*Alright guys! (Holds out the waitress tray) Chapter 18, comin' up!!!*
"Small town creep, puts her on a table
With a fizz gin drink, starin' at her navel
All the walls are pink, baby's in the cradle
Rockin' one, two, three....
Oh oh oh, my you look beautiful,
Oh oh oh, yeah...
Oh oh oh, it's a crime to be usual...yeah..."
-Beautiful
~Angie Aparo
"Pardon me...but I'm not the one wearing combat boots with a bathing suit." -Naida Dark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Got any Braskas?"
"Go Blitz."
Naida sighed as she drew yet another card from the thinning deck on her tray stand next to her bed. She looked at it. Lord Braska, finally.
"Ah HA!" She yelped, slamming her pair of High Summoners down on the table. Letty glared at them, then her, before laughing.
"Hey, you've still got a card left!"
Naida paused, glancing at the forgotten card of Lady Yunalesca she held in her hand.
"Bloody chicken!" She yelled, throwing the card down onto the white marble floor next to her bed.
Letty laughed a little harder, drawing up the last pair of cards he had in his hand.
"And now," He said in his best announcer's voice, "May I present to you, the ultimate card!! High Summoner Ohalland!!!"
With that, he raised his carded hand into the air, then slammed it down on top of Naida's Braskas. Yuna would've blushed in anger had she seen how they were treating the card pictures of her father.
Naida paused her scowling long enough to stare down at the pair that beat her. Lord Ohalland was pictured on the card holding his deadly-looking blitzball, the World Champion, which Wakka now carried with pride. She snorted, knocking the cards off the table, and turned away, crossing her arms.
"Ahh..sore loser!" Letty teased playfully. Naida turned her head to him, stuck out her tongue, then turned back around. The blue haired Auroch laughed, picking up the mercilessley thrown cards and gently sliding them back into their "Go Blitz" box. Setting it on the tray, he leaned back in his chair, smiling as Naida slowly began to snuggle back down into the soft pillows on her hospital bed.
"So.."He started, most of the earlier goofiness fading slightly, "Mifurey said you'd be up and around by tonight?"
She looked at him, pulling the covers up to her collarbone and resting her arms on top, "Yeah, if not before then. I'm feeling a whole lot better since you guys started visitin'."
"Good to hear, good to hear,"He said, smiling slightly, "You think you'll be ready for the big game tomorrow night?"
At this Naida snorted again, slamming her fists down on the bed.
"Ifrit yes I will! If Bickson's gonna play after what you guys did to him, I think I can too!"
He laughed, "That's my Blondie!"
She laughed with him, before he went on with another smile.
"So, if we win, who you goin' to the Blitz Banquet with?"
Naida paused, her laughter fading, but a small smile still played on her lips.
"I don't know..."She said softly, absently clasping her hands together on her stomache.
Letty's smile became softer, along with his voice. "Hey...don't worry about it, I'm sure someone'll ask you."
She looked at him, her smile widening a little more as her "Secret" about Botta was silently revealed to Letty, not that he didn't know already. He merely smiled back, then reached over and slid the small box of cards closer to her.
"Well Blondie,"He said, standing up, "I'm gonna go, but I'm leaving these here with ya, just in case you get bored,ya?"
She smiled, taking the offered box and setting it on her stomache under her hands.
"Thanks Letty."
"Hey, no problem," He answered, walking toward the door. When he reached it, he turned back, "Hey, how well do ya think you'll be by tonight? Say..around..9 or 10?"
She paused, thinking about it, then, "Well...I think I'll be pretty good, so long as they don't put me on any kind of medication for my ribs..heh"
Letty grinned, "Good. Because tonight, we're gonna take you out and show you how the Aurochs party in Luca."
She laughed, "Can't be too hard, we've got a game tomorrow, remember?"
"Yeah, well..as much as we can then, at the banquet, we'll show ya how we REALLY party!"
"Thanks Letty, sounds like fun."
He laughed a little, "No problem Blondie. Now, I'm gone. I've got a date to make with the lovely Lacy!"
With that, he was gone, leaving the blonde Auroch alone in the white room. She lay for a moment, staring at the white ceiling.
(The Banquet..) She thought, smiling slightly, (And Botta's back to normal...maybe we will go together after all..)
Her thoughts fell into silence after that, and a few seconds later, she decided to move on to other things. Wiggling her way into a sitting position, she carefully opened the box of Go Blitz cards, being much more delicate with them than she had earlier. She slid out the handful of cards, slowly shuffling them and looking over the pictures. There they were, Lady Yocun, Lady Yunalesca, Lord Braska, Lord Gandof, and Lord Ohalland as the Ace. Various famous blitzball players made up the deck, most of the faces Naida had never seen before.
(Must be an old deck..) She thought, (Most of the really new ones have Wakka and Tidus in 'em..)
About halfway through the deck, she noticed something she hadn't noticed when she'd been playing Go Blitz with Letty. The tip of the "J" On Joker, stuck out of the box, where the card had somehow gotten wedged inside the box. Setting down the deck she held in her hands, she picked up the box and went about fishing the remaining card out of the box without damaging it. After a few moments, she successfully pulled it out in one piece, but almost dropped it.
On the card, the Joker, was a picture of three men, one kneeling in the middle, hand on a grounded blitzball, one facing to the left, spinning a blitzball on his fingertip, and another on the right, palming a blitzball and staring up at Naida with fierce green-blue eyes. She stared back at them for a moment, before looking around the card for a caption. It offered none, only the two words under the picture.
"Luca Goers"
Naida continued to stare at it blankly, almost bewildered. Because staring back at her, were the pictures of her father, Uncle Matt, and Hal Trapper.
"One more?"
No answer.
"Excuse me..sir?"
"Huh, what?"
Slightly dazed crystal eyes slid up to the waitress behind the bar, connecting with her cool blue gaze. She pushed a locke of blonde hair behind her ear with one hand, while holding up the fresh pot of coffee with the other.
"Would you like another cup of coffee?"
"Oh, no thanks, I'm good."
She smiled, before turning and going to another customer. Botta glanced down at his once again empty cup, shaking his head.
(4 cups of coffee...) He thought, pushing the mug away, (Aunt Julia would kill me if she saw me takin' in this much caffeine.)
Standing up, he looked around the comfortable cafe, seeing all the couples in the booths drinking their hot chocolate and eating their steaming food next to rain-streaked windows.
(Wonder how Naida's doin...) He looked toward the door that led to the hospital that was practically hidden behind the cafe. (I think I'll go visit her.)
On that thought, he strode to the door and made his exit out into the rain. Unfazed, he began the short walk to the hospital, but was stopped halfway by a familiar yell.
"Yo, Red!!"
He turned to greet an oncoming Jassu, who was running, but skidded to a stop when he got close, splashing water up on his redheaded teammate. He grinned sheepishly as Botta reached up and brushed some of the extra water away, a slightly annoyed look on his face.
"What's up, Jassu?"
"Heh..sorry man,"He chuckled, before shaking his head, "I was in a hurry to find ya."
"Yeah yeah," Botta smiled slightly, waving a hand in dismissal, "Now, what's the big deal?"
"Back in the lockeroom, man, "He said, pointing in that direction for emphasis,"Wakka's on the phone."
"Wakka?!"
"Yeah man, he saw the game, wants to talk to ya, ya?"
"Okay," Botta said, changing his now moving course to the lockeroom, "I'm on my way, do me a favor.."
"What's that?"
"Go check up on Naida."
"Sure thing!"
With that, Botta turned and began running across the rain-wet bridge and toward the lockeroom, leaving his dark skinned best friend alone in the rain. The tall Guard paused for a moment, before shaking his head with a grin and turning to go to the hospital.
"White boy's finally openin' up. Good for him."
"You saw that?!"
"Yeah man, old man Varuja almost broke yer bloody leg!!"
Botta paced around the small length of the phone cord in the locker room, talking about his leg with the Captain.
"Well, it did hurt, but Letty cracked it back into place for me."
"That's good, can't have you disabled on the last game of the season!"
"No way!"
They were quiet for a second, before Wakka's voice became slightly more serious.
"So...how's Naida doin'?"
"Oh.."Botta stopped pacing, and leaned again the wall across from the phone, "She's...good. Now she is, anyway."
"Jassu told me it was pretty bad. Said that jerk Bickson got ahold of her."
"Yeah..she put up a fight though. When we got there, his nose was broken already."
"Good girl. That's how an Auroch fights back right there!"
Botta smiled slightly, when suddenly a voice in the backround sounded.
"Naida?? Naida?? Is that her, Wakka?! Let me talk to her! PLEAAAASSSEE?!!!"
Wakka laughed, and Botta raised an eyebrow.
"It's Rikku,"He said,"She wants to talk to Naida. Is she around? Or is she still in the hospital?"
"Oh, she's still in the hospital. I was on my way to see her when Jassu came and told me-"
"Jassu said what?"
Botta was stopped as the lockeroom door swung open, and in came Jassu, carrying a laughing Naida on his back.
"Man, see? What'd I say? Can't leave the white boy 10 minutes and he's already talkin' about me!"
Botta smiled as Wakka laughed through the phone.
"That Jassu?"
"Yeah, he just brought Naida in."
"Great! Can she talk?"
"Yeah,"Botta answered, catching the Al Bhed's eye. He motioned her over to him after Jassu set her down, "Here she is. See ya, Cap'n!"
"Take care of yerself, Botta!"
At that, he handed the phone to the short blonde, who mouthed a thank you before putting the receiver to her ear.
"Hello?...Hi Wakka! Yeah I'm good, how are you?...Out in the middle of nowhere? That sounds like fun...You watched the game? Yeah we did kick some butt... Yeah I'll be ready for tomorrow night, you gonna watch?...Haha, I'll make a goal for ya!...Rikku's there? Tell her I said hi?...Yeah I want to talk to her!..Okay, thanks Wakka! Bye!"
Botta watched as Naida jerked the phone away from her ear. A scream of happiness came through, signalling Rikku had picked up. He laughed as Naida shook her head with a smile and put the phone back to her ear.
"Hey woman!"
This time, the Guard tuned out to the girls' conversation, deciding that it probably wasn't going to be of any interest to him anyway. He turned to Jassu, who sat on the benches in the middle of the room with what looked like a box of Go Blitz cards.
"Hey Jassu.."He whispered loudly. The dyed blonde turned and looked at him.
"'Eh?"
"Those Go Blitz cards?"
"Yeah, they're Letty's. He let Naida play with 'em for a while."
"Wanna play?"
"Sure, get over here!"
Botta grinned, and sat down in front of his friend. Jassu pulled the cards out of the box, and started shuffling them. He was about to deal them out when suddenly two gloved arms reached around him, grabbing the deck away from him.
"Hey!" He yelped, twisting around to see the green-eyed Al Bhed standing behind him, phone to her ear as she shuffled through the cards. After a moment, she pulled one out, then handed the deck back to Jassu.
"Wha-? What was that?"
She looked at him, mouthing the word "Joker," before turning back away from them with the card.
"Well why'd you take it?"
She shrugged.
"Well give it back!"
She turned and looked at him, then shook her head.
"Don't make me get up and take it."
At this she stepped back.
"Hey Rikku, could you hold on a sec?"
A small "Sure" came out of the receiver, and Naida set the phone on her shoulder.
"Jassu, no."
"Well give it back!"He said, getting up. Naida looked at him for a second, then the card. In one quick move, she took it and shoved it in the front of her top. Jassu's jaw dropped, and Botta let out a short laugh.
"You want it,"She said, stepping back,"Too bad, unless you wanna try for it, and if you do, I'll kill you."
He continued to stare at her, shocked, as she offered a brief sweet smile then picked the phone back up.
"Okay I'm back."
Defeated, Jassu slowly turned and sat back down on the bench, dealing out the cards to a still laughing Botta. After a minute, he glanced up at Naida, then over to Botta.
"..That white girl just shoved Letty's Joker down her bikini top."
Botta stopped, before laughing and sorting his cards, "Don't tell Letty."
Jassu snorted, before looking over his deck of cards, "I don't think we need to tell ANYONE."
They started their game off. Naida stayed on the phone in the corner for a few minutes, when suddenly the door swung open, and in walked Datto, blitzball in hand as he walked over to his locker and opened it, pulling out a towel to wipe off some of the rainwater dripping from him.
"Yeah.."Naida's voice came from the floor not too far from the Shooter. He looked at her, his pale blue eyes meeting her green as she motioned for him to come over to her, "Datto just walked in...Yeah, the cute one that's about a year older than you..."
Datto's eyes lit up slightly as Naida grinned at him.
"You wanna talk to him? ..Alright, I'll talk to ya later! ..Haha, thanks. You take care. Biya!"
She took Datto's extended hand to help herself get up. As soon as she was up, she handed him the phone, and eagerly he put it to his ear.
"Hello? Oh, hey Rikku!"
Naida left him standing in the corner, and walked over to the door, almost getting hit by it as it once again swung open. This time, Letty walked in.
"Hey gu- Whoa! Hey Naida!"
They both laughed as he sidestepped to let her pass.
"Where ya headin'?"
"Cafe," She said with a smile, "I'm cravin' some hot chocolate."
"Ah, sweet! I might meet up with ya in a bit. Right now, I'm waitin' for Lacy. She said she'd be on her way here in a few minutes, so if you see her.."
"I'll tell her you're here,"She finished with a laugh.
She turned to go, when Botta stood up.
"Hey Naida, hold up, I'll go with you."
She turned to face the redhead in slight shock. Behind him, Jassu was grinning and giving her a thumbs up. Botta approached her, grabbing the door and pulling it back.
"See you guys in a little bit," He called over his shoulder as the slightly blushing Naida walked out ahead of him. He followed, letting the door shut with a thud.
Letty stared at the door for a minute, before chuckling and sitting down in front of Jassu.
"That's cute,"He said, picking up Botta's forgotten cards. He shuffled through them,"..Got any Yunalescas?"
"Go Blitz."
"So..why did you want to go back to the cafe if you've been there all morning?"
Botta looked down at the smiling Al Bhed, her bright face automatically making a smile appear on his handsome face. He shrugged, some of the loose rainwater sliding off of his bare shoulders.
"Just wanted to make sure you made it there, ya?"
He looked foreward to the upcoming cafe, not noticing the adopted Auroch's joy-filled eyes on him.
They continued to walk across the bridge, Naida taking quick steps to keep up with Botta's long ones. As they neared the cafe, a flash of dark honey hair caught her eye. She turned just in time to see Lacy Thompson walk past her.
"Lacy!" She almost yelled. The older blonde jumped, startled, and turned to face her.
"Oh, hey Naida! How's it goin'?"
"Oh, it's good,"She replied, turning and walking to meet the Counter Lady. Botta saw her stop walking, and turned, waiting patiently for the two women to finish their conversation, "Just goin' to the cafe with Botta."
Lacy grinned as she saw happiness flash through Naida's eyes, then laughed a little.
"I'm headin' for the lockeroom to meet Letty. He is there, isn't he?"
"You bet! In fact, he asked me to tell you that he's waiting, just in case I saw you."
"Oh, well, I'd better hurry!"She paused, before shaking her head,"Oh, I almost forgot! How are you feeling?"
Naida smiled slightly, "I'm fine thank you...I'd be even better if Bickson wasn't getting to play tomorrow night."
"Oh yeah.."Lacy said, frowning slightly,"I heard about that. Balgerda and Graav came to the front desk and used the phone there to call over to Guadosalam to get their replacement player for the second half."
"Really? I heard the new player's a girl. Do you know if she's any good?"
"Oh, I don't know. I checked her backround, and it turns out she's been trained to play, she just never has."
"Who is she?"
"Well, the name never rang a bell for me, but they said she's an Al Bhed."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, V..Viranda..? Viranda Bennet. Yeah, that's her name. You know her?"
Her only response was the horrified look on Naida's face.
"I'll...take that as a...yes..."
"..Well.."She finally said, slowly, "I don't..but..I know a few people who..do.."
Very slowly, Naida looked over her shoulder, praying to Yevon that Botta hadn't been listening. Her answer came when her scared green eyes were met by his enraged crystal. He had.
"Botta..."She said slowly, "Breathe..."
He only glared at her. Lacy leaned foreward.
"I think I should leave,"She whispered, "Need me to send Letty this way?"
"And Jassu, please.."Naida whispered back. The hazel-eyed Counter Lady nodded, turned, and quickly walked away from the tense pair.
As soon as she was gone, Naida took a step foreward.
"Botta.."She said softly, "Look..I know this is pretty bad, but-"
"Pretty bad..?"Botta cut in, his voice dangerously calm, "*Pretty* bad? Oh no, this isn't *Pretty* Bad, Naida. This is freaking WORST thing that could POSSIBLY happen!!!"
He turned and began to pace in the rain, ranting.
"We're together for almost 2 freaking YEARS, living together, playing together, EVERYTHING, and one morning, almost 4 months ago, she just up and LEAVES, and the only thing she leaves behind is a note telling me how much she wished she'd never met me and how she was only using me and just...just.."
He stopped walking, turning to Naida as he ran a hand over his red hair.
"My world...fell APART, the day that she left me.."He said, a little more calm now, "And I come here..all this time later, to find out she's been hiding in Guadosalam, and that she's coming HERE, to LUCA, to play Blitzball! The sport that she was supposed to play WITH me, and now she's playing against me..and not just against me, but on the team, that my team has undyingly HATED for as long as I can remember!!!!"
He finished with a sort of frustrated sigh toward the Al Bhed woman watching him. He turned away from her, walking to the wall of the bridge. Naida only stood, staring blankly at the ground, her body and mind void of all emotion and thought. The rain trickled down her now soaked hair and over her rain-slick body, dripping off of her figertips and her chin. She didn't know what else to do, so she looked up, shaking her hair out of her face as best as she could, and began walking toward the cafe, leaving Botta alone on the bridge. As she neared the end of it, she heard the voices of Letty and Jassu behind her, asking him what happened. Not looking back, Naida entered the cafe alone.
She walked over to the bar, taking a seat and letting her soaked feet dangle above the floor, dripping. Feeling a wave of what felt like a mix of pain and anger, she leaned foreward, resting her elbows on the bar and her head in her hands. As she fought back the hot tears that threatened to spill from her burning eyes, a voice sounded in front of her.
"Here you go, hun. This might help."
The voice was gentle, but older. Naida looked up to see a steaming glass of hot chocolate sitting in front of her, and the blonde waitress right behind in on the other side of the bar.
"Not feeling well?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Oh..no.."Naida said softly, shifting her head to one hand and reaching for the glass with the other, "Just a little upset, but thank you for asking.."
"It's no problem, hun. That's what I'm here for. Now, if you need anything, just ask."
With that, the tan-skinned waitress turned and began serving another customer that had taken a seat down the bar from Naida. The Al Bhed began sipping absently on her drink, nearly forgotten dogtags clanging gently against the wooden bar she was leaning on. Steadily, she breathed into the glass, watching the steam rise in front of her eye, then disappear into the air. She raised her eyebrow, then did it again.
(Amused by steam from a glass..)She thought, doing it once again, (How depressing.)
She went on like this for a few more minutes, before the sound of the entrance bell rang behind her, and footsteps came near. She was about to turn around, when the unidentified person slid into the seat next to her, making herself known.
"Hey Naida.."Lacy's voice, sweet like Svanda's, filled Naida's ears, "Letty asked me..to come on ahead, and see if you're alright."
"I'm fine." She deadpanned, not even looking up. Worry filled the older woman's hazel eyes as she shifted in her seat.
"Are you sure? It didn't look like Botta was going to be very nice once I was gone."
"Really Lacy,"She blew into her glass again, "It's nothing. He's just having a fit, that's all. He'll get over it in a little while, like always."
"Oh.."She looked down, "Alright."
The waitress returned, her "As usual" pretty smile spread across her face.
"Can I get you anything, Lacy?"
"Oh, hey Drea!" The honey-haired woman looked up at her friend, feeling a little more relieved now that someone was talking, "How are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm good, just workin, as usual!"
"That's good,"Lacy smiled, "How's Nero doing?"
"Oh, the little goofball's just fine. Energetic as always."
"Yeah, most little brothers are!"
The two laughed for a moment, before Drea held up the pot of hot chocolate in her hand.
"Want some hot chocolate?"
"Oh, please?"
The taller blue-eyed woman smiled, pulling a glass out from under the counter and filling it full of the steaming liquid. She set it down, then slid it across the smooth bar to Lacy's awaiting hands.
"There ya go, nice and hot!"
"Thanks Drea."
"You're welcome,"She smiled, and was about to say something when a yell came from the back of the cafe.
"'Ey Drea! Chocobo wings, table 9, make it snappy!"
"Oh, dear,"She sighed, setting the pot of hot chocolate on the stove behind her, "I'm off to save someone from starving again,"She laughed,"I'll see ya Lacy."
"Bye Drea!"
"Drea, get your hind end back here and get these people's food!"
"I'm COMING, Amelio! Geez, you half-witted.."
Her voice trailed off as she walked back into the back, disappearing from sight. Naida glanced up as she left, taking another sip of her drink, before setting it back down and looking over at Lacy.
"So, is Letty about to be here?"
The delicate Counter Lady looked over at her, almost startled.
"Oh,"She said softly, before nodding,"Yeah, he should be here any minute."
"That's good."
Without another word, Naida began sipping her hot chocolate. Lacy paused, looking at her for a minute, before turning back to the bar and sipping at her own glass, face contorted with worry for the younger girl who was acting so unlike herself.
(Letty...)She thought, (Please hurry...)
"Man Botta. Calm. Down."
Letty followed the once again pacing Botta down the bridge and back, as Jassu stood nearby, arms folded, observing the scene.
"Calm down? Calm DOWN?! Letty, there's no WAY I can calm down!! Did you not HEAR me?! Viranda's playing tomorrow night, against US, against ME! Viranda Bennet, the woman I thought I loved for almost two years, then out of nowhere left, and I haven't seen her since!!!"
Letty stopped walking, letting out a sigh.
"Look, Botta. Just because Viranda's coming doesn't mean you can lose your head! We've got a game to play tomorrow night, and no matter what, we're gonna play!"
"No,"Botta froze, looking down, "No, Letty. I can't."
"..What?"
"There's no way I can play against her. I just..I can't."
Letty raised an eyebrow, his mouth dropping slightly.
"But, Botta.."
"No buts,"He didn't even look up, "I just..I can't do it. I'm sorry."
"Look man, maybe you should think this over before you make that kind of decision."
"I can't see her."
At this, Letty's hazel eyes turned fierce, and he walked around to face the slightly taller man.
"It won't matter if you're playin' or not, Botta! You're gonna see her either way, got it!? An' I suggest you think about your little decision before you make it, because you gotta remember: You leave the team? We're one man short. We're one man short? We forfeit. We forfeit? The Goers take the cup, the glory, OUR pride, and ownership of the Blitz Banquet."
He paused, letting that sink in. Botta only stood, silent.
"An' really, Red,"Letty said, a little softer, but his facial expression unchanging, "I don't think you wanna live the rest of yer life knowin' it was your fault."
They fell into silence again. After a minute, Botta looked up, his weary crystal gaze glancing from the solemn brown gaze of Jassu to the piercing hazel gaze of Letty. He sighed.
"...I'll think about it,"He said softly, before walking slowly past Letty and down the bridge.
"...Where ya goin, Red?" Letty asked after him.
"..For a walk,"He replied dully, "...I needta..be alone for a while."
After a minute, the redhead disappeared from sight, leaving his two teammates standing in the steadily pouring rain. After a few seconds, Letty turned and walked over to Jassu, who still stood, dark arms folded across his muscular chest.
"So.."He said, almost hoarsely, "...What do you think?"
"About what?"
"..Him..Viranda..this whole thing..."
The dyed blonde Guard took a deep breath, the let it out slowly. He took his gaze off the ocean and looked down at the shorter Center.
"Me?" His deep but gentle voice almost startled Letty,"...I think he needs to get over it...the boy's had almost 4 months to forget the girl, and Yevon even sent him a better one to help him."
Letty raised his eyebrow slightly, "So..you think we shouldn't cut him any slack?"
"We can't,"Jassu looked back out over the ocean, the rain sliding down his brown skin and making him look almost scary, "If we do, he might wind up losin' someone more important than Viranda ever was."
"Another glass?"
Naida looked wearily up at Drea, who had returned for the third time in the past 30 minutes with her pot of hot chocolate. Naida looked at her for a moment, before pushing the glass to her.
"..Hit me."
The Barwaitress laughed a little, filling the glass and once again pushing it back to its temporary owner. Her gaze then shifted to Lacy, her long time friend that worked just minutes away from her, yet was rarely seen. The slightly younger woman's beautiful gaze was still twisted with worry, and it bothered Drea to see her like that.
"'Eya, Lace." She said gently, sidestepping to be in front of her, "Why the long face?"
"Oh..Drea I don't know.."She took another sip out of her second glass of hot chocolate, then looked up at her friend, "It's just.." She lowered her voice, glancing over at the zoned-out Naida, "..I hate seeing the girl like this. She's normally so happy and full of life, and then something happened..and now she's..well..look at her."
The blonde waitress did so, noting how unhappy the Al Bhed was. She had picked up the girl's name to be "Naida," but was never on any closer terms with her than serving her hot chocolate or coffee.
She looked back at Lacy, nodding, "Maybe I could do a little something that might help."
Before Lacy could ask, Drea was gone to the back. She sighed, glancing again to Naida, then down into her almost empty glass. She was about to ask another one of the waitressess for a refill, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey woman,"Letty's calm voice came behind her, and she sighed relief.
"Hi Letty," She replied softly, turning to meet his hazel gaze. He smiled slightly, then glanced at Naida.
"How's she doin'?"
"Not so great..." The Counter Lady frowned, causing Letty's face to fall a little as well, "She's on her third cup of hot chocolate, and she's barely talking."
"Man..." He said softly, walking around and sitting on Lacy's right.
Jassu, who'd been drying off as best as he could, stepped in and sat down on the left of Naida, looking at her.
"Hey, Blondie!" He said, trying to be as cheerful as he could, "How's it hangin'?"
Naida looked at him out of the corner of her eye, before returning her gaze to her glass.
"It's not," She deadpanned, then went on with her drink.
Jassu frowned slightly, leaning foreward on the bar. He was about to turn to say something else, when all of a sudden, singing filled his ears.
"Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you, we wish it were our birthday, so we could party too-HEY!"
The small group of four, along with the rest of the cafe, looked up to see Drea and four other waiters and waitresses come out from the back of the cafe, carrying a small cake with candles and Naida's name on it. The waiter set it down in front of Naida as they finished the song.
"Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you, we're glad that it's your birthday, so we can bother you-HEY!"
They ended the song with cheers and clapping, causing some of the other customers to laugh. Jassu grinned.
"Man, Naida! I didn't know it was yer birthday!"
"It's not," She replied dully, looking up at a hopeful Drea, "But thank you for trying."
Drea looked at her, her bright smile fading slightly. Jassu looked from Naida to her, then let out a sigh and looked down, his face falling.
The Barwaitress stepped back, picking up a fresh pot of hot chocolate off the stove and turning back to the group, looking them over.
"Well now,"She said, trying to cheer up, "I'm gone for 5 mintues and we get 3 more that're down in the dumps"
She pulled out a glass and filled it up, then slid it over to Letty. She took Lacy's cup and filled it back up, then turned to Jassu.
"Hmm.."She said, tilting her head slightly, "...I usually know what the customers want, but I don't think I've seen you here often."
The dazed Guard jolted out of his trance at her voice, and looked up at her.
"Oh,..it's 'cause I usually don't order at the bar, I'm usually in a booth."
"Well then hun, what'll it be?"
He smiled slightly, "Hot chocolate please."
She returned it, "Comin' right up!"
She pulled a glass out, filled it up, then passed it to him. He took it, offered his thanks, then began drinking it as she went on to serve other customers.
Almost thirty minutes later, Naida stood up, startling everyone.
"Heya, Blondie,"Letty said, turning his chair toward her, "What's up?"
"I'm goin' back to the lockeroom," She said, sighing, "I'm...gonna rest for a little bit."
"I'll head on with ya," Jassu said, standing up, "I could you a little shut eye before tonight myself."
"Me too,"Letty added, getting up.
"Well, I guess that'll include me too!" Lacy stood up as well.
Naida glanced at the trio before nodding and walking out of the cafe. Letty and Lacy followed close behind, but Jassu stayed a second longer, waiting. He walked slowly to the door, then turned and looked toward the bar just in time to see Drea walked out. He caught her eye, and waved at her. She smiled, waving back, and he walked out the door.
"So let me get this straight...Viranda..Botta's ex-girlfriend.. was called up..by the..*Goers*..and she's now coming to play for them...and Botta's freakin' out about it...and completely ignoring Naida..which is why she's in a slump right now..?"
"Yep, that's pretty much it."
Svanda shook her head at Letty, who was explaining quietly the whole Botta/Naida/Viranda situation.
"I can't believe this," She whispered, looking up at Keepa, "They were actually getting better too."
"Viranda's a cold woman,"He replied softly, "She ruins alot of stuff in his life, even when she's not around."
"Yeah,"Datto added, scooting closer to the small circle, "It took him this long just to stop thinking about her, and now this."
The rest of the cirlcle made up of Letty, Jassu, Lacy, Keepa and Svanda nodded in agreement.
"She's been asleep for almost two hours now,"Jassu said softly, "And Botta still ain't back.."
"Wonder where he went..?"Datto wondered out loud.
As if on cue, the door swung open, and in stepped Botta, water-logged, but still moving. He glanced at the small group on the floor, raising an eyebrow as he saw they were all staring at him.
"...Problems..?" He said softly, walking over to his locker. He pulled out a towel, and began wiping himself off as he sat down on his cot. Slowly, the group went back to talking, but they were talking so soft he couldn't hear them. So instead, he shifted his gaze to the resting form that was directly across the room from him.
(Naida...) He thought, sighing, (...I hurt her again, didn't I? Yevon, I'm makin' a mess of everything today.)
Wiping the remaining water off of his shoulders, he layed over on his cot, watching Naida's sleeping form.
Letty looked over at his friend, shaking his head.
"Man..."He said softly, "We've got to get those two out and around."
"I know," Jassu agreed, "Hey, what time is it?"
"About 8:30, why?"
"What time did we leave the cafe?"
"Around...5:30? 6?"
"Okay...it's been almost 3 or something hours since we've been to the cafe..Naida's able to walk, like Mifurey said she would be, and the only thing wrong with Botta is his brain. I say in about an hour, we get these two out of here and to the cafe."
"Alright then, it's a plan. We let 'em sleep, then we take 'em out and party!"
The rest of the group laughed their soft agreements as Letty pulled out his deck of cards.
"Until then...who's up for Go Blitz?"
~"Botta...Botta..."~
(Ughh...Not this again.)
~"Botta..Botta!"~
~"What is it?"~
The redhead opened his eyes to Besaid Beach once again. Instead of the dream starting out with a young Rennan, however, it started with the Rennan that left him last time, the 19 year-old looking Rennan. Once again, fierce green eyes locked onto solid crystal. The dark blonde folded his arms across his chest, lifting his chin to be almost level with his brother.
~"You didn't watch her."~
Botta sighed, lowering his head.
~"I know...I took my eye off of her for just a little while, and this..."~ He looked up, ~"Is this what you meant was going to happen?"~
~"No."~
Botta looked back up, crystal eyes wide with surprise.
~"No..?!"~
~"No,"~ Rennan repeated, ~"It wasn't. You still need to keep an eye on her. Keep her out of trouble, understand? You let her get in trouble, she'll stay in it for a while."~
Botta stared at his younger brother, stared into his eyes, almost into his soul, trying desparately to find something, anything, that might tip him off as to what was going to happen. He found nothing...
~"Watch her, Botta..I mean it..."~
Just as before, the dream of Besaid began to fade. This time, Botta didn't fight it, and allowed himself to wake up to the weary world of the Besaid Auroch Locker Room.
"Botta...Botta...wake up.."
"Botta? C'mon, wake up."
"Man...he's out."
"Here, let me handle it..."
Footsteps coming closer, someone leaning in...
"YO, WHITEY!! GET ON UP BEFORE YA GO INTO A COMA!!"
Botta Trapper sat upright in his bed, hands covering his ears with a yell as he went into a straight headbutt with Jassu Korbit.
"Geez!!" The large black man fell back onto the cold lockeroom floor, pressing a calloused hand to the quickly forming knot on his head, "Good Yevon, Red. I don't think I'm ever gonna call ya airhead again!!"
"No..?" Botta laughed a little through gritted teeth as he held his head as well, "My head's not as airy as ya thought?"
"Ifrit no! It's full of lead!!!"
The group behind them broke into laughter, and soon after they joined, standing up.
"Yo, Botta."Keepa said, getting up, "We're goin' to the cafe to do our celebration thing, wanna come?"
"Eh?" He raised a thick eyebrow in response,"We? Sorry, Keeps, man. Yer only 20, and Dat's 19."
"I'm 20 too.." Svanda said quietly.
"Oh, there ya go, Svanda,"Datto laughed, "Just turn yerself in."
"Hey,"Jassu cut in, "At least the white girl's honest."
"Hold up hold up hold up,"Keepa finally stepped back in, "Who said we were goin' to drink, anyway?"
"Well,"Letty spoke up,"That's the only reason you haven't come in the past, you never got to."
"Well, I think this year, we'll go."
"And we'll stay in the booth area, where they don't serve alcohol." Svanda added.
"Yeah!" Datto piped up.
Botta, Jassu, Letty, and Lacy all exchanged glances, before Jassu sighed and nodded.
"Alright, you can come."
The three younger ones cheered, laughing.
"But-"Lacy cut in their laughter.
"Oh crap, there's a catch." Datto's face fell.
"You're gonna have to wait about 30 minutes, so we can get a booth cleared out for ya."
The three stopped cheering for a moment, but nodded their agreements. Letty, Botta, Lacy, and Jassu began to head for the door when Svanda's voice came behind them.
"What about Naida?"
Instantly Letty and Jassu looked at Botta, who only winced slightly, then looked down.
"Let her sleep.."He said softly, "...'til you guys come. She can come with you."
Before anyone could protest, he was out the door. Letty and Jassu paused, before shaking their heads and following after him. The rest of the group then looked at Lacy, who looked at them and shrugged.
"Beats me." She said quietly, shrugging to emphasize that she was the only one who didn't know what was going on with Botta.
"You goin', Lace?" Svanda asked.
"Yeah, I'm gone,"She answered, opening the door, "Gotta hurry and catch up to Larry, Curly and Moe before they get into trouble. See ya in about 15 minutes!!"
With that, she was out the door, once again leaving the small trio in silence. After a few seconds, Datto grinned.
"Did I hear 10 minutes...?"
"No,"Keepa grinned back, "I thought she said 5."
"Ah, my mistake. 5 it is."
The two turned and grabbed up the Go Blitz cards, sitting on the benches. Svanda stood in her spot, confused.
"But I thought he said..." She stopped, realizing, "Oh! You two are awful!"
They laughed as she sat down next to Keepa, watching the two Aurochs play their card game.
"Well, are ya gonna talk at all tonight?"
The redheaded Auroch turned to Letty, a dull-eyed glare his only response. He continued to walk in the rain, speeding up slightly and taking a 4 foot lead to the cafe.
"Guess that's a no..."
"Don't worry about it, honey,"Lacy said softly, looping her arm into his as they walked, "You tried. He'll open up to you when he's ready."
"Yeah,"He muttered in response,"If he's ever ready..."
The small group approached the cafe in silence, not that you could tell. Even from their distance, they could tell the place was full of Blitzball players and fans out celebrating the night before the last game.
"Just ta think," Jassu spoke up as Botta disappeared into the cafe before they reached the end of the bridge, "Just two years ago, we came in here an came out with Viranda."
"Hope history doesn't repeat itself,"Letty breathed as Jassu opened the door.
As soon as the glass door was opened, like a broken dam, noise poured out. Tons of voices and music filled the little cafe, and Letty could smell mixtures of perfume, cologne, cigarette smoke, and the all too familiar smell of Luca Liquor, a.k.a., Seaside Suicide.
"Some people are plannin' on leavin' here smashed, aren't they?" Lacy said softly, brushing a locke of honey hair out of her slightly frightened eyes. She wasn't used to being in a room full of alcoholics, much less drunkards, but it seemed that that's all that was there.
Instinctively, Letty pulled her closer, his protective hackles raising ever so slightly at the eyes that watched him, or Lacy.
"I guess you could say that," He replied just as quielty.
They walked the rest of the way into the cafe, dripping wet. Jassu spotted the young waitress from their place at the door, and quickly made his way to the bar, where he took one of the few empty seats left. Drea turned to him, and immedietly her blue eyes went wide with surprise.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, "You're...dripping wet!"
"Really?" The dark man said with a laugh, wiping some of the water out of his hair, "I didn't notice."
Drea smiled and shook her head, "Hold on, I'll get you a towel."
"Make that 4 towels."
The pair turned to see Lacy and Letty walking toward them, Botta close beside.
"Where'd he go?"Jassu raised an eyebrow, "I thought he came in before us."
"I did,"Botta answered, taking a seat next to Jassu, "But I got sidetracked."
Jassu looked at him for a moment, before looking past him at Lacy as she took her seat. She looked at him and mouthed "He was looking for that girl," And Jassu nodded.
Seconds later, Drea re-emerged with the towels, distributing them to the people in need. As she reached the end of the low-faced line, she handed the remaining beige towel to the large dark man who's name she had yet to learn.
"What's the matter with you guys today?" She questioned softly, leaning foreward and pulling a glass out from under the bar. Streams of solid blonde fell forth over her tan shoulders, standing out against the deep ebony tank top she wore for her work uniform, and hiding the silk stitched eblem of the Luca Goers that streaked across her chest.
The dark brown Auroch Guard looked up at the young waitress, his weary earth eyes connecting with her unworldly blue. There was no way she could be older than him, although she didn't look much younger. Perhaps the same age. She brandished the same life-worn glow in those eyes, and he could sense the familiar air of a woman with a rough past behind her, not too unlike that of Naida.
"Well?"
The tall man shook his head at the sound of her strangely sweet Lucan accent. Looking at her yet again, he found himself staring into those blue eyes, only this time, he talked before he could get lost again.
"Red's down in the dumps over the new girl for the Goers,"He responded quietly, leaning foreward as well. To an outside just walking into the cafe, it might have looked as if the two were sharing more than just a quiet conversation. Not that either of them seemed to mind.
"Oh..I'm sorry to hear that." She pulled out a bottle of Seaside Suicide and filled the glass she still held halfway, then slid it foreward to the awaiting hands of the man she was talking to.
He took it, drawing a sip of the blue-tinted liquid from the clear glass. He savored the taste for a moment, before swallowing and looking back to the waitress.
"Thanks,"He nodded. She returned his thanks with a sweet smile, her straight white teeth flashing in the dim light of the cafe.
"Yo, Drea, clean up, table 5, on the double, MOVE!"
She turned at the sound of Amelio's voice booming from behind the cafe stove in the back. She looked at Jassu, opening her mouth to speak, when the yell rang out again.
"Andrea!! Get yer skinny white rear over to table 5!!!"
Drea sighed, rolling her eyes, and knelt to grab the cleaning supplies from the bottom shelf of the bar. Once the tray of supplies was gathered up, she stood upright, mouthing an "I'll be right back," To Jassu, before heading toward the small wooden bar that barred the entrance to the back where she was. Halfway there, Amelio's voice rang once again.
"ANDREA VALCUN!!! IF YOU DON'T-"
"I'm GOING!!!"
The room suddenly got a bit quieter as the blonde spun around to glare at her boss through the small cubbyhole in the shelf that hid most of the man from view.
She let out a slow, frustrated breath, "I'm...going, Amelio."
The chef only stared at her, his shockingly green eyes not only signifying his race as an Al Bhed, but also as a defeted boss. He went back to his cooking, muttering something about her paycheck under his breath. Jassu smiled, watching as the fiery blonde let out another frustrated sigh and walked over to the plate-clad Table 5, almost slamming the tray into one of the seats as she turned and began to her least favorite job as a waitress: Cleaning.
"Crazy one, eh?"
Jassu turned to face the new waiter behind the bar. The man was a few inches taller than him, regarding him with strange amber eyes. Jassu blinked his eyes in response, before nodding slightly.
"Yeah,"He took another sip of his drink, following the man's gaze back over to "Drea," As he'd heard. He watched her for a minute, catching her eye at one point and flashing her a "You go girl," Smile. Instantly, the sour expression on her face split into a bright smile, and she laughed a little, shaking her head.
He turned back to the bar to find the waiter serving more customers, then turned his eyes to Botta, who still sat, towel draped over his shoulders in the same fashion he did after a game. He was leaning foreward on the bar, staring down into his glass of Seaside Suicide.
"So, Red," He started, taking a sip from his own glass,"How ya feelin'?"
"Like a Chocobo on it's way to slaughter." He stated without even turning his head.
Jassu blinked, then nodded slightly, "Ah, I..uh..see."
Botta's only response was taking another sip of his drink and leaning foreward onto the bar more. Jassu looked at him for a moment longer, then shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something, when a yelp came from across the room.
"Hey!"
"C'mon now, sweet cheeks, we ain't got all day."
Jassu turned to see a red-faced Drea facing a smirking Bickson, who's nose was taped up, and his eye was still slightly swollen and purple.
"Well why don't you keep yer filthy hands off the showcase?" She shot, picking up one of the few remaining cups and setting it on the tray.
Bickson laughed a little, "If you didn't show so much, maybe no one would want to touch."
Her face burned as she tugged at her short cut off blue jeans that went with the uniform, blue eyes becoming almost darker with anger as she restrained from knocking him out. Seeing this, the dark Guard got up from his place at the table and began to approach the small group of Bickson and his team. As he appeared behind the unsuspecting Drea, Bickson looked up at him, eyes widening slightly at the sight of another Auroch.
"Okay okay okay,"He said, backing up a little,"No need to bring other people in on it, I was just playin' around."
Jassu's answer was crossing his arms over his muscular chest and standing his full 6' height. Drea-still unaware of the man's presence- Cleared the last of the table, and turned back to Bickson.
"Don't let it happen again,"She said, eyes narrowing.
"What's the problem?"
All eyes turned to the woman that stepped out from behind Botta, still wet with rain. Her blonde hair draped down to her shoulders, most of it plastered to her peach neck and face. Unnatural green eyes glared out from her fair face, signifying her presence as an Al Bhed. She wore a one-strapped, cut off tank top that stopped about 3 inches above her navel, and swimsuit shorts that stopped short down her seemingly long legs that stayed in view until came to her thick brown boots. Goggles dangled loosely around her neck, clinking a little as she raised one thin eyebrow, and ran a gloved hand over her water-stricken face.
"Well?"She asked. Drea snapped out of her trance, shaking her head before returning to her angry/defensive expression.
"Hot hands here needs to learn how to look and not touch."
"Ah," She dismissed with a wave of her hand,"Just a guy doing guy things. Maybe next time you should try-"
She was cut short when she looked up to notice the dark man staring intentley at her.
"...Hi Jassu."
"Hello Viranda."
Drea turned at the sound of his voice, and suddenly felt embarassed. Looking down, she turned back to the Goers, only glancing up at the new girl and Bickson.
"Long time no see,"She said, voice void of any real emotion.
"Glad for it." He replied, voice just as dull. She smirked.
"Still haven't lost much of that charm, eh?"
"You know it."
"Is everyone here?" She asked, looking around. Her gaze finally fell on the redhead that sat on the bar, "Hm." She snorted, raising an eyebrow, "Still as pathetic as when I left."
"You know what?" Drea interrupted, "Why don't I go get you some towels? They might be of good use, considering you're dripping wet."
"And no one wants to look at your face." Jassu added.
"Yeah, and maybe you could shove one in your mouth too, that might help." Drea tacked on after him, giving Viranda the fakest smile she could muster.
Viranda's eyes narrowed a little, but her only response was yanking a chair out from the table and sitting down. The rest of the group followed her lead moments later, and Drea turned to go back to the kitchen. Jassu looked at the Al Bhed woman a moment longer, before returning to his seat.
He looked over to see Botta was on his second glass of Seaside Suicide, and didn't show much intent of stopping soon. Jassu sighed, knowing it wouldn't be long before the redhead sensed the familiar presence of the insane Al Bhed. However, his thoughts were once again interrupted by the familiar sound of Drea's voice speaking with a customer down the line. He looked at her, and she turned to him, walking down the bar to stand in front of him.
"That...is this NEW girl?!" She whispered. Jassu nodded.
"Viranda Bennet, in the flesh."
"What a witch!!"
"Yeah, and you've only known her for 5 minutes."
Drea sighed, taking Jassu's half empty glass and filling it back up. He laughed a little.
"You didn't have to do that."
"I know I know..."She said, looking around,"It's just a nervous habit."
"So yer nervous?"
"Well, no." She shook her head, looking at him, "There's just.. so much tension around here...I've got a bad feeling somethin's gonna happen, and...I'm just really frustrated. It's people like her that make me embarassed to be wearing this." She gestured to her shirt, "...Why do they have to be like that?"
"I dunno, babe," He took a sip out of his fresh glass, "Some people...just like that I guess."
She smiled slightly, before turning to go serve another customer, leaving Jassu to his drink. He continued to sip at it contently, until the sound of the door bell rang again. He glanced up at the clock, before turning to the door. Indeed, it was the four they'd left behind. Keepa, Datto, Svanda, and Naida entered the cafe, goofy grins plastered on the first two's faces as the third one giggled and the fourth one trailed behind, squeezing out her blonde lockes in a towel one of the waiters handed her as she entered.
The small group was led to the booth that sat next to the Goers, and Jassu smiled as he noticed Bickson shooting almost worried glances at Keepa and Naida. It didn't take long for the Goalie to notice, and returned his look with a smile...which quickly faded, when he saw the woman sitting next to him. Hazel eyes locked onto lime green as Viranda sat back in her chair, staring up at Keepa.
"Hey Keeps, man. Siddown so they can take our-"
The younger Shooter stopped short when he saw who Keepa was looking at. Pale eyes narrowing a bit, he pushed his friend to the seat.
"C'mon, man, time ta eat, ya?"
The two sat down in the booth, Keepa next to the already seated Svanda and Datto next to the window. Naida stood for a moment, squeezing the last of the water out of her hair before sitting down. The table was silent, and Svanda tossed Keepa a worried glance.
"Keep, you okay?"
"Fine."
She looked over at Naida, who shed her depression momentarily as she became concerned for her friend too.
"What's up, Marshmallow?"
He didn't respond her her, and she turned to Datto, who was staring at the same thing Keepa was. She looked around, before shaking her head.
"What are you two staring at?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes connected with a pair not unlike her own. She stared at the woman, who's glare had fallen on her, and was now staring at her as if trying to burn holes in her face. Naida raised an eyebrow and stared back, her even darker green gaze unfazed by the strange woman.
"Looks like she recognizes you,"Datto said softly behind her. Naida shook her head.
"I've never seen the psycho before,"She replied, still staring, "But she sure has a staring problem."
The table fell silent for a moment, until the staring contest ended abruptly as the woman turned to Bickson, whispering. Naida looked across the table at Keepa.
"That's her, isn't it?" She asked, "That's Viranda...isn't it?"
"Yeah,"He said softly, "That's her."
"How'd you guess?" Datto questioned beside her, thumbing through the menu half-heartedly.
"Aunt Julia told me she looked alot like me,"She said, looking back over at the woman, who was pulling some of her blonde lockes out of her face, "And I'm not afraid to admit she does...she looks alot like me."
"Or you look alot like her,"Keepa corrected, leaning back, "She's older than you by two years."
"Makes no difference to me, we still look alike."
Their conversation was put on hold as the waiter approached their table, taking orders. As he started to leave, a voice sounded behind him.
"Hello."
Four pairs of eyes turned up to see Viranda standing at the end of the table, Graav not too far behind her.
"Couldn't come by yourself, I see,"Keepa said, turning his gaze away from her.
"Well, after what you did to Bickson.."
"He got what was coming to him. He shouldn't have tried to rape one of our players."
At this, the woman's gaze turned to Naida, who was sipping absently at the glass of water the waiter had brought.
"Her?" She said, disgust hinted in her voice, "This is your new player?"
"Got a problem with it?"
Her gaze shifted to Datto, and she smiled slightly.
"Oh, little Datto..still too young to drink with the guys, I see. Hm..no, I don't have a problem with her playing. It's just..I heard she was dressy tacky, but..." She looked back to Naida, "Not THIS tacky."
Naida calmly pushed her glass away, looking up at the taller woman.
"Pardon me,"She said, voice as level and easy as a mother talking to their child, "...But I'm not the one wearing combat boots with a bathing suit."
Viranda raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms, "Well, I can see WHY Bickson did what he did."
"Glad you think I'm attractive."
She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. After a minute, she shook her head, casting one last glare down at Naida, before turning and walking back to her table.
"Nice,"Keepa said,"Laughing a bit,"VERY nice."
"That was pretty good, Naida." Datto added with a laugh.
"I don't even KNOW the woman and I thought that was funny, "Svanda laughed a little.
Naida only shook her head, "It's nothing, guys.. Stupid people like her shouldn't be allowed to talk."
The table nodded, and minutes later, their food arrived. Naida hadn't ordered anything, so she sat back in silence, watching the rain fall out of the window.
(Too much going on tonight,) She thought, (So much stress on everyone...)
Her thoughts were interrupted by Svanda's voice.
"Hey Naida, I think Jassu wants to talk to you."
"Huh?" The Al Bhed glanced at her friend, then over to the bar. Sure enough, Jassu was motioning for her to come over to him,"Oh...okay. I'll be right back."
Getting up, she walked across the cafe and over to the bar. The man that had been on the other side of Jassu had just left, and the dark Auroch now had his foot up in the chair, saving it for her. She approached him and sat down.
"Heya, Jassu." She said, smiling slightly.
"Well well, I see someone's feelin' a bit better." He laughed.
"Yeah,"Her smile became brighter, "I can't stay upset for too long."
"Good, because...ah..some people can."
He gestured to Botta behind him, and Naida nodded.
"Has he seen...?"She said softly, Jassu shook his head.
"Nope, he's so dazed out, he hasn't looked up for the past half hour almost. He's goin' on his 4th Seaside, and I don't think it's even botherin' him."
"Yeesh..4. That's alot of alcohol."
"Maybe, but I don't know about him. He's pretty good about that kind of stuff."
"Yeah...."
She trailed off as Drea came to her place at the bar, and pulled out a glass.
"SS, I'm guessin'?" She asked with a smile.
"Sure," Naida laughed, "Why not."
Drea nodded and filled the glass, pushing it over to her. She put the bottle back under the counter, and leaned foreward on the bar, laughing a little.
"I told Amelio about..girl over there. He gave me permission to put banana peppers in her food."
Jassu laughed, slapping his knee, "Did you?"
"Oh yeah, right! That's like hangin' a bloody "Sue Me" Sign around my neck! I DO work here, you know."
"Yeah, yeah...I gotcha."
She smiled, and was about to say something, when yet again, she was interrupted by a yell, only this time, it wasn't for table 5, it was FROM table 5.
"Hey! Waitress! C'mere!!"
Drea's cool blue gaze went over to the table, connecting with Viranda's green.
"Well?" She yelled agian,"We ain't got all night!"
Drea raised an eyebrow, "Hm,"She said softly, "On second thought, those peppers are soundin' REAL good."
Jassu and Naida laughed a little as the frustrated waitress pushed off the bar and walked out to the table. The two turned back to eachother, and Naida shook her head.
"She looks pretty rough, I feel bad for 'er."
"Yeah," Jassu nodded, "She's got it pretty bad here, especially with customers like that."
"You know, I almost wish Botta WOULD notice her."
"What? Why?"
"Because...maybe if he just..saw her..and saw what she was like...he wouldn't feel..like this..anymore."
Jassu looked at her, before nodding in agreement, "Yeah..I think yer right."
"Well,"She stood up, "I'm goin' back to my table, I'll talk to ya's later."
"See ya."
She picked up her glass and began to make her way back over to her table. However, on her way there, something caused her to walk a little slower.
"Look, I'm sorry, I don't cook the food, don't complain to me."
"These don't even taste like Chocobo Wings! In Guadosalam-"
"I'm sorry, Miss. But this isn't Guadosalam."
"What..?"
Naida stopped walking a few feet from her table, and turned to see Viranda standing up, standing the same height as Drea, if not a little taller.
"What did you just say to me?" She repeated threatningly.
Drea continued to stare at her, unfazed, "I said "This. Isn't. Guado.Salam.""
Viranda stared at her, breathing out heavily. Her breath caused Drea to raise an eyebrow as it blew back some of her blonde hair.
"You know.."Viranda said, voice low, "I COULD have you fired for that."
"Then why don't you?"
"Because..."She smirked slightly, "I know of you...Andrea Valcun. I know you can't afford to not..have a job."
Drea's eyes narrowed a bit, "How did you know my...?"
"I know lots of things. I know you've been workin' here a while, and I know that you'd rather die than go back to your old job...but you would if you had to..because even worse than you working there at that club, you'd hate seeing you're little brother Nero starve to death...."
Drea gripped the tray she held in her hand for all she was worth, and finally, Naida couldn't bear to watch.
"So,"Viranda began her conclusion, "I suggest you get back there, and tell your little "Boss," That if he does get me a new plate of Chocobo wings out here on my table in 5 minutes, that I'll-"
She was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. As she turned around, she saw Naida standing, arms crossed.
"Problems, skank?" She asked.
"Yeah, you."
"Why don't you do somethin' about it?"
"Why don't you fight with someone who's allowed to fight back?"
"Oh,"Viranda said, smirking and stepping back, "I just might!"
With that, she pulled back an arm and swung at the shorter Al Bhed. Naida ducked, then jumped back swinging. Her gloved fist connected with Viranda's jaw with a loud pop, hooking her and sending her flying onto the next table. She jumped back up, knocking food and drinks everywhere as she lunged for Naida, tackling her to the ground. The rest of the Goers jumped up, running to aid their new teammate. Before any of them could reach the fight, a loud yell was heard as Keepa picked up Graav and pulled him back, tossing him harmlessley out of the way. Seconds later, Datto was on Abus, grabbing the man's ponytail and jerking him away from the crowd.
Jassu turned at the sound of glass breaking, and saw his teammates.
"Ah, Ifrit, here we go again, "He said, standing up, "Botta, Letty, we got a fight!"
The two Aurochs turned to see the commotion. Immedietly, Letty jumped up and ran for Bickson, who was swinging at Keepa. He tackled him, pinning him to the floor.
"Ohh, let's get it on!" Jassu yelled, running foreward into the fight.
Glasses were breaking, people were running, screaming. Alot of people were fighting people they'd never met, just because they could. Svanda and Lacy had jumped the bar, grabbing as much ice as the could and administering it where it was needed. They were neutral, until Bickson came over the bar, then Svanda grabbed a frying pan and knocked him out. Doram tried to steal Lacy's bucket of ice, causing the honey blonde to get mad and hit her square in the eye.
In the mix of all the commotion, Drea Valcun turned to see Raudy coming up behind Jassu. Grabbing her metal waitress tray, she ran foreward, and whacked the large man over the head with it, denting it and knocking him out at the same time. Jassu turned around.
"What the-?" He looked at Raudy, then at Drea. She smiled at him, then twisted around, switching the tray with her fists long enough to knock one of the drunk customers out before he could touch her. She looked back at Jassu, smiling.
"MAN that felt good!"
"Whoa,"He smirked, "Not bad for a white girl."
"You never know," She smirked back,"I could be black on the inside."
Ten minutes passed, and finally, the fight began to die down. Most of the people were gone, either running, or being thrown out. The Luca Police had arrived, and had already begun talking to Amelio.
The Besaid Auroch emerged from the rubble. Lacy and Svanda coming out from their place behind the bar with their ice buckets, Letty coming out from being stuck under an unconcious man with Keepa's help. Datto rolling off a broken table with a loud laugh. Jassu ripping off a piece of his arm ribbon and wiping off the blood from a cut Drea had received, Botta coming out from the side of the room, fist bruised and bloody, and Naida staggering to her feet from the floor. Viranda sat in a chair at the bar, hands cuffed behind her after Amelio had pointed she'd been the one to start it. Glaring at her, Botta walked to the middle of the room, where Naida met him. She caught his gaze, and he held it.
"....Her..?" Naida said softly, wiping blood off of her forehead with a hand as she stared at him, "You....LOVED....her?!"
She turned and looked at Viranda, who's lip was busted, right eye black, and was covered with a different array of bruises.
Then, turned back to Botta, shaking her head.
"I can't believe you."
With that, she walked past him and out of the Luca Cafe, making her way to the locker room.
"Wait, Naida!" Svanda yelled, starting to run after. She was stopped by Keepa's strong arms.
"No, sweetie..."He said softly, "Let her go, okay?"
"But.."She protested weakly, but it was no use. Keepa held her face in his hands.
"Just..give her some time, alright?"
He kissed her, and she nodded, resting her head against him.
Botta watched her go, not moving. Letty approached him.
"Hey...Botta?"
Without answering, Botta turned, yelling, and kicked the nearest broken table, flipping it over onto Bickson's stirring body and knocking him back out. Letty watched his friend walk out of the cafe, and down toward the bridge, hands shoved deep in his uniform pockets as he kicked loose glass down the sidewalk.
"...Do you think he'll be alright?"
Letty turned to face Lacy, who's hazel eyes were full of concern for their friend. Letty nodded.
"He'll be fine,"He reassured, "He's just...really confused...right now. He'll talk..when he's ready."
She nodded her response, leaning on his shoulder as he took her hand.
"Well, ain't this somethin'?"
Drea looked up at Jassu, "What's somethin'?"
He shrugged, "I dunno, I just felt like sayin' that."
She laughed, shaking her head, "Geez, are you SURE you're not white?"
He looked at her, "What?! Don't TELL me that! I just been hangin' around YOU white people too long."
"Hey, you said I wasn't that bad for a white girl."
"And yer not!"
They looked at eachother for a moment, before laughing. Datto walked over to them.
"Hey guys, Cop says we gotta clear out."
"What?"Jassu raised an eyebrow, "No charges pressed?"
"Well, I don't think so,"Datto said, "He said we're free to go since we didn't start it, and the boss didn't do anything to stop it. Goers can't press charges 'cause..well...for one, they started it, and for two, all of 'em but 'Randa are out cold somewhere."
Jassu looked around, noticing all of the unconcious bodies everywhere.
"Man..And I thought the girls on that team were s'posed to be smart."
"Yeah,"Drea laughed, "Well, that's what you get for thinkin'."
"'Ey, Whitey, shush."
He looked at her with a wide grin as she continued to laugh. Datto rolled his eyes and turned to walk off.
"Hurry up, ya? It's almost 1 in the bloody mornin', and we've still got a game to play today."
"Yeah yeah, be there in a minute."
He left, and Jassu turned to Drea.
"So...you live around here?"
She smiled, "Just on the other side of the sphere. I live alone with my brother, Nero."
"Whoa, that's a sweet name. How old's he?"
"Almost 6, he's gettin' big, and he's really smart."
"Cool..."
They fell silent, then he looked at her.
"Look...I..ah..heard..what Viranda was...sayin' to ya...I'm sorry."
"Oh,"She looked down, blushing slightly, "It's...nothing, don't worry about it. I used to get that alot from Amelio, until he found out I was an orphan...then he just..let it go. That's why I know he won't fire me."
"...What? But...if he won't fire you, then why didn't you...?"
"Because,"She answered before he asked, "If I had thrown the first hit, she could've sued him, then I would HAVE to go back to my old job."
"...She..said you worked at a ...club?"
"Yeah..."She blushed a bit more, "A Night Club in Guadosalam, now that I think about it, that's probably how that psycho knows me...I used to be a waitress there, and it was horrible. The uniform, the people, the things that went on. It was good money, but...it just wasn't worth the torture. Lucky I got out before they made me a full bar waitress, then they could do whatever they wanted to me."
"Yeah, I've heard about that club,"Jassu said nodding, "Bad news...Glad you got out of there..."
"Thanks..."She smiled slightly, looking back up at him.
Once again her blue eyes connected with his deep brown, only this time, they stayed that way for a moment.
"You know..."He said softly, shifting toward her a little, "I...never thanked you...for helpin' me out..earlier."
"Oh?"She breathed, looking up at the taller man. Her eyes continued to lock onto his, closing halfway as he came closer, his warm breath breathing steam across her tan neck.
"Nope..."
Within seconds, Jassu covered the distance between them, and Drea wrapped an arm around his neck, accepting his thanks and making the most of it.
"Whoa, um, Letty?"
"Let 'em go, Dat." The older Auroch replied to the Shooter, who was almost gawking at his dark teammate and the beautiful waitress.
"Looks like we've got another woman in the gang, "Keepa laughed as he walked with Svanda toward the door.
"Yup,"Letty agreed, following them with Lacy, "Guess so."
The two pairs walked out of the cafe and toward the bridge, leaving Datto to stand among the broken tables and glass by himself, watching Jassu and his newfound love with an almost jealous interest. When he'd finally had enough, he shook his head and followed the rest of the group.
Approaching the lockeroom, a loud slam was heard, followed by heavy footsteps. Letty, Keepa, and Datto exchanged glances, before speeding up to the locker hallway stairs. Their worries died down when they saw Botta emerge from the shadows, a mixed look of pain and fury spread across his face. Letty stepped foreward.
"Yo...Botta?"
Without a word, the redheaded Auroch pushed past him, heading to the walkway. Letty looked at Lacy, who nodded, then turned to Svanda, who was already running to the locker room. She followed, leaving the guys to go after their teammate.
The two women entered the locker room to find it deathly quiet. The only thing moving in the room was Naida, who was busy preparing her cot to sleep on. Svanda approached her slowly.
"Naid..?" She said softly, reaching out to her friend, "Are you alright...?"
"Fine," Naida's response was cold, emotionless. Svanda pulled her hand back, turning to Lacy. The older woman shrugged sligthly, not knowing what to do. So in silence, they sat down on the benches, watching quietly as their friend finished fixing her cot and lay down, facing the wall.
Almost 10 minutes later, the tense silence was broken by the door opening again. Svanda and Lacy turned to see Jassu enter, brown eyes holding a bit of concern.
"I talked to him on my way back,"He said softly, not that it made a difference, the room was too quiet,"Seems they were arguing about Viranda...He told her that she'd never replace that..."
He trailed off as he saw Svanda's eyes were wide with worry, and her mouth was dropped in surprise slightly. Without further explanation, the Chocobo Breeder stood up and walked over to the Al Bhed lying on the floor, noticing the older woman was shaking ever so slightly. Kneeling next to her best friend, Svanda placed a soft hand on Naida's bare shoulder. Instantly the girl froze up, and Svanda leaned foreward.
"Naida...honey..."
The Al Bhed orphan rolled over slowly, sitting up. When she finally looked up at her best friend, she was shaking again.
"...Svanda..." She said, her voice cracking as tears began to roll down her face. Immedietly, Svanda wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, letting her rest against her shoulder as she returned the hug, her body shaking with sobs.
"I just..I didn't.."She started,"I'm so...sorry..."
"Shhh...shhh...."Svanda replied softly, "You didn't do anything wrong...he was just being a guy..."
They sat for a moment, before Naida gained enough control to look at her friend.
"It's just...it's like a bloody game of Go Blitz...you never know what card to ask for...and if you pick the wrong one, he'll send you reeling back down to the deck until you have to try again..."
"Well, this isn't Go Blitz, and don't worry, in the end, everything'll be okay...Until then, you're hurt more than anyone your age should be, so you can just...cry..all you want to."
Naida looked at Svanda for a moment longer, before returning to her embrace, the younger Chocobo Breeder rocking gently to calm her best friend, whispering Al Bhed phrases Naida had often told her when she was the one crying.
"Ed'c ugyo du lno, Naida...oui zicd lno.."
It's okay to cry, Naida, you just cry..
And so she did, letting out more pain caused by a man than any woman ever should.
~~~~~~~Author's Note: *Dances* Oh, WHAT NOW?!?! EAT THIS, GOOFBALLS!! *laughs* Just kiddin', guys! I hope you had a good time reading this, possibly more fun readin' than I had writing...? *lol* NO WAY!!! ^_^ Just kiddin'.
Anyways, I'd like to give some of the honor of this chapter to Miss FairDrea, because I lost a bet to her, she won herself a character in the story, along with Jassu, who I just threw in there because he needed a girlfriend and I thought it would be cute! ^_^ There ya go, missy, you deserve it!
Of course, let's go through the Thankios! (Heehee, Spaghettios.)
TIO!!!: SO sad to see your story Strange Glue is nearing an end *Watches it go sadly and waves* That's the first story of yours I ever read, I watched it grow, and watched you grow tremendously as a writer (Not that you weren't one already! ^_^), I just wanted to say congratulations, and that I'm looking foreward to the next chapters of your other stories, and to see how your new baby, "If You Weren't So Perfect," (Reffie, y'all, freakin' AWESOME!), is gonna turn out! Thanks for readin', woman!
Carter: Shame shame on me, I have NOT checked out your storyboard in quite some time, and I know you're on vacay right now, so you won't get this little note for some time. But just know I AM going to go look and see if you've updated "Jaws of Love," (An origional, also very awesome ^_^)! Thank you for reading, your experienced critique means the world to me!
Daemon, DA, Nikki, and Soldier of Mercy: Wow, I know you guys are still around! I saw a review from DA the other day, still waitin' for an update in your page, girl!! You guys keep up the good work, and let me know when you update!
EchoHunter: Wow, what can I say? You compliment me WAY more than I deserve! Thank you so much for being a hardcore reviewer, you'll never know how much that means to me! I love the way you write, and I'm still trying to get my older brother to teach me some DBZ lingo so I'll be able to really READ your stories and understand what's goin' on!!!
FlamingCross: Well now, newcomer! So glad to see a new face! I'll be happy to review some of your things, as soon as I finish posting this chapter! ^_^ Thanks so much for reviewing, and I hope you keep reading! It means alot to me!
Finally, FairDrea: Woman, you absolutey AMAZE me with how you write. You have to be one of the most awesome people I know, you, Tio, Carter, Echo, you guys just ...wow. I don't see how you all can even GLANCE at what I write when you all could be out publishing a bunch of books and PAYING people to read this! ^_^ But Drea, through it all, you've been there to prod me back to writing, even when there's a bunch of psychos breaking into cars at one in the morning! (Teehee ^_^) Thank you so much, hun (I used yer word, hope you don't mind! ^_^), it means SO much to me! Now..GO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR FOREVER SILENT!! *lol j/k*
Allllllllrighty then! Now that I'm done with this frickity frickin' LONG chapter, I shall go!!! Stay safe you guys, chill, love peace and chickin' grease, all that good stuff! *lol* Biya!
-Keeping it "Real,"
~Ari
P.S. Oh, and I'd also like to give a MAJOR thanks to the band 3 Doors Down. Their song "Here Without You," TOTALLY gave me the mood music to write over half of this chapter. You guys kick butt!!! ^_^
"Small town creep, puts her on a table
With a fizz gin drink, starin' at her navel
All the walls are pink, baby's in the cradle
Rockin' one, two, three....
Oh oh oh, my you look beautiful,
Oh oh oh, yeah...
Oh oh oh, it's a crime to be usual...yeah..."
-Beautiful
~Angie Aparo
"Pardon me...but I'm not the one wearing combat boots with a bathing suit." -Naida Dark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Got any Braskas?"
"Go Blitz."
Naida sighed as she drew yet another card from the thinning deck on her tray stand next to her bed. She looked at it. Lord Braska, finally.
"Ah HA!" She yelped, slamming her pair of High Summoners down on the table. Letty glared at them, then her, before laughing.
"Hey, you've still got a card left!"
Naida paused, glancing at the forgotten card of Lady Yunalesca she held in her hand.
"Bloody chicken!" She yelled, throwing the card down onto the white marble floor next to her bed.
Letty laughed a little harder, drawing up the last pair of cards he had in his hand.
"And now," He said in his best announcer's voice, "May I present to you, the ultimate card!! High Summoner Ohalland!!!"
With that, he raised his carded hand into the air, then slammed it down on top of Naida's Braskas. Yuna would've blushed in anger had she seen how they were treating the card pictures of her father.
Naida paused her scowling long enough to stare down at the pair that beat her. Lord Ohalland was pictured on the card holding his deadly-looking blitzball, the World Champion, which Wakka now carried with pride. She snorted, knocking the cards off the table, and turned away, crossing her arms.
"Ahh..sore loser!" Letty teased playfully. Naida turned her head to him, stuck out her tongue, then turned back around. The blue haired Auroch laughed, picking up the mercilessley thrown cards and gently sliding them back into their "Go Blitz" box. Setting it on the tray, he leaned back in his chair, smiling as Naida slowly began to snuggle back down into the soft pillows on her hospital bed.
"So.."He started, most of the earlier goofiness fading slightly, "Mifurey said you'd be up and around by tonight?"
She looked at him, pulling the covers up to her collarbone and resting her arms on top, "Yeah, if not before then. I'm feeling a whole lot better since you guys started visitin'."
"Good to hear, good to hear,"He said, smiling slightly, "You think you'll be ready for the big game tomorrow night?"
At this Naida snorted again, slamming her fists down on the bed.
"Ifrit yes I will! If Bickson's gonna play after what you guys did to him, I think I can too!"
He laughed, "That's my Blondie!"
She laughed with him, before he went on with another smile.
"So, if we win, who you goin' to the Blitz Banquet with?"
Naida paused, her laughter fading, but a small smile still played on her lips.
"I don't know..."She said softly, absently clasping her hands together on her stomache.
Letty's smile became softer, along with his voice. "Hey...don't worry about it, I'm sure someone'll ask you."
She looked at him, her smile widening a little more as her "Secret" about Botta was silently revealed to Letty, not that he didn't know already. He merely smiled back, then reached over and slid the small box of cards closer to her.
"Well Blondie,"He said, standing up, "I'm gonna go, but I'm leaving these here with ya, just in case you get bored,ya?"
She smiled, taking the offered box and setting it on her stomache under her hands.
"Thanks Letty."
"Hey, no problem," He answered, walking toward the door. When he reached it, he turned back, "Hey, how well do ya think you'll be by tonight? Say..around..9 or 10?"
She paused, thinking about it, then, "Well...I think I'll be pretty good, so long as they don't put me on any kind of medication for my ribs..heh"
Letty grinned, "Good. Because tonight, we're gonna take you out and show you how the Aurochs party in Luca."
She laughed, "Can't be too hard, we've got a game tomorrow, remember?"
"Yeah, well..as much as we can then, at the banquet, we'll show ya how we REALLY party!"
"Thanks Letty, sounds like fun."
He laughed a little, "No problem Blondie. Now, I'm gone. I've got a date to make with the lovely Lacy!"
With that, he was gone, leaving the blonde Auroch alone in the white room. She lay for a moment, staring at the white ceiling.
(The Banquet..) She thought, smiling slightly, (And Botta's back to normal...maybe we will go together after all..)
Her thoughts fell into silence after that, and a few seconds later, she decided to move on to other things. Wiggling her way into a sitting position, she carefully opened the box of Go Blitz cards, being much more delicate with them than she had earlier. She slid out the handful of cards, slowly shuffling them and looking over the pictures. There they were, Lady Yocun, Lady Yunalesca, Lord Braska, Lord Gandof, and Lord Ohalland as the Ace. Various famous blitzball players made up the deck, most of the faces Naida had never seen before.
(Must be an old deck..) She thought, (Most of the really new ones have Wakka and Tidus in 'em..)
About halfway through the deck, she noticed something she hadn't noticed when she'd been playing Go Blitz with Letty. The tip of the "J" On Joker, stuck out of the box, where the card had somehow gotten wedged inside the box. Setting down the deck she held in her hands, she picked up the box and went about fishing the remaining card out of the box without damaging it. After a few moments, she successfully pulled it out in one piece, but almost dropped it.
On the card, the Joker, was a picture of three men, one kneeling in the middle, hand on a grounded blitzball, one facing to the left, spinning a blitzball on his fingertip, and another on the right, palming a blitzball and staring up at Naida with fierce green-blue eyes. She stared back at them for a moment, before looking around the card for a caption. It offered none, only the two words under the picture.
"Luca Goers"
Naida continued to stare at it blankly, almost bewildered. Because staring back at her, were the pictures of her father, Uncle Matt, and Hal Trapper.
"One more?"
No answer.
"Excuse me..sir?"
"Huh, what?"
Slightly dazed crystal eyes slid up to the waitress behind the bar, connecting with her cool blue gaze. She pushed a locke of blonde hair behind her ear with one hand, while holding up the fresh pot of coffee with the other.
"Would you like another cup of coffee?"
"Oh, no thanks, I'm good."
She smiled, before turning and going to another customer. Botta glanced down at his once again empty cup, shaking his head.
(4 cups of coffee...) He thought, pushing the mug away, (Aunt Julia would kill me if she saw me takin' in this much caffeine.)
Standing up, he looked around the comfortable cafe, seeing all the couples in the booths drinking their hot chocolate and eating their steaming food next to rain-streaked windows.
(Wonder how Naida's doin...) He looked toward the door that led to the hospital that was practically hidden behind the cafe. (I think I'll go visit her.)
On that thought, he strode to the door and made his exit out into the rain. Unfazed, he began the short walk to the hospital, but was stopped halfway by a familiar yell.
"Yo, Red!!"
He turned to greet an oncoming Jassu, who was running, but skidded to a stop when he got close, splashing water up on his redheaded teammate. He grinned sheepishly as Botta reached up and brushed some of the extra water away, a slightly annoyed look on his face.
"What's up, Jassu?"
"Heh..sorry man,"He chuckled, before shaking his head, "I was in a hurry to find ya."
"Yeah yeah," Botta smiled slightly, waving a hand in dismissal, "Now, what's the big deal?"
"Back in the lockeroom, man, "He said, pointing in that direction for emphasis,"Wakka's on the phone."
"Wakka?!"
"Yeah man, he saw the game, wants to talk to ya, ya?"
"Okay," Botta said, changing his now moving course to the lockeroom, "I'm on my way, do me a favor.."
"What's that?"
"Go check up on Naida."
"Sure thing!"
With that, Botta turned and began running across the rain-wet bridge and toward the lockeroom, leaving his dark skinned best friend alone in the rain. The tall Guard paused for a moment, before shaking his head with a grin and turning to go to the hospital.
"White boy's finally openin' up. Good for him."
"You saw that?!"
"Yeah man, old man Varuja almost broke yer bloody leg!!"
Botta paced around the small length of the phone cord in the locker room, talking about his leg with the Captain.
"Well, it did hurt, but Letty cracked it back into place for me."
"That's good, can't have you disabled on the last game of the season!"
"No way!"
They were quiet for a second, before Wakka's voice became slightly more serious.
"So...how's Naida doin'?"
"Oh.."Botta stopped pacing, and leaned again the wall across from the phone, "She's...good. Now she is, anyway."
"Jassu told me it was pretty bad. Said that jerk Bickson got ahold of her."
"Yeah..she put up a fight though. When we got there, his nose was broken already."
"Good girl. That's how an Auroch fights back right there!"
Botta smiled slightly, when suddenly a voice in the backround sounded.
"Naida?? Naida?? Is that her, Wakka?! Let me talk to her! PLEAAAASSSEE?!!!"
Wakka laughed, and Botta raised an eyebrow.
"It's Rikku,"He said,"She wants to talk to Naida. Is she around? Or is she still in the hospital?"
"Oh, she's still in the hospital. I was on my way to see her when Jassu came and told me-"
"Jassu said what?"
Botta was stopped as the lockeroom door swung open, and in came Jassu, carrying a laughing Naida on his back.
"Man, see? What'd I say? Can't leave the white boy 10 minutes and he's already talkin' about me!"
Botta smiled as Wakka laughed through the phone.
"That Jassu?"
"Yeah, he just brought Naida in."
"Great! Can she talk?"
"Yeah,"Botta answered, catching the Al Bhed's eye. He motioned her over to him after Jassu set her down, "Here she is. See ya, Cap'n!"
"Take care of yerself, Botta!"
At that, he handed the phone to the short blonde, who mouthed a thank you before putting the receiver to her ear.
"Hello?...Hi Wakka! Yeah I'm good, how are you?...Out in the middle of nowhere? That sounds like fun...You watched the game? Yeah we did kick some butt... Yeah I'll be ready for tomorrow night, you gonna watch?...Haha, I'll make a goal for ya!...Rikku's there? Tell her I said hi?...Yeah I want to talk to her!..Okay, thanks Wakka! Bye!"
Botta watched as Naida jerked the phone away from her ear. A scream of happiness came through, signalling Rikku had picked up. He laughed as Naida shook her head with a smile and put the phone back to her ear.
"Hey woman!"
This time, the Guard tuned out to the girls' conversation, deciding that it probably wasn't going to be of any interest to him anyway. He turned to Jassu, who sat on the benches in the middle of the room with what looked like a box of Go Blitz cards.
"Hey Jassu.."He whispered loudly. The dyed blonde turned and looked at him.
"'Eh?"
"Those Go Blitz cards?"
"Yeah, they're Letty's. He let Naida play with 'em for a while."
"Wanna play?"
"Sure, get over here!"
Botta grinned, and sat down in front of his friend. Jassu pulled the cards out of the box, and started shuffling them. He was about to deal them out when suddenly two gloved arms reached around him, grabbing the deck away from him.
"Hey!" He yelped, twisting around to see the green-eyed Al Bhed standing behind him, phone to her ear as she shuffled through the cards. After a moment, she pulled one out, then handed the deck back to Jassu.
"Wha-? What was that?"
She looked at him, mouthing the word "Joker," before turning back away from them with the card.
"Well why'd you take it?"
She shrugged.
"Well give it back!"
She turned and looked at him, then shook her head.
"Don't make me get up and take it."
At this she stepped back.
"Hey Rikku, could you hold on a sec?"
A small "Sure" came out of the receiver, and Naida set the phone on her shoulder.
"Jassu, no."
"Well give it back!"He said, getting up. Naida looked at him for a second, then the card. In one quick move, she took it and shoved it in the front of her top. Jassu's jaw dropped, and Botta let out a short laugh.
"You want it,"She said, stepping back,"Too bad, unless you wanna try for it, and if you do, I'll kill you."
He continued to stare at her, shocked, as she offered a brief sweet smile then picked the phone back up.
"Okay I'm back."
Defeated, Jassu slowly turned and sat back down on the bench, dealing out the cards to a still laughing Botta. After a minute, he glanced up at Naida, then over to Botta.
"..That white girl just shoved Letty's Joker down her bikini top."
Botta stopped, before laughing and sorting his cards, "Don't tell Letty."
Jassu snorted, before looking over his deck of cards, "I don't think we need to tell ANYONE."
They started their game off. Naida stayed on the phone in the corner for a few minutes, when suddenly the door swung open, and in walked Datto, blitzball in hand as he walked over to his locker and opened it, pulling out a towel to wipe off some of the rainwater dripping from him.
"Yeah.."Naida's voice came from the floor not too far from the Shooter. He looked at her, his pale blue eyes meeting her green as she motioned for him to come over to her, "Datto just walked in...Yeah, the cute one that's about a year older than you..."
Datto's eyes lit up slightly as Naida grinned at him.
"You wanna talk to him? ..Alright, I'll talk to ya later! ..Haha, thanks. You take care. Biya!"
She took Datto's extended hand to help herself get up. As soon as she was up, she handed him the phone, and eagerly he put it to his ear.
"Hello? Oh, hey Rikku!"
Naida left him standing in the corner, and walked over to the door, almost getting hit by it as it once again swung open. This time, Letty walked in.
"Hey gu- Whoa! Hey Naida!"
They both laughed as he sidestepped to let her pass.
"Where ya headin'?"
"Cafe," She said with a smile, "I'm cravin' some hot chocolate."
"Ah, sweet! I might meet up with ya in a bit. Right now, I'm waitin' for Lacy. She said she'd be on her way here in a few minutes, so if you see her.."
"I'll tell her you're here,"She finished with a laugh.
She turned to go, when Botta stood up.
"Hey Naida, hold up, I'll go with you."
She turned to face the redhead in slight shock. Behind him, Jassu was grinning and giving her a thumbs up. Botta approached her, grabbing the door and pulling it back.
"See you guys in a little bit," He called over his shoulder as the slightly blushing Naida walked out ahead of him. He followed, letting the door shut with a thud.
Letty stared at the door for a minute, before chuckling and sitting down in front of Jassu.
"That's cute,"He said, picking up Botta's forgotten cards. He shuffled through them,"..Got any Yunalescas?"
"Go Blitz."
"So..why did you want to go back to the cafe if you've been there all morning?"
Botta looked down at the smiling Al Bhed, her bright face automatically making a smile appear on his handsome face. He shrugged, some of the loose rainwater sliding off of his bare shoulders.
"Just wanted to make sure you made it there, ya?"
He looked foreward to the upcoming cafe, not noticing the adopted Auroch's joy-filled eyes on him.
They continued to walk across the bridge, Naida taking quick steps to keep up with Botta's long ones. As they neared the cafe, a flash of dark honey hair caught her eye. She turned just in time to see Lacy Thompson walk past her.
"Lacy!" She almost yelled. The older blonde jumped, startled, and turned to face her.
"Oh, hey Naida! How's it goin'?"
"Oh, it's good,"She replied, turning and walking to meet the Counter Lady. Botta saw her stop walking, and turned, waiting patiently for the two women to finish their conversation, "Just goin' to the cafe with Botta."
Lacy grinned as she saw happiness flash through Naida's eyes, then laughed a little.
"I'm headin' for the lockeroom to meet Letty. He is there, isn't he?"
"You bet! In fact, he asked me to tell you that he's waiting, just in case I saw you."
"Oh, well, I'd better hurry!"She paused, before shaking her head,"Oh, I almost forgot! How are you feeling?"
Naida smiled slightly, "I'm fine thank you...I'd be even better if Bickson wasn't getting to play tomorrow night."
"Oh yeah.."Lacy said, frowning slightly,"I heard about that. Balgerda and Graav came to the front desk and used the phone there to call over to Guadosalam to get their replacement player for the second half."
"Really? I heard the new player's a girl. Do you know if she's any good?"
"Oh, I don't know. I checked her backround, and it turns out she's been trained to play, she just never has."
"Who is she?"
"Well, the name never rang a bell for me, but they said she's an Al Bhed."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, V..Viranda..? Viranda Bennet. Yeah, that's her name. You know her?"
Her only response was the horrified look on Naida's face.
"I'll...take that as a...yes..."
"..Well.."She finally said, slowly, "I don't..but..I know a few people who..do.."
Very slowly, Naida looked over her shoulder, praying to Yevon that Botta hadn't been listening. Her answer came when her scared green eyes were met by his enraged crystal. He had.
"Botta..."She said slowly, "Breathe..."
He only glared at her. Lacy leaned foreward.
"I think I should leave,"She whispered, "Need me to send Letty this way?"
"And Jassu, please.."Naida whispered back. The hazel-eyed Counter Lady nodded, turned, and quickly walked away from the tense pair.
As soon as she was gone, Naida took a step foreward.
"Botta.."She said softly, "Look..I know this is pretty bad, but-"
"Pretty bad..?"Botta cut in, his voice dangerously calm, "*Pretty* bad? Oh no, this isn't *Pretty* Bad, Naida. This is freaking WORST thing that could POSSIBLY happen!!!"
He turned and began to pace in the rain, ranting.
"We're together for almost 2 freaking YEARS, living together, playing together, EVERYTHING, and one morning, almost 4 months ago, she just up and LEAVES, and the only thing she leaves behind is a note telling me how much she wished she'd never met me and how she was only using me and just...just.."
He stopped walking, turning to Naida as he ran a hand over his red hair.
"My world...fell APART, the day that she left me.."He said, a little more calm now, "And I come here..all this time later, to find out she's been hiding in Guadosalam, and that she's coming HERE, to LUCA, to play Blitzball! The sport that she was supposed to play WITH me, and now she's playing against me..and not just against me, but on the team, that my team has undyingly HATED for as long as I can remember!!!!"
He finished with a sort of frustrated sigh toward the Al Bhed woman watching him. He turned away from her, walking to the wall of the bridge. Naida only stood, staring blankly at the ground, her body and mind void of all emotion and thought. The rain trickled down her now soaked hair and over her rain-slick body, dripping off of her figertips and her chin. She didn't know what else to do, so she looked up, shaking her hair out of her face as best as she could, and began walking toward the cafe, leaving Botta alone on the bridge. As she neared the end of it, she heard the voices of Letty and Jassu behind her, asking him what happened. Not looking back, Naida entered the cafe alone.
She walked over to the bar, taking a seat and letting her soaked feet dangle above the floor, dripping. Feeling a wave of what felt like a mix of pain and anger, she leaned foreward, resting her elbows on the bar and her head in her hands. As she fought back the hot tears that threatened to spill from her burning eyes, a voice sounded in front of her.
"Here you go, hun. This might help."
The voice was gentle, but older. Naida looked up to see a steaming glass of hot chocolate sitting in front of her, and the blonde waitress right behind in on the other side of the bar.
"Not feeling well?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Oh..no.."Naida said softly, shifting her head to one hand and reaching for the glass with the other, "Just a little upset, but thank you for asking.."
"It's no problem, hun. That's what I'm here for. Now, if you need anything, just ask."
With that, the tan-skinned waitress turned and began serving another customer that had taken a seat down the bar from Naida. The Al Bhed began sipping absently on her drink, nearly forgotten dogtags clanging gently against the wooden bar she was leaning on. Steadily, she breathed into the glass, watching the steam rise in front of her eye, then disappear into the air. She raised her eyebrow, then did it again.
(Amused by steam from a glass..)She thought, doing it once again, (How depressing.)
She went on like this for a few more minutes, before the sound of the entrance bell rang behind her, and footsteps came near. She was about to turn around, when the unidentified person slid into the seat next to her, making herself known.
"Hey Naida.."Lacy's voice, sweet like Svanda's, filled Naida's ears, "Letty asked me..to come on ahead, and see if you're alright."
"I'm fine." She deadpanned, not even looking up. Worry filled the older woman's hazel eyes as she shifted in her seat.
"Are you sure? It didn't look like Botta was going to be very nice once I was gone."
"Really Lacy,"She blew into her glass again, "It's nothing. He's just having a fit, that's all. He'll get over it in a little while, like always."
"Oh.."She looked down, "Alright."
The waitress returned, her "As usual" pretty smile spread across her face.
"Can I get you anything, Lacy?"
"Oh, hey Drea!" The honey-haired woman looked up at her friend, feeling a little more relieved now that someone was talking, "How are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm good, just workin, as usual!"
"That's good,"Lacy smiled, "How's Nero doing?"
"Oh, the little goofball's just fine. Energetic as always."
"Yeah, most little brothers are!"
The two laughed for a moment, before Drea held up the pot of hot chocolate in her hand.
"Want some hot chocolate?"
"Oh, please?"
The taller blue-eyed woman smiled, pulling a glass out from under the counter and filling it full of the steaming liquid. She set it down, then slid it across the smooth bar to Lacy's awaiting hands.
"There ya go, nice and hot!"
"Thanks Drea."
"You're welcome,"She smiled, and was about to say something when a yell came from the back of the cafe.
"'Ey Drea! Chocobo wings, table 9, make it snappy!"
"Oh, dear,"She sighed, setting the pot of hot chocolate on the stove behind her, "I'm off to save someone from starving again,"She laughed,"I'll see ya Lacy."
"Bye Drea!"
"Drea, get your hind end back here and get these people's food!"
"I'm COMING, Amelio! Geez, you half-witted.."
Her voice trailed off as she walked back into the back, disappearing from sight. Naida glanced up as she left, taking another sip of her drink, before setting it back down and looking over at Lacy.
"So, is Letty about to be here?"
The delicate Counter Lady looked over at her, almost startled.
"Oh,"She said softly, before nodding,"Yeah, he should be here any minute."
"That's good."
Without another word, Naida began sipping her hot chocolate. Lacy paused, looking at her for a minute, before turning back to the bar and sipping at her own glass, face contorted with worry for the younger girl who was acting so unlike herself.
(Letty...)She thought, (Please hurry...)
"Man Botta. Calm. Down."
Letty followed the once again pacing Botta down the bridge and back, as Jassu stood nearby, arms folded, observing the scene.
"Calm down? Calm DOWN?! Letty, there's no WAY I can calm down!! Did you not HEAR me?! Viranda's playing tomorrow night, against US, against ME! Viranda Bennet, the woman I thought I loved for almost two years, then out of nowhere left, and I haven't seen her since!!!"
Letty stopped walking, letting out a sigh.
"Look, Botta. Just because Viranda's coming doesn't mean you can lose your head! We've got a game to play tomorrow night, and no matter what, we're gonna play!"
"No,"Botta froze, looking down, "No, Letty. I can't."
"..What?"
"There's no way I can play against her. I just..I can't."
Letty raised an eyebrow, his mouth dropping slightly.
"But, Botta.."
"No buts,"He didn't even look up, "I just..I can't do it. I'm sorry."
"Look man, maybe you should think this over before you make that kind of decision."
"I can't see her."
At this, Letty's hazel eyes turned fierce, and he walked around to face the slightly taller man.
"It won't matter if you're playin' or not, Botta! You're gonna see her either way, got it!? An' I suggest you think about your little decision before you make it, because you gotta remember: You leave the team? We're one man short. We're one man short? We forfeit. We forfeit? The Goers take the cup, the glory, OUR pride, and ownership of the Blitz Banquet."
He paused, letting that sink in. Botta only stood, silent.
"An' really, Red,"Letty said, a little softer, but his facial expression unchanging, "I don't think you wanna live the rest of yer life knowin' it was your fault."
They fell into silence again. After a minute, Botta looked up, his weary crystal gaze glancing from the solemn brown gaze of Jassu to the piercing hazel gaze of Letty. He sighed.
"...I'll think about it,"He said softly, before walking slowly past Letty and down the bridge.
"...Where ya goin, Red?" Letty asked after him.
"..For a walk,"He replied dully, "...I needta..be alone for a while."
After a minute, the redhead disappeared from sight, leaving his two teammates standing in the steadily pouring rain. After a few seconds, Letty turned and walked over to Jassu, who still stood, dark arms folded across his muscular chest.
"So.."He said, almost hoarsely, "...What do you think?"
"About what?"
"..Him..Viranda..this whole thing..."
The dyed blonde Guard took a deep breath, the let it out slowly. He took his gaze off the ocean and looked down at the shorter Center.
"Me?" His deep but gentle voice almost startled Letty,"...I think he needs to get over it...the boy's had almost 4 months to forget the girl, and Yevon even sent him a better one to help him."
Letty raised his eyebrow slightly, "So..you think we shouldn't cut him any slack?"
"We can't,"Jassu looked back out over the ocean, the rain sliding down his brown skin and making him look almost scary, "If we do, he might wind up losin' someone more important than Viranda ever was."
"Another glass?"
Naida looked wearily up at Drea, who had returned for the third time in the past 30 minutes with her pot of hot chocolate. Naida looked at her for a moment, before pushing the glass to her.
"..Hit me."
The Barwaitress laughed a little, filling the glass and once again pushing it back to its temporary owner. Her gaze then shifted to Lacy, her long time friend that worked just minutes away from her, yet was rarely seen. The slightly younger woman's beautiful gaze was still twisted with worry, and it bothered Drea to see her like that.
"'Eya, Lace." She said gently, sidestepping to be in front of her, "Why the long face?"
"Oh..Drea I don't know.."She took another sip out of her second glass of hot chocolate, then looked up at her friend, "It's just.." She lowered her voice, glancing over at the zoned-out Naida, "..I hate seeing the girl like this. She's normally so happy and full of life, and then something happened..and now she's..well..look at her."
The blonde waitress did so, noting how unhappy the Al Bhed was. She had picked up the girl's name to be "Naida," but was never on any closer terms with her than serving her hot chocolate or coffee.
She looked back at Lacy, nodding, "Maybe I could do a little something that might help."
Before Lacy could ask, Drea was gone to the back. She sighed, glancing again to Naida, then down into her almost empty glass. She was about to ask another one of the waitressess for a refill, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey woman,"Letty's calm voice came behind her, and she sighed relief.
"Hi Letty," She replied softly, turning to meet his hazel gaze. He smiled slightly, then glanced at Naida.
"How's she doin'?"
"Not so great..." The Counter Lady frowned, causing Letty's face to fall a little as well, "She's on her third cup of hot chocolate, and she's barely talking."
"Man..." He said softly, walking around and sitting on Lacy's right.
Jassu, who'd been drying off as best as he could, stepped in and sat down on the left of Naida, looking at her.
"Hey, Blondie!" He said, trying to be as cheerful as he could, "How's it hangin'?"
Naida looked at him out of the corner of her eye, before returning her gaze to her glass.
"It's not," She deadpanned, then went on with her drink.
Jassu frowned slightly, leaning foreward on the bar. He was about to turn to say something else, when all of a sudden, singing filled his ears.
"Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you, we wish it were our birthday, so we could party too-HEY!"
The small group of four, along with the rest of the cafe, looked up to see Drea and four other waiters and waitresses come out from the back of the cafe, carrying a small cake with candles and Naida's name on it. The waiter set it down in front of Naida as they finished the song.
"Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you, we're glad that it's your birthday, so we can bother you-HEY!"
They ended the song with cheers and clapping, causing some of the other customers to laugh. Jassu grinned.
"Man, Naida! I didn't know it was yer birthday!"
"It's not," She replied dully, looking up at a hopeful Drea, "But thank you for trying."
Drea looked at her, her bright smile fading slightly. Jassu looked from Naida to her, then let out a sigh and looked down, his face falling.
The Barwaitress stepped back, picking up a fresh pot of hot chocolate off the stove and turning back to the group, looking them over.
"Well now,"She said, trying to cheer up, "I'm gone for 5 mintues and we get 3 more that're down in the dumps"
She pulled out a glass and filled it up, then slid it over to Letty. She took Lacy's cup and filled it back up, then turned to Jassu.
"Hmm.."She said, tilting her head slightly, "...I usually know what the customers want, but I don't think I've seen you here often."
The dazed Guard jolted out of his trance at her voice, and looked up at her.
"Oh,..it's 'cause I usually don't order at the bar, I'm usually in a booth."
"Well then hun, what'll it be?"
He smiled slightly, "Hot chocolate please."
She returned it, "Comin' right up!"
She pulled a glass out, filled it up, then passed it to him. He took it, offered his thanks, then began drinking it as she went on to serve other customers.
Almost thirty minutes later, Naida stood up, startling everyone.
"Heya, Blondie,"Letty said, turning his chair toward her, "What's up?"
"I'm goin' back to the lockeroom," She said, sighing, "I'm...gonna rest for a little bit."
"I'll head on with ya," Jassu said, standing up, "I could you a little shut eye before tonight myself."
"Me too,"Letty added, getting up.
"Well, I guess that'll include me too!" Lacy stood up as well.
Naida glanced at the trio before nodding and walking out of the cafe. Letty and Lacy followed close behind, but Jassu stayed a second longer, waiting. He walked slowly to the door, then turned and looked toward the bar just in time to see Drea walked out. He caught her eye, and waved at her. She smiled, waving back, and he walked out the door.
"So let me get this straight...Viranda..Botta's ex-girlfriend.. was called up..by the..*Goers*..and she's now coming to play for them...and Botta's freakin' out about it...and completely ignoring Naida..which is why she's in a slump right now..?"
"Yep, that's pretty much it."
Svanda shook her head at Letty, who was explaining quietly the whole Botta/Naida/Viranda situation.
"I can't believe this," She whispered, looking up at Keepa, "They were actually getting better too."
"Viranda's a cold woman,"He replied softly, "She ruins alot of stuff in his life, even when she's not around."
"Yeah,"Datto added, scooting closer to the small circle, "It took him this long just to stop thinking about her, and now this."
The rest of the cirlcle made up of Letty, Jassu, Lacy, Keepa and Svanda nodded in agreement.
"She's been asleep for almost two hours now,"Jassu said softly, "And Botta still ain't back.."
"Wonder where he went..?"Datto wondered out loud.
As if on cue, the door swung open, and in stepped Botta, water-logged, but still moving. He glanced at the small group on the floor, raising an eyebrow as he saw they were all staring at him.
"...Problems..?" He said softly, walking over to his locker. He pulled out a towel, and began wiping himself off as he sat down on his cot. Slowly, the group went back to talking, but they were talking so soft he couldn't hear them. So instead, he shifted his gaze to the resting form that was directly across the room from him.
(Naida...) He thought, sighing, (...I hurt her again, didn't I? Yevon, I'm makin' a mess of everything today.)
Wiping the remaining water off of his shoulders, he layed over on his cot, watching Naida's sleeping form.
Letty looked over at his friend, shaking his head.
"Man..."He said softly, "We've got to get those two out and around."
"I know," Jassu agreed, "Hey, what time is it?"
"About 8:30, why?"
"What time did we leave the cafe?"
"Around...5:30? 6?"
"Okay...it's been almost 3 or something hours since we've been to the cafe..Naida's able to walk, like Mifurey said she would be, and the only thing wrong with Botta is his brain. I say in about an hour, we get these two out of here and to the cafe."
"Alright then, it's a plan. We let 'em sleep, then we take 'em out and party!"
The rest of the group laughed their soft agreements as Letty pulled out his deck of cards.
"Until then...who's up for Go Blitz?"
~"Botta...Botta..."~
(Ughh...Not this again.)
~"Botta..Botta!"~
~"What is it?"~
The redhead opened his eyes to Besaid Beach once again. Instead of the dream starting out with a young Rennan, however, it started with the Rennan that left him last time, the 19 year-old looking Rennan. Once again, fierce green eyes locked onto solid crystal. The dark blonde folded his arms across his chest, lifting his chin to be almost level with his brother.
~"You didn't watch her."~
Botta sighed, lowering his head.
~"I know...I took my eye off of her for just a little while, and this..."~ He looked up, ~"Is this what you meant was going to happen?"~
~"No."~
Botta looked back up, crystal eyes wide with surprise.
~"No..?!"~
~"No,"~ Rennan repeated, ~"It wasn't. You still need to keep an eye on her. Keep her out of trouble, understand? You let her get in trouble, she'll stay in it for a while."~
Botta stared at his younger brother, stared into his eyes, almost into his soul, trying desparately to find something, anything, that might tip him off as to what was going to happen. He found nothing...
~"Watch her, Botta..I mean it..."~
Just as before, the dream of Besaid began to fade. This time, Botta didn't fight it, and allowed himself to wake up to the weary world of the Besaid Auroch Locker Room.
"Botta...Botta...wake up.."
"Botta? C'mon, wake up."
"Man...he's out."
"Here, let me handle it..."
Footsteps coming closer, someone leaning in...
"YO, WHITEY!! GET ON UP BEFORE YA GO INTO A COMA!!"
Botta Trapper sat upright in his bed, hands covering his ears with a yell as he went into a straight headbutt with Jassu Korbit.
"Geez!!" The large black man fell back onto the cold lockeroom floor, pressing a calloused hand to the quickly forming knot on his head, "Good Yevon, Red. I don't think I'm ever gonna call ya airhead again!!"
"No..?" Botta laughed a little through gritted teeth as he held his head as well, "My head's not as airy as ya thought?"
"Ifrit no! It's full of lead!!!"
The group behind them broke into laughter, and soon after they joined, standing up.
"Yo, Botta."Keepa said, getting up, "We're goin' to the cafe to do our celebration thing, wanna come?"
"Eh?" He raised a thick eyebrow in response,"We? Sorry, Keeps, man. Yer only 20, and Dat's 19."
"I'm 20 too.." Svanda said quietly.
"Oh, there ya go, Svanda,"Datto laughed, "Just turn yerself in."
"Hey,"Jassu cut in, "At least the white girl's honest."
"Hold up hold up hold up,"Keepa finally stepped back in, "Who said we were goin' to drink, anyway?"
"Well,"Letty spoke up,"That's the only reason you haven't come in the past, you never got to."
"Well, I think this year, we'll go."
"And we'll stay in the booth area, where they don't serve alcohol." Svanda added.
"Yeah!" Datto piped up.
Botta, Jassu, Letty, and Lacy all exchanged glances, before Jassu sighed and nodded.
"Alright, you can come."
The three younger ones cheered, laughing.
"But-"Lacy cut in their laughter.
"Oh crap, there's a catch." Datto's face fell.
"You're gonna have to wait about 30 minutes, so we can get a booth cleared out for ya."
The three stopped cheering for a moment, but nodded their agreements. Letty, Botta, Lacy, and Jassu began to head for the door when Svanda's voice came behind them.
"What about Naida?"
Instantly Letty and Jassu looked at Botta, who only winced slightly, then looked down.
"Let her sleep.."He said softly, "...'til you guys come. She can come with you."
Before anyone could protest, he was out the door. Letty and Jassu paused, before shaking their heads and following after him. The rest of the group then looked at Lacy, who looked at them and shrugged.
"Beats me." She said quietly, shrugging to emphasize that she was the only one who didn't know what was going on with Botta.
"You goin', Lace?" Svanda asked.
"Yeah, I'm gone,"She answered, opening the door, "Gotta hurry and catch up to Larry, Curly and Moe before they get into trouble. See ya in about 15 minutes!!"
With that, she was out the door, once again leaving the small trio in silence. After a few seconds, Datto grinned.
"Did I hear 10 minutes...?"
"No,"Keepa grinned back, "I thought she said 5."
"Ah, my mistake. 5 it is."
The two turned and grabbed up the Go Blitz cards, sitting on the benches. Svanda stood in her spot, confused.
"But I thought he said..." She stopped, realizing, "Oh! You two are awful!"
They laughed as she sat down next to Keepa, watching the two Aurochs play their card game.
"Well, are ya gonna talk at all tonight?"
The redheaded Auroch turned to Letty, a dull-eyed glare his only response. He continued to walk in the rain, speeding up slightly and taking a 4 foot lead to the cafe.
"Guess that's a no..."
"Don't worry about it, honey,"Lacy said softly, looping her arm into his as they walked, "You tried. He'll open up to you when he's ready."
"Yeah,"He muttered in response,"If he's ever ready..."
The small group approached the cafe in silence, not that you could tell. Even from their distance, they could tell the place was full of Blitzball players and fans out celebrating the night before the last game.
"Just ta think," Jassu spoke up as Botta disappeared into the cafe before they reached the end of the bridge, "Just two years ago, we came in here an came out with Viranda."
"Hope history doesn't repeat itself,"Letty breathed as Jassu opened the door.
As soon as the glass door was opened, like a broken dam, noise poured out. Tons of voices and music filled the little cafe, and Letty could smell mixtures of perfume, cologne, cigarette smoke, and the all too familiar smell of Luca Liquor, a.k.a., Seaside Suicide.
"Some people are plannin' on leavin' here smashed, aren't they?" Lacy said softly, brushing a locke of honey hair out of her slightly frightened eyes. She wasn't used to being in a room full of alcoholics, much less drunkards, but it seemed that that's all that was there.
Instinctively, Letty pulled her closer, his protective hackles raising ever so slightly at the eyes that watched him, or Lacy.
"I guess you could say that," He replied just as quielty.
They walked the rest of the way into the cafe, dripping wet. Jassu spotted the young waitress from their place at the door, and quickly made his way to the bar, where he took one of the few empty seats left. Drea turned to him, and immedietly her blue eyes went wide with surprise.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, "You're...dripping wet!"
"Really?" The dark man said with a laugh, wiping some of the water out of his hair, "I didn't notice."
Drea smiled and shook her head, "Hold on, I'll get you a towel."
"Make that 4 towels."
The pair turned to see Lacy and Letty walking toward them, Botta close beside.
"Where'd he go?"Jassu raised an eyebrow, "I thought he came in before us."
"I did,"Botta answered, taking a seat next to Jassu, "But I got sidetracked."
Jassu looked at him for a moment, before looking past him at Lacy as she took her seat. She looked at him and mouthed "He was looking for that girl," And Jassu nodded.
Seconds later, Drea re-emerged with the towels, distributing them to the people in need. As she reached the end of the low-faced line, she handed the remaining beige towel to the large dark man who's name she had yet to learn.
"What's the matter with you guys today?" She questioned softly, leaning foreward and pulling a glass out from under the bar. Streams of solid blonde fell forth over her tan shoulders, standing out against the deep ebony tank top she wore for her work uniform, and hiding the silk stitched eblem of the Luca Goers that streaked across her chest.
The dark brown Auroch Guard looked up at the young waitress, his weary earth eyes connecting with her unworldly blue. There was no way she could be older than him, although she didn't look much younger. Perhaps the same age. She brandished the same life-worn glow in those eyes, and he could sense the familiar air of a woman with a rough past behind her, not too unlike that of Naida.
"Well?"
The tall man shook his head at the sound of her strangely sweet Lucan accent. Looking at her yet again, he found himself staring into those blue eyes, only this time, he talked before he could get lost again.
"Red's down in the dumps over the new girl for the Goers,"He responded quietly, leaning foreward as well. To an outside just walking into the cafe, it might have looked as if the two were sharing more than just a quiet conversation. Not that either of them seemed to mind.
"Oh..I'm sorry to hear that." She pulled out a bottle of Seaside Suicide and filled the glass she still held halfway, then slid it foreward to the awaiting hands of the man she was talking to.
He took it, drawing a sip of the blue-tinted liquid from the clear glass. He savored the taste for a moment, before swallowing and looking back to the waitress.
"Thanks,"He nodded. She returned his thanks with a sweet smile, her straight white teeth flashing in the dim light of the cafe.
"Yo, Drea, clean up, table 5, on the double, MOVE!"
She turned at the sound of Amelio's voice booming from behind the cafe stove in the back. She looked at Jassu, opening her mouth to speak, when the yell rang out again.
"Andrea!! Get yer skinny white rear over to table 5!!!"
Drea sighed, rolling her eyes, and knelt to grab the cleaning supplies from the bottom shelf of the bar. Once the tray of supplies was gathered up, she stood upright, mouthing an "I'll be right back," To Jassu, before heading toward the small wooden bar that barred the entrance to the back where she was. Halfway there, Amelio's voice rang once again.
"ANDREA VALCUN!!! IF YOU DON'T-"
"I'm GOING!!!"
The room suddenly got a bit quieter as the blonde spun around to glare at her boss through the small cubbyhole in the shelf that hid most of the man from view.
She let out a slow, frustrated breath, "I'm...going, Amelio."
The chef only stared at her, his shockingly green eyes not only signifying his race as an Al Bhed, but also as a defeted boss. He went back to his cooking, muttering something about her paycheck under his breath. Jassu smiled, watching as the fiery blonde let out another frustrated sigh and walked over to the plate-clad Table 5, almost slamming the tray into one of the seats as she turned and began to her least favorite job as a waitress: Cleaning.
"Crazy one, eh?"
Jassu turned to face the new waiter behind the bar. The man was a few inches taller than him, regarding him with strange amber eyes. Jassu blinked his eyes in response, before nodding slightly.
"Yeah,"He took another sip of his drink, following the man's gaze back over to "Drea," As he'd heard. He watched her for a minute, catching her eye at one point and flashing her a "You go girl," Smile. Instantly, the sour expression on her face split into a bright smile, and she laughed a little, shaking her head.
He turned back to the bar to find the waiter serving more customers, then turned his eyes to Botta, who still sat, towel draped over his shoulders in the same fashion he did after a game. He was leaning foreward on the bar, staring down into his glass of Seaside Suicide.
"So, Red," He started, taking a sip from his own glass,"How ya feelin'?"
"Like a Chocobo on it's way to slaughter." He stated without even turning his head.
Jassu blinked, then nodded slightly, "Ah, I..uh..see."
Botta's only response was taking another sip of his drink and leaning foreward onto the bar more. Jassu looked at him for a moment longer, then shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something, when a yelp came from across the room.
"Hey!"
"C'mon now, sweet cheeks, we ain't got all day."
Jassu turned to see a red-faced Drea facing a smirking Bickson, who's nose was taped up, and his eye was still slightly swollen and purple.
"Well why don't you keep yer filthy hands off the showcase?" She shot, picking up one of the few remaining cups and setting it on the tray.
Bickson laughed a little, "If you didn't show so much, maybe no one would want to touch."
Her face burned as she tugged at her short cut off blue jeans that went with the uniform, blue eyes becoming almost darker with anger as she restrained from knocking him out. Seeing this, the dark Guard got up from his place at the table and began to approach the small group of Bickson and his team. As he appeared behind the unsuspecting Drea, Bickson looked up at him, eyes widening slightly at the sight of another Auroch.
"Okay okay okay,"He said, backing up a little,"No need to bring other people in on it, I was just playin' around."
Jassu's answer was crossing his arms over his muscular chest and standing his full 6' height. Drea-still unaware of the man's presence- Cleared the last of the table, and turned back to Bickson.
"Don't let it happen again,"She said, eyes narrowing.
"What's the problem?"
All eyes turned to the woman that stepped out from behind Botta, still wet with rain. Her blonde hair draped down to her shoulders, most of it plastered to her peach neck and face. Unnatural green eyes glared out from her fair face, signifying her presence as an Al Bhed. She wore a one-strapped, cut off tank top that stopped about 3 inches above her navel, and swimsuit shorts that stopped short down her seemingly long legs that stayed in view until came to her thick brown boots. Goggles dangled loosely around her neck, clinking a little as she raised one thin eyebrow, and ran a gloved hand over her water-stricken face.
"Well?"She asked. Drea snapped out of her trance, shaking her head before returning to her angry/defensive expression.
"Hot hands here needs to learn how to look and not touch."
"Ah," She dismissed with a wave of her hand,"Just a guy doing guy things. Maybe next time you should try-"
She was cut short when she looked up to notice the dark man staring intentley at her.
"...Hi Jassu."
"Hello Viranda."
Drea turned at the sound of his voice, and suddenly felt embarassed. Looking down, she turned back to the Goers, only glancing up at the new girl and Bickson.
"Long time no see,"She said, voice void of any real emotion.
"Glad for it." He replied, voice just as dull. She smirked.
"Still haven't lost much of that charm, eh?"
"You know it."
"Is everyone here?" She asked, looking around. Her gaze finally fell on the redhead that sat on the bar, "Hm." She snorted, raising an eyebrow, "Still as pathetic as when I left."
"You know what?" Drea interrupted, "Why don't I go get you some towels? They might be of good use, considering you're dripping wet."
"And no one wants to look at your face." Jassu added.
"Yeah, and maybe you could shove one in your mouth too, that might help." Drea tacked on after him, giving Viranda the fakest smile she could muster.
Viranda's eyes narrowed a little, but her only response was yanking a chair out from the table and sitting down. The rest of the group followed her lead moments later, and Drea turned to go back to the kitchen. Jassu looked at the Al Bhed woman a moment longer, before returning to his seat.
He looked over to see Botta was on his second glass of Seaside Suicide, and didn't show much intent of stopping soon. Jassu sighed, knowing it wouldn't be long before the redhead sensed the familiar presence of the insane Al Bhed. However, his thoughts were once again interrupted by the familiar sound of Drea's voice speaking with a customer down the line. He looked at her, and she turned to him, walking down the bar to stand in front of him.
"That...is this NEW girl?!" She whispered. Jassu nodded.
"Viranda Bennet, in the flesh."
"What a witch!!"
"Yeah, and you've only known her for 5 minutes."
Drea sighed, taking Jassu's half empty glass and filling it back up. He laughed a little.
"You didn't have to do that."
"I know I know..."She said, looking around,"It's just a nervous habit."
"So yer nervous?"
"Well, no." She shook her head, looking at him, "There's just.. so much tension around here...I've got a bad feeling somethin's gonna happen, and...I'm just really frustrated. It's people like her that make me embarassed to be wearing this." She gestured to her shirt, "...Why do they have to be like that?"
"I dunno, babe," He took a sip out of his fresh glass, "Some people...just like that I guess."
She smiled slightly, before turning to go serve another customer, leaving Jassu to his drink. He continued to sip at it contently, until the sound of the door bell rang again. He glanced up at the clock, before turning to the door. Indeed, it was the four they'd left behind. Keepa, Datto, Svanda, and Naida entered the cafe, goofy grins plastered on the first two's faces as the third one giggled and the fourth one trailed behind, squeezing out her blonde lockes in a towel one of the waiters handed her as she entered.
The small group was led to the booth that sat next to the Goers, and Jassu smiled as he noticed Bickson shooting almost worried glances at Keepa and Naida. It didn't take long for the Goalie to notice, and returned his look with a smile...which quickly faded, when he saw the woman sitting next to him. Hazel eyes locked onto lime green as Viranda sat back in her chair, staring up at Keepa.
"Hey Keeps, man. Siddown so they can take our-"
The younger Shooter stopped short when he saw who Keepa was looking at. Pale eyes narrowing a bit, he pushed his friend to the seat.
"C'mon, man, time ta eat, ya?"
The two sat down in the booth, Keepa next to the already seated Svanda and Datto next to the window. Naida stood for a moment, squeezing the last of the water out of her hair before sitting down. The table was silent, and Svanda tossed Keepa a worried glance.
"Keep, you okay?"
"Fine."
She looked over at Naida, who shed her depression momentarily as she became concerned for her friend too.
"What's up, Marshmallow?"
He didn't respond her her, and she turned to Datto, who was staring at the same thing Keepa was. She looked around, before shaking her head.
"What are you two staring at?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes connected with a pair not unlike her own. She stared at the woman, who's glare had fallen on her, and was now staring at her as if trying to burn holes in her face. Naida raised an eyebrow and stared back, her even darker green gaze unfazed by the strange woman.
"Looks like she recognizes you,"Datto said softly behind her. Naida shook her head.
"I've never seen the psycho before,"She replied, still staring, "But she sure has a staring problem."
The table fell silent for a moment, until the staring contest ended abruptly as the woman turned to Bickson, whispering. Naida looked across the table at Keepa.
"That's her, isn't it?" She asked, "That's Viranda...isn't it?"
"Yeah,"He said softly, "That's her."
"How'd you guess?" Datto questioned beside her, thumbing through the menu half-heartedly.
"Aunt Julia told me she looked alot like me,"She said, looking back over at the woman, who was pulling some of her blonde lockes out of her face, "And I'm not afraid to admit she does...she looks alot like me."
"Or you look alot like her,"Keepa corrected, leaning back, "She's older than you by two years."
"Makes no difference to me, we still look alike."
Their conversation was put on hold as the waiter approached their table, taking orders. As he started to leave, a voice sounded behind him.
"Hello."
Four pairs of eyes turned up to see Viranda standing at the end of the table, Graav not too far behind her.
"Couldn't come by yourself, I see,"Keepa said, turning his gaze away from her.
"Well, after what you did to Bickson.."
"He got what was coming to him. He shouldn't have tried to rape one of our players."
At this, the woman's gaze turned to Naida, who was sipping absently at the glass of water the waiter had brought.
"Her?" She said, disgust hinted in her voice, "This is your new player?"
"Got a problem with it?"
Her gaze shifted to Datto, and she smiled slightly.
"Oh, little Datto..still too young to drink with the guys, I see. Hm..no, I don't have a problem with her playing. It's just..I heard she was dressy tacky, but..." She looked back to Naida, "Not THIS tacky."
Naida calmly pushed her glass away, looking up at the taller woman.
"Pardon me,"She said, voice as level and easy as a mother talking to their child, "...But I'm not the one wearing combat boots with a bathing suit."
Viranda raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms, "Well, I can see WHY Bickson did what he did."
"Glad you think I'm attractive."
She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. After a minute, she shook her head, casting one last glare down at Naida, before turning and walking back to her table.
"Nice,"Keepa said,"Laughing a bit,"VERY nice."
"That was pretty good, Naida." Datto added with a laugh.
"I don't even KNOW the woman and I thought that was funny, "Svanda laughed a little.
Naida only shook her head, "It's nothing, guys.. Stupid people like her shouldn't be allowed to talk."
The table nodded, and minutes later, their food arrived. Naida hadn't ordered anything, so she sat back in silence, watching the rain fall out of the window.
(Too much going on tonight,) She thought, (So much stress on everyone...)
Her thoughts were interrupted by Svanda's voice.
"Hey Naida, I think Jassu wants to talk to you."
"Huh?" The Al Bhed glanced at her friend, then over to the bar. Sure enough, Jassu was motioning for her to come over to him,"Oh...okay. I'll be right back."
Getting up, she walked across the cafe and over to the bar. The man that had been on the other side of Jassu had just left, and the dark Auroch now had his foot up in the chair, saving it for her. She approached him and sat down.
"Heya, Jassu." She said, smiling slightly.
"Well well, I see someone's feelin' a bit better." He laughed.
"Yeah,"Her smile became brighter, "I can't stay upset for too long."
"Good, because...ah..some people can."
He gestured to Botta behind him, and Naida nodded.
"Has he seen...?"She said softly, Jassu shook his head.
"Nope, he's so dazed out, he hasn't looked up for the past half hour almost. He's goin' on his 4th Seaside, and I don't think it's even botherin' him."
"Yeesh..4. That's alot of alcohol."
"Maybe, but I don't know about him. He's pretty good about that kind of stuff."
"Yeah...."
She trailed off as Drea came to her place at the bar, and pulled out a glass.
"SS, I'm guessin'?" She asked with a smile.
"Sure," Naida laughed, "Why not."
Drea nodded and filled the glass, pushing it over to her. She put the bottle back under the counter, and leaned foreward on the bar, laughing a little.
"I told Amelio about..girl over there. He gave me permission to put banana peppers in her food."
Jassu laughed, slapping his knee, "Did you?"
"Oh yeah, right! That's like hangin' a bloody "Sue Me" Sign around my neck! I DO work here, you know."
"Yeah, yeah...I gotcha."
She smiled, and was about to say something, when yet again, she was interrupted by a yell, only this time, it wasn't for table 5, it was FROM table 5.
"Hey! Waitress! C'mere!!"
Drea's cool blue gaze went over to the table, connecting with Viranda's green.
"Well?" She yelled agian,"We ain't got all night!"
Drea raised an eyebrow, "Hm,"She said softly, "On second thought, those peppers are soundin' REAL good."
Jassu and Naida laughed a little as the frustrated waitress pushed off the bar and walked out to the table. The two turned back to eachother, and Naida shook her head.
"She looks pretty rough, I feel bad for 'er."
"Yeah," Jassu nodded, "She's got it pretty bad here, especially with customers like that."
"You know, I almost wish Botta WOULD notice her."
"What? Why?"
"Because...maybe if he just..saw her..and saw what she was like...he wouldn't feel..like this..anymore."
Jassu looked at her, before nodding in agreement, "Yeah..I think yer right."
"Well,"She stood up, "I'm goin' back to my table, I'll talk to ya's later."
"See ya."
She picked up her glass and began to make her way back over to her table. However, on her way there, something caused her to walk a little slower.
"Look, I'm sorry, I don't cook the food, don't complain to me."
"These don't even taste like Chocobo Wings! In Guadosalam-"
"I'm sorry, Miss. But this isn't Guadosalam."
"What..?"
Naida stopped walking a few feet from her table, and turned to see Viranda standing up, standing the same height as Drea, if not a little taller.
"What did you just say to me?" She repeated threatningly.
Drea continued to stare at her, unfazed, "I said "This. Isn't. Guado.Salam.""
Viranda stared at her, breathing out heavily. Her breath caused Drea to raise an eyebrow as it blew back some of her blonde hair.
"You know.."Viranda said, voice low, "I COULD have you fired for that."
"Then why don't you?"
"Because..."She smirked slightly, "I know of you...Andrea Valcun. I know you can't afford to not..have a job."
Drea's eyes narrowed a bit, "How did you know my...?"
"I know lots of things. I know you've been workin' here a while, and I know that you'd rather die than go back to your old job...but you would if you had to..because even worse than you working there at that club, you'd hate seeing you're little brother Nero starve to death...."
Drea gripped the tray she held in her hand for all she was worth, and finally, Naida couldn't bear to watch.
"So,"Viranda began her conclusion, "I suggest you get back there, and tell your little "Boss," That if he does get me a new plate of Chocobo wings out here on my table in 5 minutes, that I'll-"
She was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. As she turned around, she saw Naida standing, arms crossed.
"Problems, skank?" She asked.
"Yeah, you."
"Why don't you do somethin' about it?"
"Why don't you fight with someone who's allowed to fight back?"
"Oh,"Viranda said, smirking and stepping back, "I just might!"
With that, she pulled back an arm and swung at the shorter Al Bhed. Naida ducked, then jumped back swinging. Her gloved fist connected with Viranda's jaw with a loud pop, hooking her and sending her flying onto the next table. She jumped back up, knocking food and drinks everywhere as she lunged for Naida, tackling her to the ground. The rest of the Goers jumped up, running to aid their new teammate. Before any of them could reach the fight, a loud yell was heard as Keepa picked up Graav and pulled him back, tossing him harmlessley out of the way. Seconds later, Datto was on Abus, grabbing the man's ponytail and jerking him away from the crowd.
Jassu turned at the sound of glass breaking, and saw his teammates.
"Ah, Ifrit, here we go again, "He said, standing up, "Botta, Letty, we got a fight!"
The two Aurochs turned to see the commotion. Immedietly, Letty jumped up and ran for Bickson, who was swinging at Keepa. He tackled him, pinning him to the floor.
"Ohh, let's get it on!" Jassu yelled, running foreward into the fight.
Glasses were breaking, people were running, screaming. Alot of people were fighting people they'd never met, just because they could. Svanda and Lacy had jumped the bar, grabbing as much ice as the could and administering it where it was needed. They were neutral, until Bickson came over the bar, then Svanda grabbed a frying pan and knocked him out. Doram tried to steal Lacy's bucket of ice, causing the honey blonde to get mad and hit her square in the eye.
In the mix of all the commotion, Drea Valcun turned to see Raudy coming up behind Jassu. Grabbing her metal waitress tray, she ran foreward, and whacked the large man over the head with it, denting it and knocking him out at the same time. Jassu turned around.
"What the-?" He looked at Raudy, then at Drea. She smiled at him, then twisted around, switching the tray with her fists long enough to knock one of the drunk customers out before he could touch her. She looked back at Jassu, smiling.
"MAN that felt good!"
"Whoa,"He smirked, "Not bad for a white girl."
"You never know," She smirked back,"I could be black on the inside."
Ten minutes passed, and finally, the fight began to die down. Most of the people were gone, either running, or being thrown out. The Luca Police had arrived, and had already begun talking to Amelio.
The Besaid Auroch emerged from the rubble. Lacy and Svanda coming out from their place behind the bar with their ice buckets, Letty coming out from being stuck under an unconcious man with Keepa's help. Datto rolling off a broken table with a loud laugh. Jassu ripping off a piece of his arm ribbon and wiping off the blood from a cut Drea had received, Botta coming out from the side of the room, fist bruised and bloody, and Naida staggering to her feet from the floor. Viranda sat in a chair at the bar, hands cuffed behind her after Amelio had pointed she'd been the one to start it. Glaring at her, Botta walked to the middle of the room, where Naida met him. She caught his gaze, and he held it.
"....Her..?" Naida said softly, wiping blood off of her forehead with a hand as she stared at him, "You....LOVED....her?!"
She turned and looked at Viranda, who's lip was busted, right eye black, and was covered with a different array of bruises.
Then, turned back to Botta, shaking her head.
"I can't believe you."
With that, she walked past him and out of the Luca Cafe, making her way to the locker room.
"Wait, Naida!" Svanda yelled, starting to run after. She was stopped by Keepa's strong arms.
"No, sweetie..."He said softly, "Let her go, okay?"
"But.."She protested weakly, but it was no use. Keepa held her face in his hands.
"Just..give her some time, alright?"
He kissed her, and she nodded, resting her head against him.
Botta watched her go, not moving. Letty approached him.
"Hey...Botta?"
Without answering, Botta turned, yelling, and kicked the nearest broken table, flipping it over onto Bickson's stirring body and knocking him back out. Letty watched his friend walk out of the cafe, and down toward the bridge, hands shoved deep in his uniform pockets as he kicked loose glass down the sidewalk.
"...Do you think he'll be alright?"
Letty turned to face Lacy, who's hazel eyes were full of concern for their friend. Letty nodded.
"He'll be fine,"He reassured, "He's just...really confused...right now. He'll talk..when he's ready."
She nodded her response, leaning on his shoulder as he took her hand.
"Well, ain't this somethin'?"
Drea looked up at Jassu, "What's somethin'?"
He shrugged, "I dunno, I just felt like sayin' that."
She laughed, shaking her head, "Geez, are you SURE you're not white?"
He looked at her, "What?! Don't TELL me that! I just been hangin' around YOU white people too long."
"Hey, you said I wasn't that bad for a white girl."
"And yer not!"
They looked at eachother for a moment, before laughing. Datto walked over to them.
"Hey guys, Cop says we gotta clear out."
"What?"Jassu raised an eyebrow, "No charges pressed?"
"Well, I don't think so,"Datto said, "He said we're free to go since we didn't start it, and the boss didn't do anything to stop it. Goers can't press charges 'cause..well...for one, they started it, and for two, all of 'em but 'Randa are out cold somewhere."
Jassu looked around, noticing all of the unconcious bodies everywhere.
"Man..And I thought the girls on that team were s'posed to be smart."
"Yeah,"Drea laughed, "Well, that's what you get for thinkin'."
"'Ey, Whitey, shush."
He looked at her with a wide grin as she continued to laugh. Datto rolled his eyes and turned to walk off.
"Hurry up, ya? It's almost 1 in the bloody mornin', and we've still got a game to play today."
"Yeah yeah, be there in a minute."
He left, and Jassu turned to Drea.
"So...you live around here?"
She smiled, "Just on the other side of the sphere. I live alone with my brother, Nero."
"Whoa, that's a sweet name. How old's he?"
"Almost 6, he's gettin' big, and he's really smart."
"Cool..."
They fell silent, then he looked at her.
"Look...I..ah..heard..what Viranda was...sayin' to ya...I'm sorry."
"Oh,"She looked down, blushing slightly, "It's...nothing, don't worry about it. I used to get that alot from Amelio, until he found out I was an orphan...then he just..let it go. That's why I know he won't fire me."
"...What? But...if he won't fire you, then why didn't you...?"
"Because,"She answered before he asked, "If I had thrown the first hit, she could've sued him, then I would HAVE to go back to my old job."
"...She..said you worked at a ...club?"
"Yeah..."She blushed a bit more, "A Night Club in Guadosalam, now that I think about it, that's probably how that psycho knows me...I used to be a waitress there, and it was horrible. The uniform, the people, the things that went on. It was good money, but...it just wasn't worth the torture. Lucky I got out before they made me a full bar waitress, then they could do whatever they wanted to me."
"Yeah, I've heard about that club,"Jassu said nodding, "Bad news...Glad you got out of there..."
"Thanks..."She smiled slightly, looking back up at him.
Once again her blue eyes connected with his deep brown, only this time, they stayed that way for a moment.
"You know..."He said softly, shifting toward her a little, "I...never thanked you...for helpin' me out..earlier."
"Oh?"She breathed, looking up at the taller man. Her eyes continued to lock onto his, closing halfway as he came closer, his warm breath breathing steam across her tan neck.
"Nope..."
Within seconds, Jassu covered the distance between them, and Drea wrapped an arm around his neck, accepting his thanks and making the most of it.
"Whoa, um, Letty?"
"Let 'em go, Dat." The older Auroch replied to the Shooter, who was almost gawking at his dark teammate and the beautiful waitress.
"Looks like we've got another woman in the gang, "Keepa laughed as he walked with Svanda toward the door.
"Yup,"Letty agreed, following them with Lacy, "Guess so."
The two pairs walked out of the cafe and toward the bridge, leaving Datto to stand among the broken tables and glass by himself, watching Jassu and his newfound love with an almost jealous interest. When he'd finally had enough, he shook his head and followed the rest of the group.
Approaching the lockeroom, a loud slam was heard, followed by heavy footsteps. Letty, Keepa, and Datto exchanged glances, before speeding up to the locker hallway stairs. Their worries died down when they saw Botta emerge from the shadows, a mixed look of pain and fury spread across his face. Letty stepped foreward.
"Yo...Botta?"
Without a word, the redheaded Auroch pushed past him, heading to the walkway. Letty looked at Lacy, who nodded, then turned to Svanda, who was already running to the locker room. She followed, leaving the guys to go after their teammate.
The two women entered the locker room to find it deathly quiet. The only thing moving in the room was Naida, who was busy preparing her cot to sleep on. Svanda approached her slowly.
"Naid..?" She said softly, reaching out to her friend, "Are you alright...?"
"Fine," Naida's response was cold, emotionless. Svanda pulled her hand back, turning to Lacy. The older woman shrugged sligthly, not knowing what to do. So in silence, they sat down on the benches, watching quietly as their friend finished fixing her cot and lay down, facing the wall.
Almost 10 minutes later, the tense silence was broken by the door opening again. Svanda and Lacy turned to see Jassu enter, brown eyes holding a bit of concern.
"I talked to him on my way back,"He said softly, not that it made a difference, the room was too quiet,"Seems they were arguing about Viranda...He told her that she'd never replace that..."
He trailed off as he saw Svanda's eyes were wide with worry, and her mouth was dropped in surprise slightly. Without further explanation, the Chocobo Breeder stood up and walked over to the Al Bhed lying on the floor, noticing the older woman was shaking ever so slightly. Kneeling next to her best friend, Svanda placed a soft hand on Naida's bare shoulder. Instantly the girl froze up, and Svanda leaned foreward.
"Naida...honey..."
The Al Bhed orphan rolled over slowly, sitting up. When she finally looked up at her best friend, she was shaking again.
"...Svanda..." She said, her voice cracking as tears began to roll down her face. Immedietly, Svanda wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, letting her rest against her shoulder as she returned the hug, her body shaking with sobs.
"I just..I didn't.."She started,"I'm so...sorry..."
"Shhh...shhh...."Svanda replied softly, "You didn't do anything wrong...he was just being a guy..."
They sat for a moment, before Naida gained enough control to look at her friend.
"It's just...it's like a bloody game of Go Blitz...you never know what card to ask for...and if you pick the wrong one, he'll send you reeling back down to the deck until you have to try again..."
"Well, this isn't Go Blitz, and don't worry, in the end, everything'll be okay...Until then, you're hurt more than anyone your age should be, so you can just...cry..all you want to."
Naida looked at Svanda for a moment longer, before returning to her embrace, the younger Chocobo Breeder rocking gently to calm her best friend, whispering Al Bhed phrases Naida had often told her when she was the one crying.
"Ed'c ugyo du lno, Naida...oui zicd lno.."
It's okay to cry, Naida, you just cry..
And so she did, letting out more pain caused by a man than any woman ever should.
~~~~~~~Author's Note: *Dances* Oh, WHAT NOW?!?! EAT THIS, GOOFBALLS!! *laughs* Just kiddin', guys! I hope you had a good time reading this, possibly more fun readin' than I had writing...? *lol* NO WAY!!! ^_^ Just kiddin'.
Anyways, I'd like to give some of the honor of this chapter to Miss FairDrea, because I lost a bet to her, she won herself a character in the story, along with Jassu, who I just threw in there because he needed a girlfriend and I thought it would be cute! ^_^ There ya go, missy, you deserve it!
Of course, let's go through the Thankios! (Heehee, Spaghettios.)
TIO!!!: SO sad to see your story Strange Glue is nearing an end *Watches it go sadly and waves* That's the first story of yours I ever read, I watched it grow, and watched you grow tremendously as a writer (Not that you weren't one already! ^_^), I just wanted to say congratulations, and that I'm looking foreward to the next chapters of your other stories, and to see how your new baby, "If You Weren't So Perfect," (Reffie, y'all, freakin' AWESOME!), is gonna turn out! Thanks for readin', woman!
Carter: Shame shame on me, I have NOT checked out your storyboard in quite some time, and I know you're on vacay right now, so you won't get this little note for some time. But just know I AM going to go look and see if you've updated "Jaws of Love," (An origional, also very awesome ^_^)! Thank you for reading, your experienced critique means the world to me!
Daemon, DA, Nikki, and Soldier of Mercy: Wow, I know you guys are still around! I saw a review from DA the other day, still waitin' for an update in your page, girl!! You guys keep up the good work, and let me know when you update!
EchoHunter: Wow, what can I say? You compliment me WAY more than I deserve! Thank you so much for being a hardcore reviewer, you'll never know how much that means to me! I love the way you write, and I'm still trying to get my older brother to teach me some DBZ lingo so I'll be able to really READ your stories and understand what's goin' on!!!
FlamingCross: Well now, newcomer! So glad to see a new face! I'll be happy to review some of your things, as soon as I finish posting this chapter! ^_^ Thanks so much for reviewing, and I hope you keep reading! It means alot to me!
Finally, FairDrea: Woman, you absolutey AMAZE me with how you write. You have to be one of the most awesome people I know, you, Tio, Carter, Echo, you guys just ...wow. I don't see how you all can even GLANCE at what I write when you all could be out publishing a bunch of books and PAYING people to read this! ^_^ But Drea, through it all, you've been there to prod me back to writing, even when there's a bunch of psychos breaking into cars at one in the morning! (Teehee ^_^) Thank you so much, hun (I used yer word, hope you don't mind! ^_^), it means SO much to me! Now..GO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR FOREVER SILENT!! *lol j/k*
Allllllllrighty then! Now that I'm done with this frickity frickin' LONG chapter, I shall go!!! Stay safe you guys, chill, love peace and chickin' grease, all that good stuff! *lol* Biya!
-Keeping it "Real,"
~Ari
P.S. Oh, and I'd also like to give a MAJOR thanks to the band 3 Doors Down. Their song "Here Without You," TOTALLY gave me the mood music to write over half of this chapter. You guys kick butt!!! ^_^
