Disclaimer: Do you think I'm ever going to own FFT? Stop it.
A/N: I have one thing to say: describing new outfits SUCKS. Oh, fair warning, this chapter will get a little heated in more ways than one. Keep that in mind, please. I wonder if I'm allowed to write smut with out changing the rating of the general fic, as long as I give a large warning before hand. Hrm. I don't know, what do you guys think? Should I bump the rating up a notch? Give me your reviews if you'd like to see this fic take a more mature, serious tone. You know, so I can go all out.
One last thing, I'll generally only capitalize "Squire" and "Engineer" if I'm referring to the characters directly. Otherwise, the jobs are lowercase. I also apologize for the wait folks! I had to clear up a few things before I could finish the chapter.
Thanks!
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Ramza quietly sat in the lounge of the inn, looking aimlessly at the dark ceiling. He didn't really sleep all too well, having been, again, violated in his dreams. He brought a hand up to his forehead, gently brushing away his bangs. "Son of a bitch." he said slowly, letting out a heavy sigh.
The blonde's eyes slowly shifted directions, looking off to his left, then his right. He let out another heavy sigh, slowly sitting up in his chair, looking down at the table. "Alright. Let's sum this up, Ramza. You're currently being plagued by a somewhat attractive demon in your dreams, who seems to be hell-bent on raping you. In the real world, you supposedly have three girls who want your attention. One is a Holy Knight that you've known for some time now. One is a Shrine Knight that almost killed you. Finally, one is your DAMNED SISTER!" he yelled suddenly, slapping his mouth shut once he realized what he did.
Ramza slowly stood out of his chair, going towards the inn door, fumbling with the door for the moment. He slowly walked outside of the inn, stretching as he looked up at the night sky. He slowly turned towards the chocobo stables, opting to stay with the three non-human members of the group.
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Worker 8 was, for some reason or another, fixing up the various damages of the chocobo stables, his programming warning him that the area was not optimally safe for him or his companions. Much to the annoyance of the some of the chocobo's not quite used to the hustle and bustle of a robot.
Boco was, of course, used to this by now, quietly sleeping, letting out very slight snoring. Byblos wasn't far from Boco, however, it was quietly looking at the other various chocobo's. Such a various amount of colors! The strange little demon creature had no idea so many colors of The Bird existed.
Ramza slowly stepped into the stables, looking around slowly. "Bleh. I figured it would smell bad. Oh well." he said calmly, tilting his head at the sight of Worker 8 and it's constant moving. He let out a sigh, slowly going over to Boco and Byblos, snatching a nearby stool to sit on. "I've had one hell of a night, so I think I'll stay here 'till morning..." he said, grinning down at Byblos.
Byblos made little eye contact with Ramza. Something was bothered the demon. Something wasn't right about the one hailed as the leader. Something was...foul about his normally bright, good aura. The demon slowly tilted it's head, looking up at Ramza. Something was wrong.
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Morning came quickly enough, thanks to Alma letting out a shriek when she noticed her brother was missing. After rounding the party up, getting dressed, and skipping breakfast (Much to Mustadio's dismay), the group had set off, and split up, to find the missing blonde.
Agrias casually walked with Mustadio and Besrodio, not having been nearly as alarmed. "He probably went out for a walk. I think Alma's just a little too worried. I'm sure nothing bad happened to him." she said calmly, mainly to assure herself.
Mustadio glanced over at her, smirking. "Considering what probably happened in that bedroom last night, I'm surprised he'd have the strength to walk!" said the engineer with a wild grin. WHACK! A blunt object bashed the grinning boy with precision and power, sending him sprawling out on the ground. Besrodio looked down at his son, slowly putting his cane back to the ground. "What have we learned, Mustadio?" he said, giving his son a warm, loving smile.
The Holy Knight couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself, thanking the older man for his timely assistance. If it wasn't for him, she'd probably be chasing Mustadio for a few hours. "Well, let's go see if Boco is still in the stables. If so, we can assume Ramza didn't leave far then." she said with a nod, quickening her pace as she went.
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Alma, whom was currently with Meliadoul, had calmed down quiet a bit at this point, but was visibly fuming still. "That jerk! How could he just leave like that? Doesn't he know some of us are still worried about something bad happening!" she ranted continuously. Meliadoul smiled to herself, slowly going over to Alma and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Alma, how about we go look at a few of the stores and get some new clothes? It probably wouldn't be wise for you to wear the same dress the entire way, hmm?" she saild, smiling sincerely. Alma perked up with a nod, a wicked grin on her face.
"As a matter of fact, I do happen to have Ramza's gil sack..." Somewhere, Ramza was twitching horribly at the fact that two girls had his savings. However, that wasn't the case as the two girls, in high spirits, trailed off to the various stores and booths along the street.
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Ramza had dozed off sometime in the early morning, slowly waking up when Boco quietly pecked at his head. With a groan the Squire slowly stretched, working out a few sore spots from his poor sleeping position. "Bleh...didn't mean to doze off. Ugh..." he said in the groan, slowly standing up.
Boco and Byblos slowly stood as well, going over to the stable entrance and calmly leaving at their own pace. Worker 8 quickly followed after them, seeing as the threat was secured, and his job done. Ramza sighed heavily, looking at the greatly improved stables. "I guess we can probably use him to help make some money..." Ramza said with a nod, slowly walking out after them...only to bump straight into Agrias.
Agrias blinked for a moment, tilting her head up slightly to look at the slightly taller blonde. "I guess I was right, you did sleep with the birds, huh?" she said with a smirk, but not making any sudden movements to break the connection of their bodies. Ramza chuckled to himself, nodding his head.
"I just had a bad dream and figured I'd walk it off. Nothing special, I guess." he said, smiling warmly at her. The two stood there for some time, both clearly enjoying the closeness of their bodies, the shared warmth they had as their fingers slowly interlocked with each other, pressing themselves against the other firmly...
For some reason, there wasn't an interruption this time by Mustadio. Besrodio had immediately gotten the hint and had dragged his son off by his pony-duck tail, ignoring his cries to stay and watch.
The two, Ramza and Agrias, felt their breathing hastening as they kept themselves like this, looking into the others eyes. The other could clearly see the passion burning in their eyes, but neither made any sudden movements. After a minute of this position, Ramza gulped as he slowly leaned forward, his bangs brushing gently against Agrias' forehead as he moved in close, seemingly about to kiss her...
Until they were intercepted by a loud cough, Rad standing with Alicia and Lavian, a grin on each of their faces. Ramza had immediately panicked, pulling back and tripping over a 'well-placed' bucket behind him, landing flat on his ass. Agrias had simply turned away, not saying a word.
Rad couldn't help but continue grinning, that was until he started laughing. As a note, though, Rad had recently changed out his normal, issued squire attire, having opted to purchase a long, brownish-black trench coat, a pair of combat-durable pants, black in color, and a white cotton shirt, which normally be covered by a heavy and durable combat vest, also black in color. "Sorry if we interrupted you, but we figured Ramza would like to know that his sister has his money and is currently buying everyone new clothes." he said, gesturing at himself.
Alicia and Lavian had, as well, been given new clothing. You couldn't very well be sporting 'Knights of the Church' garbs and, well, not be of such, yeah? Alicia was wearing a heavy blue and black robe, similiar to those a black mage would wear. Underneath the robe, covering her legs, was a pair of plate mail leggings. On the chest section the case was the same, a form-fitting plate breastplate underneath the robe. The style was used to help bring a lack of attention to the wearer, but being entirely outfitted to fight. However, Alicia's sword was in clear view, being strapped to her side along the belt of the robe.
Lavian's was more or less the same as Alicia, however, the robe was more of a red with white mixture, similar to that of a priest. As well, she wore the protective plate pieces under her robe, basically making her a twin of Alicia. Alma had stated that she thought they'd look cute together if they looked similar, and probably meet a pair of cute guys, much to the shock of the two knights.
Ramza let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head slowly as he managed himself back to his feet, dusting himself off. "Well, it's fine. I was actually planning on getting everyone a new set of clothing. This worked out for the best, I suppose." he said, laughing quietly to himself. The blonde slowly tilted his head to look over at Agrias. "It probably wouldn't hurt if you got a new outfit too, Ags. You stand out a bit in the 'Holy Knight' getup." he said, gently poking her in the side a few times.
The Holy Knight rolled her eyes, looking at Ramza with a sigh. "I suppose that would be the best idea, then. I'll see if I can't find anything." she said slowly, looking off towards the row of shops and booths. Ramza perked up with a nod. "Alright, I'll go with you then! I guess I could use with something nicer." he said, motioning towards the rather old and worn clothing he had chosen to wear thus far.
Agrias smiled slightly, nodding. "Alright, let's be off then." she said, slowly walking forward towards the street, Ramza following at her side, which left a light blush on Agrias' cheeks as she imagined being on some form of date with the Squire.
Rad coughed to himself, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I guess we'll leave them alone this time. May as well go find Mustadio. Think I saw his pops' drag him off this way." he said, motioning towards an alleyway. After a mild circle of laughter, Rad quickly left with the two Knight's.
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Alma was still with Meliadoul, having finally found the two of them their own new clothing. Meliadoul had opted to not change her outfit too much. Her attire simply changed with her having the green, robe-like cloth over her body now entirely open, showing off the beautifully crafted armor underneath. She also had the hood removed, now showing off her cute, short brown hair.
Alma had protested that Meliadoul should wear something a touch more cuter, or if nothing else, cover the armor entirely, but Meliadoul refused, stating that she wanted to keep the memory of her brother alive to her heart and mind.
The cleric-girl, on the other hand, had a different outfit entirely. She still wore a dress, but wasn't nearly as baggy and clumbersome as the other hand been. She opted for a tighter look on the upper part of the dress, making her ample bosom more noticeable to the eyes of any admirers. The bottom half of the dress wasn't as wide as her previous dress, but wasn't nearly as form fitting as the top part, as she opted to still wear a pair of tighter pants underneath the dress. The dress itself, entirely, was a pale blue and white scheme. She had removed her gloves entirely, and her boots were now white leather, to match the color scheme of her dress. The red ribbon, though, remained as a keepsake.
Alma turned, smiling at Meliadoul. "Alright then, let's get going and find my brother." she said sweetly, turning to walk out of the shop. Meliadoul sighed heavily, slowly following after the cheerful girl, already knowing that this day was liable to take a turn for the worse.
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Ramza was patiently waiting for Agrias in different store further down the street from Alma and Meliadoul, the young man humming a soft tune as he waited. Ramza had decided to change back into his mercenary garb from back when he worked with Gafgarion, though wearing a cloak over the majority of his body now while he was in towns. Though they were no longer in Ivalice, Ramza kept in mind that not everyone may know about his aledged death, so it was best to keep himself a little more hidden so he didn't attract a stupid bounty hunter or two looking to make an easy buck.
After what seemed to be forever, Ramza tilted his head as he heard the changing-room door open. If it wasn't for the fact his jaw was attached to his face, it would probably be stretched to the ground right now. Agrias had opted to remove the majority of her armor, and changed what she had left on. Her breastplate had become quite a bit more form-fitting, which simply meant that if anyone thought she was male from a distance would feel like a total idiot when they saw the plate-molding shaped around her breasts. The breastplate, however, wrapped around her upper chest area, spreading over her back to keep her spine protected, as well as fit perfectly into a pair of armguards and pauldrons of the same metal she decided to wear, which all was a bright, shiny platinum color.. Agrias had opted to let her blue overcoat remain, but had entirely removed her plate leggings. This, in turn, showed off a pair of extremely tight, shiny leather pants, worn for easy movement and comfort. If it wasn't for the overcoat, we'd be sure Ramza would have had a nosebleed at the sight of the Holy Knight's well-toned rear.
Agrias blinked at Ramza, a light blush creeping on her face as she realized the reaction he'd had gotten. While by no means did she ever think of herself as ugly, she never imagined that she'd be as attractive as every male in the establishment was making a big deal of, especially when the hoots and hollars began.
However, these activities would come to a stop when the Squire snapped out of his state of shock and promptly began to blast the majority of the store with minor Ultima blasts. After a few minutes, Ramza insisted on paying for Agrias' minor change in armor, using what little money he had managed to keep on his person to do so.
Once outside of the store, Ramza turned and bowed low to Agrias. "I'm sorry about that, Agrias. I just kind of snapped and..." he was silenced, though, as a ungloved finger gently pressed against his lips. Ramza slowly raised himself to look straight at the Holy Knight, who now had closed the distance between them. "Shut up, Ramza." she said firmly, immediately placing a quick, passionate kiss on the now shocked blonde's lips.
The thoughts racing through both of their heads had suddenly stopped at that very moment. As by instinct, Ramza immediately wrapped his arms around the girl, holding her tightly as the kiss was only deepened, the Holy Knight letting out of a soft moan of delight at the acceptance of the stupid, blonde boy she admired for so long.
Not to far off, in a certain alley, were five pairs of eyes watching intently at the scene that played out before them. Mustadio grinned wickedly, giving his dad a thumbs up. "It all worked out, old man! Though next time, do you mind not pulling my hair?" he said, giving his father a sour look. Besrodio looked off, humming innocently.
Alicia and Lavian gave each other a double high-five as they watched the scene, Alicia speaking up. "It's about damn time. She'd start talking about him out of no where, and swore us to keep her feelings a secret. She's probably going to hit us for this, but that's okay." she said with a smile, Lavian giggling with a nod. "All's well that end's well." she said, nodding firmly.
Rad sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head. "That's great and all, but we still have to consider THAT factor." he said, slowly pointing at the two female figures were in perfect view of the scene portraying infront of them. Lavian and Alicia visibly winced, while Mustadio couldn't help but start laughing.
The Shrine Knight and the Cleric stood in nigh-horror as they watched the Holy Knight and the Squire lock lips. Meliadoul almost whimpered out loud as she felt her heart suddenly shatter. Alma bit her bottom lip, turning and putting a hand firmly on Meliadoul's shoulder. "Don't get upset. I know you like my brother, a lot. This doesn't mean anything, really! We just have to play our cards a little better from now on." she said, nodding assuringly. Meliadoul slowly nodded, turning away from the scene and slowly walking.
"Ah crap. I better make sure she's okay. Damnit." said the engineer, darting out of the alley with a wave. "Wish me luck!" he yelled back, following over the heart-broken Shrine Knight. Besrodio sighed as he watched his son, shaking his head. "He's dead." he said slowly. Rad, Alicia, and Lavian each nodded in unison with the statement.
Alma slowly walked up to the embraced couple, doing her best to hold back her anger. She coughed quietly, but much to her dismay the two blonde's were far too into their own personal, perverted thoughts to acknowledge it. With a heavy sigh, Alma took a step back. "BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, immediately causing the Squire to push away from Agrias, drawing his sword and looking around frantically. "ALMA...oh. What's wrong, Alma?" he asked, looking down at his sister with a confused look.
Agrias blinked slowly, being knocked out of her happy place all of a sudden put her in a daze. After a quick moment she shook it off, turning to look at Alma. She took a mental note at what Alma did, and decided payback was in order at a later date. She sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead, taking another mental note at Ramza's ignorance.
Of course, Ramza was all smiles when it came to his dear sister, nodding slowly, and immediately snatching the gil sack back, sighing at how light it felt. "This is what I get for letting my sister hold my money. Anyway, let's get everyone together and be off!" he said, a smile still planted on his face. Alma slowly nodded, turning to briskly skip away. "I'll go get Meliadoul, brother! She suddenly took off with out a word!" she yelled back, a wicked grin all over her face.
At that moment, it all came rushing back at Ramza, hitting him in the chest like a ton of bricks. While he did feel bad for Meliadoul, and Alma seemed to have taken it well enough, making him believe the whole 'crush' on him was nothing more than his own paranoia, he let out a heavy sigh. He slowly turned on his heels, looking at Agrias with a smirk. "Can I ask something? What made that happen?" he asked, holding back a smirk.
A light blush crept right back up on the Holy Knight's face, having trouble to look directly at Ramza at his point. "I...well, to be honest, I was really...impressed by how you got jealous back in the store...and well...I figured if one of us didn't make a sudden move forward, we'd probably get interrupted by SOMEBODY again." she said, making sure to raise the volume, and tone, of her voice at the word 'somebody.' Rad, Lavian, and Alicia each ducked behind a barrel, peeking over to continue watching.
She smiled softly at the blonde boy infront of her. "And I see that neither of us are complaining, hmm?" she said slowly, looking dead at him. Ramza coughed, blushing as he looked away quickly. He slowly opened his mouth, "Ah, well, that's true. I mean, it was nice...I just hope nobody minds...", he said with a frown, looking back at Agrias.
Agrias nodded, slowly going over to hug him tightly. "Even if they do, Ramza, they'll just have to get over it. I've waited long enough for this moment, and I won't just let it go." she said, keeping the embrace tight as she buried her face into his chest. Ramza looked down at the girl, giving a small, warm smile as he embraced her as well, keeping the moment strong.
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Mustadio had finally managed ot catch up with Meliadoul, breathing heavily as he darted in front of her. "Hey! What's the matter? You seem really upset and pis..." he didn't get even remotely a chance to visit as a gloved fist punched him in the face, the upset, and now pissed, Shrine Knight walking over the engineer like a bridge.
After a moment taken to regain himself, Mustadio immediately went back in front of Meliadoul, walking backwards to stay out of range. "Come on, Meliadoul. You shouldn't get so worked up over it. There's plenty of guys that'd die to have a shot at even kissing your hand, I bet!" he said firmly, bracing himself for another hit.
Meliadoul stopped, looking at him, a fierce look on her face. "Do you REALLY think so, Bunanza?" she said, her eyes almost piercing the poor boy's soul. He slowly nodded, giving a smirk. "Yeah! Trust me, I'm sure, once we've all found a place to stay for longer than just a few days, you'll find a nice guy who'll sweep you off your feet!" he said, making sure to butter it up so he didn't get hurt by pissing her off somehow.
The girl slowly turned away from Mustadio, looking up with a small smile forming on her lips. She tilted her head back towards him, nodding. "Alright, Bunanza. We'll see what happens in the near future, hmm?" she said, giving him a small wink as she slowly walked away.
The engineer stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. He slowly opened his mouth, muttering, "Oh shit.". He let out a heavy sigh, following after her slowly. "I wonder if my dad would blame me if I put a bullet through my head..." he said, trailing off in his own thoughts.
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After meeting up together, once again, the party set off again on the road. Ramza stayed at the back of the group, going over his map as he made sure of a few quick pit-stops to rest. Agrias was right next to him, walking quietly for the most part.
Alma grumbled as she sat upon Boco, leaning over to slowly whisper to the bird. "I can't believe my brother see's anything in her. She's hardly a lady, really. I thought he'd have a little more taste than that!". Boco blinked a bit, turning his head to look at his 'master' and the Holy Knight. After a moment of thinking, Boco suddenly darted at Ramza, pecked him in the forehead a few times, and promptly dashed back to the head of the party.
The Squire immediately fell on his ass, rubbing his head slowly with a sigh. "I should have seen that coming!" he said loudly, jumping to his feet. Agrias held back a chuckle, smiling. "He's a nice chocobo, though. I'm sure he just wants your attention. Too bad..." she finished, her voice hinting at something. Ramza blushed lightly, continuing his pace, feigning ignorance.
Trudging solemnly next to his father, Mustadio let out of a heavy sigh. The elder man gently placed a hand on his son's head, patting gently. "It's alright, Mustadio. You did what you thought was the right thing to do. It's not your fault the Shrine Knight girl assumed you were showing her hidden feelings." he said slowly, looking at Mustadio with a evil grin. The engineer sighed, looking at his father with a spiteful gaze. "You set me up, old man. I KNOW you did!" he yelled, jumping back and pointing at him accusingly.
Besrodio laughed, and laughed hard at his son. He said nothing as he continued to walk. "Omph. Damn this leg of mine." he said as he stopped suddenly. Ramza blinked, quickly going over and nodding. "Hey! Alma, do you mind swapping places with Besrodio? Seem's his leg is giving him trouble." he asked nicely, a smile flashing to his beloved sister.
Alma rolled her eyes, already having decided to do that. She turned Boco around, leading the bird to the elder man. She jumped off with an 'omph, Ramza immediately assisting in helping Besrodio sit safely upon the chocobo.
Boco let out a wark of approval, scratching at the ground for a moment. After a few loving pecks to Ramza's forehead, the bird was happily trotting ahead with a new passenger. Ramza said nothing, opting to just shake his head slowly.
The group had remained quiet for some time of the trip, no one saying much of anything as the sun beat down on them. Alma let out a heavy sigh as she tugged on the collar of her dress, trying to get some air circulation in. "Why is it so hot today? Blech.." she said slowly, frowning at how stick she felt. Ramza chuckled for a moment, walking up next to her and gently putting a hand on her head, rocking her head gently. "Don't complain now, Alma. You said you wanted to stick it out, so let's just make as much distance as we can. It'll cool down soon." said the squire in a cloak and heavy armor.
Alma beamed him a smile, nodding as she admired her brother's strength and determination. To her, absolutely no man could compare to him, which is why she suddenly tripped over a rock and landed face-first on the dirt road. Daydreaming does that to girls, apparently. Ramza, along with anyone who managed to catch sight of that, let out a few laughs. After wiping a tear away, the loving Squire went to help his sister to her feet, grinning wickedly. "You have to be more careful, Alma." he said to her, dusting her off a few times carefully.
A few thoughts raced through the young girls head. She had this odd, yearning feeling to be touched by Ramza, though in different ways. She couldn't quite place it yet, but all she could do it keep herself from tackling the poor guy was to hug him tightly. "Thank you, brother..." she said softly, smiling warmly.
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The sun was slowly setting at the point the group decided to stop and set up camp for the night. Rad, the pyromaniac, was eagerly blasting any wood Alicia and Lavian delivered to him with a simple Fire spell, quite pleased with the resulting flames. Mustadio was scouting above a nearby tree, keeping an eye out for any wandering monsters or some such nonsense. Besrodio was quietly grooming off Boco, a form of 'Thank You' for the assistance earlier today. Needless to say, Boco was loving the attention, letting out 'coo's and odd 'purring' every so often.
Meliadoul was quietly reading a book to herself, the only sounds coming from her were light breathing and the turning of paper pages. Worker 8 was standing guard of Alma, whom was preparing a meal over the burning fire, humming a gentle tune to herself. The robot had made a mental calculation of when the food would be prepared, for some reason or another.
This left Ramza and Agrias, both whom were walking towards a small, clean stream that was listed on Ramza's map. After the short walk, Ramza slowly lowered himself with a large canteen, dipping it into the clean water. "I wonder...we've been having a somewhat monster-free trip thus far. It's kind of nice..." he said, looking back at Agrias with a smile.
The Holy Knight rolled her eyes, going over to nudge her foot against his rump, threatening to tip him into the stream. "You're going to jinx us, Ramza. You probably shouldn't have said that." she teased, pushing gently on him. Ramza yet out a small yelp as he pushed back against her. "C-Come on Ags! This isn't funny! I don't want to get wet!" he exclaimed, frantically trying to get out of the bad position.
The Squire's struggles were in vain as the Holy Knight pushed the two of them in the stream. She immediately twisted and pinned Ramza down as the water splashed to all sides. In a split second upon impact, Ramza felt a pair of lips he was growing quickly familiar to.
The two embraced eachother in heated passion as the kiss was deepened, their tongues rolling in the other's mouth. Ramza pushed himself up after nearly a minute of the exchange of tongues, gasping heavily for breath.
Agrias smiled down at him with a light blush staining her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Ramza. I just had this sudden urge and I..." she stopped for a moment, looking around slowly. "That's weird, I would have sworn I heard a yell..." she blinked, slowly moving off of the Squire, offering a hand to help him up.
With a grunt, Ramza stood to his feet with the assistance, sighing at his wet clothing. "I didn't heard anything, but I do have a few gallons of water in my ear." and with that he began to rub his ears, water splashing out after a few seconds. He looked up at her, looking around after a moment. "I do have one of my bad feelings, but I don't think it's anything that involves us...then again, I've always had the habit of getting involved in stuff that isn't of my business." he said, flashing his female companion a smile as he began to walk.
With a roll of her blue eyes, Agrias followed after him quickly, turning her head to speak. "How did you know this is the direct of the yell? Do you really believe you have some sort of danger-tracking instincts?". Ramza laughed quietly, looking at her with a smirk. "Well hey, it hasn't failed me yet." he said, a firm nod given to show how serious he was.
Again, the blue eyes would roll, Agrias giving him a returned smile. The two slowly intertwined their fingers together as they held hands, walking together towards the disturbance.
Suddenly, a loud yell hit both of the blonde's suddenly. Ramza tore off forward, dragging Agrias with him in a high burst of speed. A loud bang would ring through their ears after the yell, Ramza immediately being able to tell that it was a gun shot. "Crap, Mustadio might be in trouble!" he said, pushing his legs to the limit as he rushed as fast as he could.
In clear sight was a young man, a gun in his hand as he fired again at a number of lumbering figures. Ramza, with Excalibur drawn in a flash, hurled himself into the lumbering figures, aiming to disarm them. The stench of rotting flesh would fill his nostrils as he recognized the figures were that of the walking dead, your basic zombie. Knowing no reason would be able to convince the mindless dead to stop their assault, Ramza unleashed the blessed blade against the flesh of the leading figure, a blast of holy light vaporizing the undead in an instant.
Agrias, after regaining her balance from Ramza's sudden bold action, quickly unsheath her blade. With a sudden slash, a sudden yell came from her mouth. "Heaven's Wish To Destroy All Minds, Holy Explosion!!!" and at that very instant that the words finished, a sudden explosion bursted from the bodies of the dead. A divine blade pierced through their bodies, ending their 'lives' instantly
Ramza sighed heavily, turning towards the man with a grin. "Sorry we were late Must...oh! I'm sorry...who are you?" he asked, tilting his head suddenly at the fact the gun-wielding man was not his known friend.
The man slowly ran his fingers through his black hair, breathing heavily as he slowly extending his free hand, giving a small smile. "T-Thank you...for the timely rescue. I...wandered through a g-graveyard and disturbed some s-spirits I think. P-Penovi. Penovi Kiku Poorport at your service." he finished, his composure slowly returning to his shaken form. He was dressed rather oddly, at least to Ramza and Agrias. He wore a turban around his head, which hid well his long, flowing black hair. The turban itself was held together in the front by a small, gold pin sporting a red ruby and a white feather. Clearly, the turban would probably be quite expensive.. For his body, he wore a simple white shirt, and a pair of quite red pants. What stood out the most was his regal blue overcoat, which did well in clashing with everything. Quite odd!
With a smile, Ramza accepted the man's hand in a firm. "Ramza. Ramza B...Ruglia." he finished with a nod. Penovi shared the nod, leaning back against the rock he was pinned to just moments again. "I apologize for troubling you two. It seems my yells and gun shots might have startled you two, judging by how wet you two look." he said with a frown, gesturing to the soaked couple.
Agrias coughed uneasily, giving a nod. "It's fine. We were simply collecting water for us and our companions. Don't trouble yourself." she said, looking over at Ramza. She already knew what he'd say next.
"You're free to join us if you need a place to stay safe for the night, Penovi. We'd be more than welcome to help someone in need." Ramza said with a proud smile. Bingo, thought the Holy Knight, rolling her eyes again at how predictable her new love was.
Penovi looked around slowly, then nodded. "I'd appreciate it, truly, Sir Ramza. Thank you." he said with a sudden bow. Ramza flushed lightly at the sudden respect, shaking his hands infront of himself. "P-please! That isn't needed! Ramza is fine!" the blonde said with a laugh.
With a nod, Penovi straightened himself out, turning to Agrias and bowing his head. "I apologize! Whom may you be, miss...?" he asked, looking at her curiously. Agrias blinked before suddenly realizing she had yet to introduce herself. She bowed her head down slightly. "Agrias Oaks." she said calmly, not having the same problem with her own name as Ramza obviously had with his.
Ramza looked down at his feet, eyeing one of the slain zombies. "Well, it doesn't seem like anything vile was occurring within this corpses. Let's go ahead and leave this place so the souls of the damned can find rest without us mortals disturbing them." he said, Agrias and Penovi sharing nods as the three quickly left. A sudden chill would fill the air as the trio left, the corpses vanishing with the wind...
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After a casual walk back, Ramza was immediately pinned down by his sister, whom was glaring at him with intent to kill, somewhat. "BROTHER! Do you know how WORRIED we've all been? DO YOU KNOW THE JOKES MUSTADIO HAS USED?!" she screeched, pointing up at the engineer whom was safely in his tree.
"Bow chicka bow bow." he said, giving Ramza a wink as he stayed quite securely up in the branches of the mighty oak. Ramza stammered for a moment, pointing at Mustadio. "NO SUCH THING!" he yelled, shaking his head and turning quickly to point at Penovi. "We ran into him and rescued him from zombies!".
Penovi looked up, holding back a chuckle. "It's true. Without the aid of your companions here, I may be zombie food right now." he said, shivering visibly at the thought of being a meal. He offered a smile and bow to the group. "I am Penovi Kiku Poorport. A pleasure." he said, looking at each of them.
Mustadio looked down at the odd-dressed man, giving a slight wave. "I'm Mustadio Bunanza, an engineer and digger at times, if you would." he said with a proud smirk. Though, he was instantly distracted at the gun holster on Penovi's hip. "Say, is that a gun? What kind is it?" he asked curiously, almost about to jump out of the safety of his tree.
Penovi blinked for a moment, reaching down to remove the slim, nearly pearl colored gun from it's holster. He flipped the gun over, looking it over. "It's an heirloom of the Poorport family, actually. It's strange though, I don't have to load it for it to fire. It seems to shoot out pure 'light' in the form of a bullet. It's quite effective against scaring off beasts or wiping out the undead, though. Though it's not very effective at killing, which I'm thankful for, sometimes the bullets become more powerful. I don't understand how, though." he said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.
That did it. Mustadio was immediately infront of the man, looking at the gun with a hint of drool coming out of his mouth. "This is indeed a rare find! I bet it's powered by an infinite magical source in the gun itself! I believe if you put enough faith into the gun, it'll respond and fire stronger bursts. Similiar to the gun I use now!" he said quickly, removing his own gun from it's holster. Thanks to the aid of Ramza, Mustadio had gotten three extremely rare elemental guns in their adventurers. After a bit of tinkering, and all nighter's, from Mustadio and Besrodio, they had managed to craft together a gun that could unleash the elements of Fire, Ice, or Lightning. "While I'm upset at the lost of the guns we had to use to craft this beauty, I'm more than pleased at the result." he said with a wide grin. "Say, Penovi, you wouldn't happen to be an engineer, would you?" the excited boy asked, curiousity overcoming him.
"Haha, I'm afraid not. I'm actually more of a mediator, if you got right down to it." he said, spinning the gun casually and firmly locking it back into it's holster. Mustadio chuckled, grinning wickedly. "A mediator with a gun, eh? I'd listen to you in an instant." he joked, sharing a laugh with the Poorport.
After a few minutes of random exchanges, Mustadio quickly jumped back into the tree before anyone had snapped to the fact he was in melee range. Rad looked up at Penovi, giving a slight wave. "The name is Rad. The two ladies here are Lavian and Alicia." he said, motioning his thumbs at the two girls sitting by him. Alicia bowed her head slowly, while Lavian gave a small wave. Penovi nodded slowly, turning his attention from the trio.
Meliadoul smiled, bowing her head slightly. "I'm Meliadoul Tingel." she said simply and quickly. She was still too absorbed into her book to really have much else to say to the new person. Penovi snickered to himself, knowing just what it was like to be lost in a book.
Mustadio's father slowly nodded his head towards Penovi. "I'm Mustadio's father, Besrodio Bunanza. I apologize for my son's excitement." he said with a frown. Penovi shook his head, laughing quietly. "It's quite alright, Mr. Bunanza. I can relate to what it's like to see something you view as amazing." he said simply. Besrodio chuckled to himself, sighing. "Well, it's still no excuse for him, but you're right. I remember how that was back when I first started digging. Finding rare and ancient items was always a thrill..." and like most older men, Besrodio carried on like this for some time.
After a few more minutes, Boco waved a wing at Penovi, simply saying hello in his own way. Byblos, whom had remained mostly hidden for the time, came out of it's hiding place, slowly sitting near the tree Mustadio was perched in.
Penovi raised an eyebrow at the fact this group of people had a demon with them, but said nothing to offend them. Byblos seemed friendly enough, so why piss off your new friends by questioning their sanity?
Worker 8 had remained quiet, having not been given any orders to speak. However, the robot did turn and examine Penovi carefully, simply to make sure he was no threat to the Master or the Friends. With a whrrrrrrrrrril, Worker 8 went back to silence. Penovi coughed nervously, quite curious at the 'metal man.' "I hope I do not offend, but whom is the quiet fellow there?" he asked, gesturing to Worker 8.
Ramza looked up at Penovi, still being pinned down. "That's Worker 8. He's a...robot was it? He's a friend and ally of our's. He generally won't speak much unless ordered to by me, though. Don't worry about if he's quiet." he said assuringly, nodding towards Worker 8.
With a nod, Penovi looked down at Ramza, gesturing towards the girl sitting on his chest. "And whom might this be?" he asked, looking at Alma, blinking a few times. Ramza quickly spoke up, nudging Alma. "This is Alma Ruglia, my dear sister." he said quickly looking straight at Alma.
The younger sibling had immediately gotten the hint when Ramza had used that last name, quickly flashing Penovi a smile. "That's right. Now if you excuse me, I don't think I beat up Brother Ramza enough." she said with a growl, pummeling Ramza lightly on the chest with her fists.
After Alma got her 'revenge', Ramza was allowed to sit up properly, opting to stay close to Agrias. He nudged her gently, leaning against her slightly. "Say Ags, what do you think of this Penovi guy? You're generally a pretty good judge of character, considering you trusted me rather quickly." he said, giving her a wink.
Agrias gently whacked him over the head, saying nothing about that. "He seems friendly enough, but he's obviously hiding something. Like when we first met Mustadio. I don't know what, though. You should confront him about it, Ramza." she finished, gently giving the Squire a kiss on the cheek. Ramza sighed for a moment, knowing deep down she was right. He slowly stood, going over to Penovi whom was quietly chatting with the tree-stranded Mustadio.
"Penovi, I have a question. Just what were you doing out here alone? No offense to you, but you don't exactly seem the adventuring type. You couldn't be out here alone unless something was distressing you. We'd all probably like to know why you're here." he said flatly, looking straight at the black-haired male.
With a nod, Penovi slowly stood to his feet, keeping his head low. "I'm here with my family, to be honest. My father is the mayor of a town on the boarder, of Ordalia and Ivalice. We, my father, mother, sister, and myself, recently went on a vacation here in Ordalia. Though my father is the head of my family at this time, he's wearing down with age, which would partially explain the outfit I'm wearing that you all seemed to have been giving odd looks at. This is the garb generally the head of the Poorport family will wear, in case you were curious. Regardless, our vacation turned quickly into a disaster. A group of knaves kidnapped my sister and demanded a ransom. I left to try to do anything I could to rescue her, but only managed to get lost." he said slowly, his fists clenching in anger. "I won't let those bastards use her as some bargaining chip to screw my family!" he said, looking at Ramza with a burning fire in his eyes.
Ramza was all too familiar with that look of determination and honesty. He slowly approached Penovi, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder. "We'll help you find and rescue her, Penovi. I'm not one to leave anyone in distress." he said, a smile on his face.
Penovi looked at Ramza, his eyes tearing up slightly. He slowly nodded his head, looking down. "T-thank you Ramza. I appreciate it, truthfully. I'll make sure you all are properly rewarded for y..." he tried to say, but was interrupted as Ramza spoke. "No. I'm not in this for any sort of self gain. Someone is in trouble, they need help. This is my way." he said, his voice with a powerful backing to it.
Mustadio immediately jumped down from the tree, grinning wickedly as he placed his hand on Penovi's free shoulder. "That's our Ramza! I'm pretty sure we all agree on aiding good ol' Penovi here! Right guys?!" he shouted, each of the people around them giving their own nod.
With a tear falling down the Poorport heir's cheek, Penovi looked up, giving everyone a handsome smile. "I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you..." he said slowly, bowing his whole body down in respect.
Ramza spoke up after a minute had passed, letting the emotions clear up. "There's no use in traveling in the dead of night, so we'll take this time to rest and set out first thing in the morning with Penovi guiding us. Looks like we're going to get our hands dirty, guys. Be prepared for the worse if it comes to that." he said, making sure to keep his expression brave and positive. After an exchange of nods and 'Okays', the party settled down to rest for the night.
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Hours later, Ramza stared up at the star-filled sky. He couldn't fall asleep yet, and that annoyed him to no end. He shifted over, grumbling heavily as he tried to close his eyes. To no avail could he keep them closed, and immediately opened them. A smile crept up on him as he stared into a pair of gorgeous blue eyes.
Agrias smiled warmly at Ramza, gently tapping him on the nose. "You really shouldn't shuffle around so much, you'll wake someone else up." she said, yawning slightly to show he had just done that. Ramza frowned, looking away. "Sorry Ags...I didn't mean to wake you." he said, whimpering almost.
The Holy Knight rolled her eyes, leaning forward to brush her lips against his own. "None of that, Ramza. I'm not going to start feeling guilty." she said, leaning into him as she kissed him. Ramza had no arguements in sharing a kiss with Agrias, slowly moving over to wrap his arms around her gently, holding her closely.
"I think I might be able to fall asleep if we stay like this." he said, holding back a sheepish grin. Agrias smirked, giving him a quick, gentle kiss. "I think we can arrange that." she said softly, nuzzling her head against him as she closed her eyes.
The Squire smiled down at the Holy Knight, gently kissing the top of her head as he kept the embrace around her, closing his eyes slowly. Stay out of my dreams, Altima. There's only one girl I want in them now. he thought to himself, his eyes slowly closing shut.
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A/N: As a heads up, Penovi is a cameo character of a friend and is not owned by me, along with the other Poorports. Thanks for reading, see ya next chapter folks!
