. Nothing else works…"
"Then why bother with it? You are the very last person I would expect to be a masochist."
"Because there is nothing left for me. No Al Bhed man wants a wife that's been raped. The one who raped her would be killed, but there's nothing 'pure' left of them. We're pitied and treated with kindness. Usually made into a mistress because there is no honor in such a wife. It sucks, but that's the way it is."
"How very wrong. Is that why you avoid Gippal at all costs now?"
"Yes. He wouldn't want me, if he knew. And he would ask about those scars you seem to like touching. And what would he say when we're in bed, and I pull out a knife? It's better this way."
"A different man every night, as Yuna says? Is that not very unsatisfying? Most women want the same man every night. Commitment."
"Well I don't. I'd hate to have to hurt the same man over and over again when he tries to touch my scars. He'd be terrified of me."
"I'm terrified of your eternal happiness. But I do agree with you about Gippal's personality. Brat is too curious for his own good. I think he would look past this though. For all his arrogance and the shallow persona he uses with other people, he would never hold such a thing against you."
"Don't be so sure of that." Rikku stepped away from him then, but not with the urgency he had expected. She just went back over to where her discarded shirt lay and put it back on. There was no awkwardness or shame in her manner. It was merely the end of the conversation. "Do you still want the new arm or not?"
"Yes. How long will it take?"
"I don't know…a few weeks I guess." Rikku leaned against her desk, the one with all the paper work on it. "I'll let you know when it's done."
Nodding, Nooj stood up, grateful to stretch his non-machina limbs. He watched Rikku return to the work counter and begin tinkering with whatever had been occupying her before his arrival. He had been dismissed from her mind.
Walking out the door, he took one last look at her. She was sitting as she had been before, but her shoulders were slumped and her head was in her hands. It was a posture of defeat.
"If you are unhappy with the path you are on, then forge a new one. Nothing holds you back but yourself."
Rikku looked at him from the corner of her eye, her face void of any emotion. Then she turned away, back to her machina. Nooj walked out the door, trying to remind himself that this was none of his concern. It was too late for such thoughts. Words of wisdom and kindness had been spoken. Now what had he gotten himself into?