Disclaimer: Sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but I was just busy! For the record, I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters, so don't sue me or anything!!!
Hi! I hope you like this one, too! As a few of you may have asked in the reviews, no, Rinoa and Squall aren't related in this story. I kinda did a little bit of switching around to fit my own little story and variations and stuff. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'll try and make it so it will. In the meantime, read and review! I'll keep 'em coming!
Chapter Two
The Monster Games
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of Eiri's playful voice. I opened one sleepy eye and gazed up at her, she was bouncing hyperly at the foot of my bed, "What?" I asked.
"C'mon-c'mon-C'MON! Get up!" She shouted playfully as she bounced higher and higher, almost touching the canopy. "Yoo don't wanna miss breakfast, do ya?" She stopped bouncing as I stood up sleepily and grabbed my jacked and pulled on my boots.
I yawned, "Breakfast...?"
"Yeah, BREAKFAST!" She jumped off the bed and tugged at my arm as if she were my daughter begging for a new bike. "Come on! Sis is makin' breakfast! It's really good!"
Rinoa cooks, too? How can she manage to do all of this stuff? It's almost like she isn't even human...
I finished pulling on my jacket just as Eiri and I reached the large kitchen. It was really quite large with it's sky-lit ceiling and large wood burning stove and warm, country-style feel to it. In the center of the kitchen was a large, wooden table with four hand-carved chairs sitting around it. A stone counter stretched all across the opposite wall from me, and pots and pans of cooking food littered the whole kitchen on the different wood-burning stoves.
The warm and welcoming scent of bacon, eggs, toast, and all sorts of other foods welcomed my senses and made my mouth water. I saw Rinoa standing at the island counter in between the counter and the table with her back to us, chopping up some sort of odd looking fruits.
She was wearing some sort of skimpy, mini robes with long sleeves that tapered out and almost reached the floor with a golden charm at the very, very loose wrists of her sleeves. It was a pale, yet sunny yellow color, with red and gold trim; some kind of brown leather garter-sheild was tied around her waist, and tapered down to a bow in the back with a large yin-yang print in front. It looked like some sort of chinease robes... Her long, beautiful hair was tied back a loose braid with feathers tied at the end.
She turned around to face Eiri and me, "Hey, morning.. I thought you were going to sleep the whole day away."
"That smells good." I said.
She smiled at me, "Thank you. I learned all I know about cooking from Meema."
"Meema...?"
She nodded. "Yup. Meema' s the best cook." She went back to chopping.
"Who's Meema?"
"My grandmother on my Mom's side. She was the best cook I ever knew." She turned back around and motioned to the table with her knife, "Now sit yourself down and I'll put yur breakfast on the table."
I nodded and obedientely sat down with Eiri, "You cook, too?" I asked curiously.
"Yup! Sis is the best cook in the whole valley!" Eiri squealed happily.
I looked back at her, almost smiling at how cute she was. Their mother must have been very beautiful to create such a cute kid like Eiri, and a gorgeous woman like Rinoa. I began to imagine what she looked like--probably tall, a lean, thin body with the same sensuous curves that Rinoa had. Her hair would be long and dark, her eyes would perhaps be a fusion of brown and green, and her skin paler than clouds. She must have been beautiful--why else would a man choose her over another woman who was probably attractive in her own day. "I'm sure she is," I said, referring to Rinoa's cooking skills.
Rinoa smiled as she waltzed up to the table with a plate full of food in each hand, "Thank you, Squall." She set our plates in front of us. "If you didn't kill monsters for a living, I'd be in big trouble..." she said with a playful smirk.
Did she really mean that...? I then thought of what else she said; killing monsters for a living. I still didn't understand why... Well, I suppose that if they didn't attack you, then there would be no necessity to fight. Actually, it makes a lot of sense when you think about it... "What'd yoo make?" Eiri asked inturrupting my thoughts.
"Hen's eggs and a rasher of bacon, potato cakes, fresh toast, and a black n' white puddin'." she said as she pointed everything out on Eiri's plate.
I looked down at my own plate, it was practically piled with food! I'd never seen so much food on one plate in my life. And I thought the cafeteria gave large preportions... "What's black n' white pudding?" I asked.
"Blood sausage and pork sausage. Dig in before it gets cold. I'm gonna go and feed the monsters, be right back.With that, she flashed a smile our way and went out with a few buckets full of the fruit she was chopping up.
I shrugged and started eating. The moment I tasted it, I looked down at my plate. This was great! Without warning I wolfed down my entire plate. Eiri looked over at me, her plate only half gone, "Wow! Gone already?" she asked.
"Yeah," I sighed happily. I caught myself; why the hell was I acting so goofy? This is completely un-Squall like... I'm acting like Zell!
"Yoo must really like Sis's food, huh?"
I nodded. "It was great." I pushed myself away from the table and stood up, not forgetting to push my chair back in. "I'm gonna go and help Rinoa; she's out in the stables, right?" Eiri nodded. I walked to the back door that led right next to the stables outside, but as soon as I saw the mess in the kitchen, I stopped and looked back at Eiri, "Is she going to be doing anymore cooking this morning?"
pEiri shook her head, "Nope, she'll clean up after the games are over." That's right... The games are today. I looked back at the mess in the kitchen, maybe I should clean up the kitchen...? I certainly owed it to her. And after all she's done for me, I should clean up that kitchen for her.
"That's okay, Eiri. I'll clean up the kitchen for her. When you're done with your breakfast, go and help Rinoa out in the stables. She needs it."
"That's so nice of yoo! I guess I was wrong, I'm sorry. Sis'll really like yoo, now!"
I blinked. "You...think so?" She'd like me just for cleaning the kitchen?
"Absolutely! Meema always said to Sis that if she ever wants to get married, she should choose a man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and help out. Yoo should clean up, and surprise her. She'll LOVE it!"
She'll love it? Surprise her, huh? Maybe... "...Whatever." Ah, that's more like it...
Eiri nodded, and finished up her plate quickly and hopped down from her chair and ran out the door. I picked up her plate, took my gloves off, and stuffed them in my pockets. I stared at the mess in the kitchen; remember, I owe this to Rinoa. I sighed and started cleaning.
It didn't take me too long to finish cleaning, so it wasn't even an hour before I got out to the stables with her."Hi, Squall." She said once I had arrived in Korekanda's stable. Eiri was feeding him some green herbs. "What were you doing for so long?"
I was about to tell her what I was doing, but, somehow, I felt kinda wierd... Then I had an idea, why tell her when I could just surprise her with it? I remembered what Eiri said; she would really be happy...
I scratched my head, "Well... I could tell you... But-uh-it's...er...ah...you gotta close your eyes, first." I saw Eiri give me a double-thumbs-up. Rinoa gave me a mischievous, curious smirk. "It's...ah...a surprise." You lovesick schmuck....
"Surprise, huh? ...Okay." She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes with a beautiful smile on her face. So what? I thought. If I can repay Rinoa, then a lovesick schmuck I'll be.
I took in a deep breath and took both of her hands in mine. I wanted to hold those hands forever, but I promised a surprise. I began leading her to the kitchen, and as soon as we were halfway there, she spoke up. "Can I open my eyes now?" she asked fondly.
"No, not yet." I guided her into the center of the kitchen so she could get the full effect. "Wait here." I told her as I let go of her hands. I went to the window sill and opened the red curtains, bright sunlight pouring in.
Rinoa bit her lip in excitement, "Now can I open them?"
"Alright, now."
She opened her eyes and she brought her hands to her mouth. She looked around the kitchen, she looked to be shocked. "... Oh Squall..." She sprinted up to me and wrapped both of her arms around my neck and hugged me tight in her grip, "This is so sweet! Thank you!"
In all my wildest dreams, I never thought touching someone could feel so good. The second her hand touched me, I felt rushes of pleasure going all over my body. What was this control she had over me, I wondered. Oh, well--it didn't matter. The only thing I knew was that I should listen to Eiri's advice more often...
We headed out to the tournament grounds as soon as Korekanda was fed; Eiri, Rinoa and I rode on its back as it strutted into town. All of the villagers were rushing through the streets to get to some sort of 'stadium.' At least, it looked like a stadium. What it really was, though, was just a ring of white clifs and trees all around it. I looked around and could see red flags leading off to somewhere; that must be the path on which the race is held. We stopped in front of a merchant's tent; Rinoa hopped off and went in, Eiri piggy-backing along. I followed in.
The merchant's tent was filled with all sorts of potions and concoctions in bottles on shelves. An elderly woman sat in the corner, weaving a fine rug on a loom, a pile of already made rugs beside her. She looked up at Rinoa and stood up when she saw her. They both performed a salute that looked scarily like the SeeD salute, the only difference seemed to be that you crossed your other arm over your stomach to support the elbow of the other, and bowed your head afterwards. "Good mornin', Lady Loire," she said. "What can I do for you?"
"I need some potions and dragon elixer for the tournament today. Is your husband here?"
"Oh, yes," she said. "Kinoc! Her Ladyship is here for some potions!" she called. "He should be here in a moment."
"Thank you," she said. "Oh, Majji, how is your granddaughter doing? Is she better?"
Majji smiled. "Oh, yes; a sip of Kinoc's new elixer and she was good as new. Her skin is back to the normal color and her fever is but a memory."
Rinoa nodded and performed the salute again. "Praise be to Odin," she said. An elderly man came out wearing strange clothes like all the other villagers--these people really have a thing for tanned leather straps... The old man and Rinoa smiled at each other and performed the salute once more; this seemed to be their greeting.
"Lady Loire," he said. "It is an honor to serve you. What has brought you here today? Off to the tournament?"
"Yes, Kinoc, I'm going to uphold my title as Master Monster Rancher. I need some of your special potions for me, and elixer for Korekanda."
He smiled and went over to the tall shelves, grabbed some strange ingredients and bottles and proceeded to mix. "I thought you'd be in today, M'lady," he said. "You always come around the morning of the tournament. You're very much like your father, you know. Always friendly and outgoing, not afraid to smile..." He crushed up some twigs into a fine powder and sprinkled them into a bottle of clear liquid; it fizzed and turned purple. He held up some bright red downy feathers. "Did you know that the Phoenix down in the outlands isn't even real phoenix down?"
"Really?" Rinoa asked.
"Oh, yes," said Kinoc. The Phoenix down I use isn't real? I stared at the feathers he was holding; we didn't use feathers... Ours was just a kind of red liquid that we drank... The old man held up a tiny feather, barely bigger than the tip of a mans thumb. "This is how much real phoenix down they use in the outlands, while the rest is just synthetic. You see, my dear, they take a few of these tiny feathers and burn them, then brew the singed feathers into a tea, which is drinken. Therefore, when one is revived by it, only a tiny amount of life is given back to them."
"How awful," Rinoa said. "To think that they're so deprived of what they can really have. They think that all of their machina is so great..." She then took notice to me; we stared at each other silently as the old man continued.
"Well, not all of us can be as intellegent as we are, M'Lady," Kinoc said. He took another bottle of potion and sprinkled a small handfull of phoenix down into it. It fizzed up into a reddish-orange liquid; Kinoc quickly put a cork over it, stuffing more phoenix down into a small leather sack. He finished making and mixing the potions and handed them all to Rinoa. "There we are, M'Lady," he said.
"Thank you, Kinoc; what would you like in return?" she asked, reaching into her pocket.
"Oh, nothing, nothing. I don't charge royalty, M'Lady." What? All of that pure phoenix down for nothing? How will he pay for his supplies? ...Oh, yeah, he probably harvests the supplys himself. ...Wait, are phoenixes native to this land, too?
"Oh, please," Rinoa said. "Let me give you something."
"Well," he said. "Now that you mention it, I am trying out a new concoction... I wonder, could I have one of Korekanda's scales?"
"Korekanda?" It stuck its great head through the door and nodded. Kinoc reached out, and quickly plucked a small, red scale from Korekanda's head. "Perfect!" he said. "Good luck at the tournament, M'Lady."
"May Odin be with you," said Majji, all three of them doing that same bowing salute. I wonder what that salute was...?
I stood in the stands that overlooked the whole race course, I let Eiri sit on my shoulders. For some reason, I had come to like this kid, she was really full of energy and reminded me of Selphie. I'll bet that she and Eiri would get along really well.
"C'mon! Let's go and get a better view." Eiri shouted, bouncing on my shoulders.
"How? The stands look full."
"Let's call Karriko!" She whistled as if calling a dog, and Karriko appeared before us both, landing and kneeling in front of us. Karriko looked at me, almost as if it recognized me. She stood on my shoulders and painfuly jumped off. I rubbed my neck as she landed on its back. "Sit down. We can follow Sis on the race course this way."
I nodded and hesitantly got on. "Easy, Karriko, don't hurt me,"I said. I sat down and held tight to Karriko's rein. "How do we make it go?"
"Simple. Just say, 'RHOMAAH!!!"
Without warning, Karriko reared back and shot off over the stands; it flew over the race track, and stopped in midair, just to the right of the gates. It lowered slightly so we could see where all of the contestants were. I saw Rinoa in the center of the other racers next to a man about my age with white-blonde hair and pale eyes on the back of a Chimera.
I saw him turn to her and say something to her. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but whatever it was, it made Rinoa blush and smile shyly. I then suddenly felt a jealous head rising in my heart; don't ask me why, I just did.
"Eiri, who's that?" I asked, pointing to the guy on the Chimera.
Eiri stared down at the one I was pointing to, and her eyes lit up. "That's Nariko. He's the
most handsome guy in the whole valley. Every girl in the whole valley love him!" Loves him...?!
My heart sank and I felt as if I had just gotten punched in the face; what the hell is wrong with me..? "But not Sis, though." Huh...?
"...Really?" I asked hopefully.
"Yeah, but just barely." Ouch... "Nariko's been pourin' on the charm, accordin' to Father. He also says, 'Its no surprise considering who your father is!' At least that's what he says to Sis. I just wish I knew what that meant... But he says stuff like that about all of the boys that Sis likes or the ones that like her."
"He... He does?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly. I could feel my heart sinking; I completely forgot that Rinoa might have a boyfriend. Ah, who am I kidding? I'd be shocked if she doesn't. "Eiri, does Rinoa have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, she does." I sighed in frustration and let my head hang. Just perfect... "But, then again, they broke up awhile ago." Huh...? A ray of hope shines through after all! I stopped and mentally smacked myself. What the hell is wrong with you, I thought. I was acting like that Laguna retard in the dream world! Oh, no... Don't tell me he's rubbed off on me... "I still think she may like him still, though." I sighed. I guess there's no point in trying to win her heart, now. She has a boyfriend... But who?
"Who is he?" Eiri raised an eyebrow. "Rinoa's boyfriend; who is he?"
"Yoo might know him. He goes to Balamb Garden, too. His name is Seifer Almasy."
"WHAAAAAAT?!!!!!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, drawing attention to myself as well as Eiri. "Oops..." I gave a nervous laugh and everyone shifted their attention back to the starting point of the race.
"Yoo don't like Seifer?"
"Are you kidding?! I hate that bastard's frickin' guts!" I clapped a hand over my mouth as soon as I realized what I had said, and in front of a little KID! I looked down at Eiri; if she ever repeated that, Rinoa would DEFINATELY kill me. "Don't ever say that in front of Rinoa, okay?" She nodded.
I then heard the announcement come on, "*ATTENTION ALL RACERS! THE RACE WILL BE STARTING IN 10 SECONDS! I REPEAT! THE RACE WILL BE STARTING IN 10 SECONDS!*"
I straightnened up in my seat and Eiri commanded the dragon to go down slightly. I could see the excitement and determination on Rinoa's face as she gripped the rein. Three... Two... One...
"*GO!!!*" the announcer said as they were off in the blink of an eye.
Karriko zoomed off after the racers; I didn't know he was this fast. I guess I was too scared to see the other day... I shook my head of these thoughts and saw that the Nariko guy was neck-and-neck with
Rinoa. Before long, I realized that we had hit the five-kilometer point, and now the racers were
turning around. The crowd was roaring as Nariko was the only racer Rinoa had to get ahead of.
"C'MON SIS!!!" Eiri screamed. "BEAT THAT BASTARD'S FRICKIN' GUTS!!!" Oh man... I hope she didn't hear that...
Swoosh! The flag went down signifying that the race was over, Rinoa had won! The crowd roared and Eiri cheered at the top of her lungs as Karriko flew down to greet Rinoa, "Yay!!! Sis, yoo did it!"
She leaped into Rinoa's arms, "Thanks Eiri!" She looked at me, "...Thanks again for cleaning the kitchen for me."
I nodded, "Don't worry about it."
The Contest of Show, as Rinoa put it, went great. Rinoa and Korekanda showed great breeding, but that Nariko guy won... Rinoa was disappointed, but she was confident that she'd win the Contest of Strength. Apperantly, the Contest of Strength was a battle between the monsters.
When the Contest of Strength began, I saw that both the monster and the trainer battled their opponents. We offered to stand on the sidelines with Rinoa as she went into her battles, but she told us that she'd be fine. Rinoa never needed our help at all, I realized as she defeated every single opponent she came up against.
Nariko was good, too. He was absolutely ruthless, and didn't show any mercy, like Seifer... That name sturred up a hatred in my heart that I had felt earlier this morning. He was her boyfriend... The one that she loved. My heart sank again, there was no point in trying to win her heart, now, even though they'd broken up. Wonder if that's why she went to Balamb in the first place... Ah, who cares? What idiot would go for a guy like me, anyway? I-- ...What am I thinking?!
I shook my head in thoughts of getting close to someone. No, I thought. Not after Sis... I can't get close to someone; people are too unreliable. The second you get close...they leave. I closed my eyes and shook my head again, Eiri cheering her own sister on. Rinoa wouldn't ever leave Eiri, I prayed. No one should go through what I went through.
Dammit, Sis, why'd you leave?! Was it my fault?! Was it all because of me?! Huh?! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I ever cared for you! I'm sorry that I ever cared for anybody else! Especially Rinoa! I-- I...! I can't leave her now... I hate to admit it... But if I leave for Garden now...maybe I can forget her...? No, who could forget her...? I... I'm in... I'm in too deep...
I clenched my eyes shut and my fists tight in the anger and frustration I felt overcome me from deep inside my chest. My heart ached with that dull, gnawing pain that I felt when Sis left. I suddenly felt a tiny hand grip onto my arm. I looked down to see Eiri, my eyes wet. She smiled at me. "Don't be scared for Sis! She's gonna win!" she said. I nodded and went back to watching the battle, Nariko was battling a trainer and its Behemoth. With a final swipe of his giant sword, the battle was one. The crowds cheered again at his bloodshed. He arrogantly smirked up at the crowds like Seifer would; I could have sworn that he looked straight at me with his evil smirk.
I became worried as he and Rinoa moved up as quickly as the other. If Rinoa came up against Nariko, and she never responded to any of his attempts to win her over, then there was no telling of what he would do. Perhaps I was being over protective, but wouldn't you be?
The time had come for Rinoa to go up against Nariko, and she was in the stable with me and tending to Korekanda. Eiri was saving our seats and I just wanted to wish her good luck. Not that she'd need it... "Thank you, Squall. You're being so sweet to me, today..."
"It was...ah, don't worry about it. I just wanted to repay you for taking care of me."
"Is that all?" she asked, fondly.
I paused; was that REALLY all? ...Why was I making an excuse? Sooner or later, I had to admit that I had feelings for her, there wasn't any doubt about that, but it all seemed for naught. "...Yeah." I lied. "So, like I said, don't worry about it."
She gave me a sweet smile and I left. But I stopped outside when I heard someone else enter. I hid outside the stable entrance and prepared to eavesdrop. It was Nariko.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Well? How was it? Sorry to change it so soon, but ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. Anyway, please read and review! Bu-byeeee!!
Kayli
