So Lufpuo, So Raynd, So Mujan
By: The Al Bhed Princess
Chapter 3: A New Threat
It had been exactly a year and eleven months since Gippal had left to go training and Rikku was bored. She couldn't go ANYWHERE because each time she'd try to sneak off, Cid would catch her. It was always small things that made her escape obvious…the floorboard right next to the front door would creak and he'd hear it, the door would squeak when she'd open it and he'd hear it, and there was even an incident where she'd not seen him standing right next to the door and she'd attempted to leave. He'd always ask where she was going and she'd get the "uh-oh…I've been caught" look on her face before replying, in the sweetest voice she could muster, "oh…nowhere, Pops! Just making sure the door is still working! Hehehe…" before he'd tell her to go to her room.
Not only was Rikku bored, but…she was lonely. She thought it was pretty ironic that she could feel lonely in a town full of people who would always check on her to make sure she was doing okay with Gippal being gone, but it was the plain and simple truth. Rikku was lonely…and she hated it. Often times she'd find herself going through the "secret door" (she decided it wasn't so secret since Cid was the one who build the addition on to the house and all…) so that she could curl up on his bed and surround herself with his scent. Every time that she did so, she'd find herself crying whilst clutching his pillow to her chest, remembering just what had happened not long before he had left her arms to train with Auron…and their conversation before he had mounted his chocobo and trotted away.
Flashback
"Rikku...bnuseca sa dryd hu syddan fryd, oui'mm pa rana frah E kad pylg. Bnuseca sa oui'mm pa hu uha amca'c kenm pid seha...bnuseca sa dryd frah E lusa pylg, E'mm ryja Gippal'c Kenm du lusa pylg du." There was a pleading tone to his voice as he said this. Rikku smiled gently at him, wiping his tears away as she nodded.
"Gippal, E bnuseca oui dryd oui femm ryja y Gippal'c Kenm du lusa pylg oui. E bnuseca oui dryd E femm uhmo pa ouin kenm, yht E bnuseca oui dryd hu syddan fryd, E femm pa rana vun oui du lusa pylg du. E muja oui Gippal...yht pa lynavim...vun sa." He hugged her to his chest and kissed her all over before he pulled back and gave her a sad smile.
"Well…I'd better be going. Got a long trip ahead of me…" Rikku nodded, determined that she wouldn't cry. He got up on the chocobo and she started walking away. However, she turned to face him one last time and blew him a kiss with a smile. He grinned, "caught" the kiss, and put it in his pocket. She giggled before waving and running off. He sighed before urging the chocobo forward. It was the last he would see of her for a while…and he didn't like that thought too much.
She had watched him leave until she couldn't see him anymore and then, she wasn't sure if it was because he was that far out of her vision or if it was because of her tears. She'd run all the way to the bar, not caring if Cid saw her or not, crying on Yuna's shoulder the minute she entered. Yuna had gone on break and taken her to the back room, holding her as she cried and not saying a word. Rikku sighed, playing with her bedspread as she moped. It was raining outside and the sound of the rain hitting the roof was starting to make her pretty sleepy. Soon, she was lulled into a peaceful sleep, not noticing the two shadows who were watching her from her window.
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"Alright boy, it's time we head back home. Rikku probably tried to slip out while we were gone," Cid said, stretching as he got off the bar stool. Brother gulped the remainder of his Lrulupu Rant 20, his new favorite alcoholic drink, before following Cid out of the saloon. They walked up to their house and suddenly Cid stopped cold.
"Sumthin's fishy here…" he mumbled, slowly opening the door with his pistol now drawn and ready in his hand. Everything seemed normal but the feeling that something was wrong just wouldn't leave. "Brother, go check Rikku's room to make sure she's still there." Brother nodded and opened the door to Rikku's room. His eyebrows narrowed as he looked around, not seeing Rikku anywhere. He walked over to her bed and found a note.
"Father! Come here!" Brother yelled. Cid ran into the bedroom.
"WHERE'S RIKKU!" He yelled. Brother handed Cid the note, an angry and vengeful expression on his face. The note said:
Sid, we have ur dawter. Come over ta ower base en pai us 2,000,000,000 gil en we will give 'er bak. If'n yew dun gibe us de gil, yew wun get yer Rikku bak.
Sined,
Muhamo 21 en Nadynt 22
Cid felt a headache coming on. Some bumbling idiot who couldn't even spell right had stolen his daughter and was currently holding her for ransom. It was enough to make him want to puke.
"Brother, saddle up your chocobo and head up to Auron's." Cid narrowed his eyebrows. "It's time to bring in the real cowboy."
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Gippal panted as he wiped the sweat off his eyebrow, finally managing to shoot the bull's-eye ten times consecutively, one hand behind his back, and hopping on one foot while singing "Home on the Range" twice in a pink dress. Auron meant business and he was glad he was able to keep up with the old man's instructions, albeit haphazardly. He reloaded the pistol before taking a towel and wiping his face. The sun was beating down on him, causing him to sweat profusely. He could smell that a storm was coming but he could care less because a storm meant quitting early…which was always a good thing. He looked behind him on the porch and Auron sat there, drinking his sake out of a ridiculously huge bottle.
"Alright, you're done for the day, boy. Come in and clean up so I can get the stuff you need to make supper," He said in his cold voice, getting up out of his chair and heading into the house. Gippal sighed and put his pistols in their holsters before suddenly he heard a chocobo running in his direction at an extremely fast pace. He looked and was shocked to see Brother jump off the chocobo, rolling on the ground and stopping at Gippal's feet. He looked up, panting heavily with an angry look on his face.
"Rikku's been kidnapped and is being held for ransom," Brother said, slowly pushing himself up with his hands. Gippal blinked before the news set in. Suddenly, his eye narrowed in anger and he ran into the house to tell Auron he'd be leaving a month early.
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Rikku yawned as she opened her eyes, moving to stretch but found she couldn't. She blinked and looked down to see she was sitting in a chair and her feet were bound to the legs of the chair, her arms bound to the back of the chair. A panicked look crossed her face and suddenly she heard laughter.
"Finally my princess awakens! I was wondering when I'd be graced by your beautiful presence," a voice said. Rikku looked around until she spotted a guy who was about her age sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. He got up and smiled, showing perfectly straight and white teeth. His hair was a chocolate brown color, shaggy so that his bangs covered his beautiful carribean green eyes. He walked over to her and placed a finger under her chin so he could get a good look at her face.
"So beautiful…" he whispered, tracing a finger along her lips. She glared at him and bit his finger, satisfied when he pulled his hand back with a loud yelp.
"Don't. Touch. Me.," she growled, spitting in his face. He laughed, rubbing his finger gingerly.
"Feisty, as expected from Cid's daughter. Well, don't you worry my pretty…I'll be sure to tame you…isn't that right, Nadynt?" He called. Rikku saw a tall and lanky guy come in from a door.
"Yew culled me, boss?" He said, laughing in a "gyuck, gyuck, gyuck!" way. Rikku rolled her eyes. She had been kidnapped by a pretty boy and a complete idiot? Sounded too promising. She winced, however, when the ropes started chaffing her skin. "Pretty boy", as she decided to call him, laughed.
"Aww, poor Cid's girl is trying to escape! Too bad I know how to tie knots," he said, laughing to himself at his utterly stupid joke. Nadynt, or "bumbling idiot" as she had decided to call him, laughed in his "gyuck!" manner, not sure what was funny, but laughing because his boss was, anyway. It was going to be a loooong day.
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I know this chapter was short, but that's because in the next chapter, there's gonna be lots of surprises! We'll finally get to see if Gippal's separation from Rikku was worth the trouble, or if it was just a waste of time. Hope you enjoyed and I look forward to your reviews!
Translations:
20 Chocobo Herd
21 Lonely
22 Retard
