Chapter 11
Moogling in the Past
Yuna stared off in silence as Tidus exited the hallway. "What could have possibly happened to him?" She wondered. She knew that she shouldn't follow him. The cold reply he had given her was a definite sign that he wanted to be left alone right now. Not knowing what else to do she raced off to find Rikku.
A young blonde-haired girl sat on the railing of the stairs outside the school, swinging her leg back and forth as she stared up at the blue sky. The sun reflected off the green swirls of her eyes, causing her to squint at its bright light. "Why does school always have to be so long?" She sighed exasperatedly.
"Because they love to torture us!" A voice sounded from down below in front of her feet. She glanced down. She screamed and practically fell over the railing.
"What? How…why…how is a stuffed animal talking to me?" She managed to say in a trembling voice. A small stuffed moogle sat staring up from the ground at her. "You're not an actual moogle are you?" She quickly reached down and picked it up, shaking it around in all directions. She finally stopped, breathing heavily. "If it was real it would have already cast a spell on me for doing that!" Suddenly she caught her eye on a small metal device. She looked closely at it and smiled. "So, someone's trying to play a trick on me, now are they?" She carefully glanced around the perimeter of the area. "A speaking device such as this one can only be used within a five meter radius." She thought quickly. Suddenly her ears picked up a small high-pitched sound. "That's it!" She jumped over the railing and headed straight toward the bushed nearby. "Ah ha! I found you!" She smiled as she jumped out, surprising the person sitting behind them.
"What?" The figure turned around quickly at the outburst. Rikku gasped.
"Gippal? What the heck are you doing?" She stared at him in confusion.
"I was just…uh…how did you find me?" He asked.
"Hello! A device like this is so easy to pick up it's a joke! Any Al Behd can hear its sound when it resonates from the source. Even you should know that!" Gippal scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Oh, yeah. I should have thought of that." A silence fell between the two where they sat and stared at eachother. Rikku finally spoke up.
"So, why are you making a moogle talk to me? Is this your idea of some kind of a joke?" She waved the moogle back and forth in the air as she spoke in an annoyed tone.
"No! Of course not!" He made his response seem more like a nervous outburst than anything else. Rikku stared at him.
"Oh yeah…then what was it?"
He looked carefully at her stern face and then at the sky. "Well I…I…I'm sorry!" He bowed his head low to the ground. Rikku raised her eyebrows.
"You're sorry?" She asked a little surprised.
He lifted his head back up to face her. "I know you're mad at me and you probably hate my guts right now, but please just listen!" She remained silent, waiting for him to continue. "What I did to Leblanc was rude. I'm sorry that I did it, but I can't take it back. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just…I just blew up and I couldn't control myself anymore! I'm sorry Rikku…I don't want us to keep on this way…I…I want to be able to talk to you again." He looked away from her, his face turning slightly red, hiding in the sun's bright rays.
Rikku stared at him a little while longer before responding. "Gippal…" She finally managed to say. '"I…I'm going to keep this moogle." She stood back up and began to turn around.
"Thanks for forgiving…Hey! Wait a minute! Did you hear anything of what I just said?" He yelled out. She quickly turned around and brought her head down next to his ear.
"I heard every word." Gippal just stared, gulping from nervousness. "Thank you." She turned back around and started to walk off. He watched her retreating figure.
"So, I guess this means you forgive me, right?" He called out after her. She waved her hand in the hair, not turning around.
"Maybe." She simply replied.
"What?" He cried out. He slumped his shoulders down and sighed. "Ugh…I need to come up with another plan."
Yuna gasped, placing both her hands on her knees in exhaustion. She glanced back in forth across the courtyard looking for Rikku. Finally she spotted her next to the fountain in the center. "Rikku!" She called out to her. The blonde quickly looked up, dropping the moogle to the ground when she caught sight of Yuna's face.
"Yunie! What's wrong? What happened?" She questioned quickly. Yuna gulped.
"I don't know what happened…I don't know what to do?"
"Calm down Yunie. It's okay. Tell me everything!" Rikku sat her friend down and waited patiently for her breath to return.
"It's Tidus! He…he…"
"What happened to Tidus?"
"He came into school late and he had cuts and bruises on him! When I asked him what happened he pushed me away and said it didn't concern me! I don't know what to do!" She hung her head low in desperation.
"Yunie…" She wrapped her arms around her in a friendly embrace. "Maybe he just needs some time alone. I don't know what happened, but I'm sure there's a good reason for it."
"I know there is, too! It's just, I don't want to see him this way. It scares me!"
"I know Yunie…" She closed her eyes. Suddenly, she jumped off the concrete siding of the fountain and gasped. "I've got it! Maybe he would know!"
"Who?" Yuna asked quickly.
"Come on Yunie! Let's go!" She reached down for her hand and dragged her off toward the front of the school.
The two girls raced past the stairs and towards several bushes. Rikku called out, "Gippal!" A blonde-haired guy jumped up from the ground where he sat sulking.
"Rikku! What are you doing back?" He asked out of surprise.
"Wow, I can't believe you're actually still here."
"What's it to ya?" He asked in annoyance.
"Anyway, I was wondering if you could help us!" Gippal noticed Yuna for the first time now and sighed.
"What do you need help with?"
"It's Tidus! Please!" Yuna cried out. Gippal immediately took note of her worried expression and sat back down on the grass.
"Did something happen?" He asked.
"He came in to school late and when Yunie saw him he had cuts and bruises on his face!" Rikku replied quickly.
"He what?" Gippal asked in surprise. "Did you ask him about it?"
"He told her that it didn't concern her!"
Gippal gazed down at the ground in thought. "I wonder…" He said slowly.
"Please, do you know what happened to him?" Yuna asked.
"Well, I don't know exactly what happened, but I might have and idea that's close to the actual reason." Yuna and Rikku both sat patiently waiting for him to continue.
Rikku glared at him. "Well, are you going to tell us are you just going to sit there and watch the grass grow?"
"I'm getting to it alright?" He yelled back defensively. "Anyway, by what you've said that's definitely not his usual self. If he got into just a street fight he would have told someone about it. He doesn't push people away from something as simple as that. There's only one reason that he would act like that…" Gippal looked up at the two girls before him.
"Why?" Yuna asked quietly.
"Look, I don't know if I should be the one telling you this or not. Tidus might not want me to. It's really personal to him. It took him awhile before he ever decided to tell me." Gippal seemed uncertain.
"Whatever it is, I promise I won't tell anyone else!" Yuna blurted out. Rikku nodded her head in agreement. Gippal stared for a moment at the two of them, noticing Yuna's determined eyes. He let out a breath.
"Alright, I'll tell you. This might take awhile to tell you though."
"Just get on with it!" Rikku yelled out at him. Gippal glared at her.
"Fine! Geez! Calm down!" He regained his composure and carefully looked each girl in the face. "You see, I met Tidus when we were eight years old. He was always a happy kid, always laughing and making jokes. However, the thing I didn't know was the reason he did it so much. His mom worked at the nearby hospital as a nurse and his dad worked with a woodshop. It wasn't until a little bit later that I found out that his dad had actually been a pretty famous blitzball player in his youth."
"Really? So that's why he's so good!" Rikku exclaimed.
"Yeah well, that has nothing to do with it. See, his family started to go through some hard times. Their money was running extremely low. His father had been kicked off the blitzball team at 26 and had lost a large part of his salary because of it. His mom didn't make all that much money being a nurse. His dad got a job at the woodshop and didn't any better of a salary than she did. Some many things started to go wrong from there on out. Every night, his dad came home drunk. He dragged his body home and collapsed on the couch, hiccupping the whole time. Tidus told me that he remembered watching from the bedroom door as his father came home so late at night. He got so angry at him for leaving his mother alone for so long."
"As the months went by it only got worse. His father got home even later and now his tie was loose and his jacket wrinkled. He even smelled of perfume. One night his mom decided to stay awake and wait for her husband. At around three that morning she heard a car door slam shut. Tidus heard it, too. He sat at his door, peering through a small crack. His mom looked out through the blinds at the driveway, only to have her heart torn apart completely."
"What was it?" Rikku asked in a whisper.
"Tidus's dad stood out on the driveway with another woman. Tidus told me she looked to be about twenty-five years old. He even remembers what she was wearing."
"What was it?" Rikku asked curiously.
"Does it really matter?" Gippal replied back.
"Yes!" The blonde cried out defensively.
"Fine! She had on dark red stiletto hills with ribbons that tied around the calf, a mini skirt, and a corset. She had long black hair that was over on one shoulder while his father kissed her neck roughly. She was smiling and giggling. His mom watched as her husband pushed her against the side of the car kissing her even more. They broke apart soon and his mom had to turn away from the window when she saw the young girl buckling his belt for him. About ten minutes later he walked into the house and headed for his bedroom. When he got there he was a little surprised to see his wife still up. He asked her what she was doing and she just simply stated that she couldn't sleep. He then asked her if she need some help in getting tired and walked over and started trying to kiss her. She immediately slapped him across the face. 'What was that for?' He screamed at her. Tidus said he had gone out of his room and sat out in the hallway peeking through their door. His mom screamed back and told him about how she knew he was having an affair and that all he was, was a drunk."
"His poor mother…" Rikku said slowly.
"Tidus watched them scream back and forth at one another, but then something unexpected happened. His father reached out and struck her across the face, causing her to fall to the floor. He stood over her and began kicking her in the side, beating her without a second thought as she cried out in pain. Tidus couldn't take it anymore and raced in the room to help his mother. He jumped toward his dad and began punching and kicking him in the leg as hard as he could. His father just laughed a told him he was just a pathetic excuse for a son as his mother was for a wife. Tidus picked himself off the ground and began muttering a single phrase under his breath. Not understanding him, his father told him to speak up and be a man. Finally Tidus stood up straight and yelled, 'I hate you!' His dad laughed and punched him in his stomach. He told him that he was tired of living in this dump with this trash of a family. Then he said he was leaving."
"His mom didn't say a word as her husband packed up several suitcases with a few clothes, but mostly alcohol. He slung the cases over his shoulder and turned around with a smile. 'It was fun while it lasted, but I'm afraid I've got to move on better, younger things. If you need me don't bother to call. I'll be too busy with my three new wives!' Then he turned right around and walked out the front door."
Yuna sat in silence. She didn't know what to say. "Tidus said he watched his father leave. He sat by the window and watched. He saw the car from before drive up. The girl got out again and walked over to help him put his luggage in the trunk of the car. As she leaned over to put it down her skirt came up quite a bit, revealing a lacey thong. His father reached over and grabbed her arm with his right hand, his left working its way up her thigh and under her skirt. No one else lived nearby so her loud giggles disturbed no one except for Tidus and his mom. The next thing he knew his dad had pulled the corset off her and her skirt. She didn't have a bra on or anything. He saw her fall into the trunk and his father crawl in after her. The next thing he saw was the car moving and her moaning."
"From that day forward Tidus has hated his father with every part of his heart. He hates it if someone just says his name. He told me it was unbearable watching his mother as she listened to the two of them outside. She just sank to the floor and cried. Ever since then she's worked extremely hard. She works two jobs. One at the hospital and another as a waitress. It's very hard to come by a lot of money. That's why Tidus helps out a lot and does major construction jobs with several businesses. They pay him a pretty good deal."
"I…I had no idea….Tidus…" Yuna stood up from the ground. "I have to talk to him!"
"You can't do that! If he finds out I told you he'll kill me! He hates it when people look at him with pity!" Gippal cried out.
"I won't tell him you told me! I just have to talk with him!" She cried out a second time.
"Yunie…I think what Gippal's saying is right. We should just let him be for now and see how he is tomorrow. If things aren't better in the next few days then we'll think of something to do. Right now though, I think he needs some time to himself."
Yuna stared down at Rikku. She closed her eyes and sat back down on the grass. "I just…I just don't want him to go through something like this alone." Gippal looked at her kindly.
"You know what? Tidus made a good choice." He smiled.
"Choice? What are you talking about?" Rikku asked.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He smiled at Yuna. "Hey, I have an idea. I think we could get a few answers out of someone about this. They might know something we don't."
"Really? Who?" Yuna asked with excitement.
"Let's go to your house Rikku!" Gippal said with cheerfully.
"What?" She cried out. "My house?" She looked over at Yuna who was staring at her curiously. "I mean, why does it have to be my house? We could go anywhere else." She glared over at Gippal.
"Oh, you know why!" Gippal said smugly.
"Now that I think about it, I've never been to your house before Rikku." Yuna stated.
"Is that right?" The Al Behd laughed nervously.
"I guess we should head out!" He replied as he stood back up.
"Right now?" She asked in a small voice. Gippal turned around and stared at her in disbelief.
"Yes right now! I don't know why you're so worried about it! She's gonna find out sooner of later anyways!" He said while rolling his eyes. Rikku sighed in defeat.
"Fine!" She slowly dragged her feet along behind him. Yuna stared at their retreating backs curiously.
"I'll find out what?" She wondered curiously as she followed them.
