A/N: I'm going to leave you all hanging for another week, because you are going to have to read about Kuja now! ::sticks tongue out:: Haha! I'm mean, I know. And I noticed that some of you didn't believe me about the tornado. I'm very serious, I wouldn't joke about things like that. Luckily, it spared B-chan's house and mine, but some of our friends weren't so lucky. Quite a few lost their houses, so really it isn't a joking matter.
Aya yahiko: I'm glad you enjoyed that last chapter so much! But my favorite chapter is the next one. (Not this one, the next). You'll have to wait about a week to see why though! ::smiles evilly:: ^_^
A Voice From the Past
Ever so quietly, Kuja slunk through the shadows of Pandemonium. He was now almost sixteen, and though it ashamed him, he still ran from Garland. However, now he had the upper hand. For almost two years, he had practiced the use of Black and White Magic.
Whenever she could, Mikoto would help. Of course, her help consisted of Kuja casting reflect on her and dodging the spells that bounced off of her shield. He also worked on status ailments with her, then would quickly cure her with Esuna. After two years, he learned everything Garland's measly little book had to offer: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Cure, Esuna, Stop and Reflect.
Tonight though, he would not be meeting Mikoto in Pandemonium. Tonight, he was leaving once and for all. Several times he thought of bringing Mikoto with him, but for some reason she liked Terra. She even liked Garland.
Still keeping to the shadows, Kuja reviewed his plan. He was going to steal the Invincible again, but this time when he got to Gaia, he would abandon it. Surely he could find another mode of transportation?
Carefully, he opened Pandemonium's gates just enough to walk in. If Garland heard him, then the plan would fail and the abuse would start all over again. Holding his breath, he squeezed through the small opening. It worked! No one heard him!
Smiling, he continued to run thought the seemingly endless road. Bran Bal wasn't far, he would be there in no time! Stealthily, he crept onto the warp pod and teleported himself into the village. The Genomes didn't require sleep, but they did go into a state of relaxation. Kuja sprinted through the silent village with his spells book tucked under his arm.
Finally, he reached the Invincible. Gasping for breath, he teleported himself inside, not caring to remove the tracking device. Now that he was somewhat used to the controls, it was not a problem steering out of Terra. But, there was still the fact that he didn't know how to land the ship.
Putting this all aside in his head, he switched the ship to autopilot and maneuvered it to a rural area. It was near a swamp called Qu's Marsh that he decided he would land it, and quickly before Garland would find the ship.
Hurriedly, he looked at the control panel again, this time with concentration. The labels, he realized were written in Gaian. Of course he couldn't make things simple could he?
These words weren't like the Terran words he was used to. Terran words spoke directly into your mind, these just stayed there, staring up at him. Maybe I could get a Gaian to read them for me? No, I'd have to land it first.
He knew for sure that the big red button was for attacking, so it left him with three other buttons to choose from.
Taking a deep breath, he steered the ship away from the marsh. Again he looked at the buttons. Not much time was left, he had to get this over with. Getting impatient, he pressed a small black one.
He closed his eyes nervously and much to his amazement he felt the ship glide downward. Opening his eyes again, he blew air out of his mouth.
"Still alive," he breathed. Grabbing his spell book, he sprinted off of the mammoth airship.
Without so much as a backwards glance, the silver haired boy ran into a nearby forest. Out of breath, he backed up against a huge oak tree and slid his back down the trunk until he was finally sitting in front of it.
It's too dangerous to stay this close to the ship, but I'm not sure of where to go. Too tired to move, he remained slunk against the trunk. I don't want to move now anyway. Slowly, his eyes closed and the sleep that was threatening to take him earlier, finally took him.
~ ~
Kuja's eyes shot open. His heart was thumping inside his chest. Desperately he searched his surroundings, straining his ears for any sign of the sound he had just heard.
Gaia was so different. On Terra, light was always present. However, Gaia had a time where it was dark, making it hard to make anything out.
It happened again, interrupting Kuja's train of thought. The bushes behind the scared Genome rustled and a low growl came from within. Kuja swallowed though his mouth was dry and stood up.
Mentally, he prepared himself for what ever could be pursuing him. The rustling started again, it was coming closer. Cautiously, the teenager began backing up away from the menace.
A wing protruded from the bush, followed by a second, then a head. Kuja's eyes grew wide as he watched the gigantic beast lumber toward him. Its jaw opened, exposing a mouth full of sharp, rigid teeth. A silver dragon!
Kuja could feel the beast's warm breath on his face. Anxiously, he racked his memory for a spell that would be beneficial to him now.
The dragon lashed its tongue and reared up onto its hind legs, preparing to attack.
"Fire!" Kuja yelled pointing a hand at the beast. The dragon gave a shriek as it struggled, embedded in flames. A second later the flames subsided, leaving a very angry dragon instead. It's scales that were once white, were charred in several places.
Eyes wild with fury, the dragon began charging at the boy.
Not quite sure of what to do next, Kuja yelled, "Stop!" The creature froze in place.
Sighing, Kuja looked at the pitiful sight. The spell that had been cast would not last long. While most of the dragon's body couldn't move, its eyes followed Kuja as he paced in front of it.
Those eyes, Kuja could tell, they were in pain. The Genome sighed again and stood next to the dragon's monstrous head.
"I will help you, if you help me." This is so pointless. It's not like it's able to understand me. In exasperation, Kuja rested his head in his hands. But I have to get out here, quickly!
This may be the stupidest thing I have ever done. Nervously, he approached the wounded creature. "Cure!" the scorch marks began to disappear.
Carefully, Kuja climbed on the frozen dragon's back. Still innerly debating if whether or not he should, he murmured, "Esuna!"
All at once, the dragon lifted its head to look at the intruder. Angrily it snorted at him and snapped its jaws menacingly. Nimbly, Kuja dodged the attack.
"Stop!" he yelled, once again freezing the poor dragon. "Look, just take me out of here, and I'll never bother you again."
Those venom green eyes stared up at him with a mix of frustration and worry.
"Come on, I'm not asking for much," the cold eyes continued to stare daggers at him. "Esuna,"
Grumpily, the dragon flapped its magnificent wings and took flight. Kuja wrapped his arms tightly around the beast's neck so as not to fall. For a long time, they glided over the dangerous terrain, and the ocean. On a small island there seemed to be a town of some sort. Not a town exactly, but a structure, more or less, that inhabited many people.
"Over there!" Kuja pointed to the island. The dragon merely snorted and continued to fly off. "Come on!" he pleaded with the stubborn creature. He couldn't use stop on it, that would put both of them in danger.
"Kirai, that's what I'll call you," Kuja chuckled. The dragon looked up at him bewildered.
"Now, will you drop me off?" He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the Genome could have sworn that Kirai rolled his eyes.
Slowly, the dragon descended and allowed Kuja to step off. The silver haired teenager rubbed the dragon's nose. "Thanks." Then he started walking toward the structure.
How magnificent it looked! A waterfall was close by, and a bridge that went across a small lake led to the entrance. Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder to see that Kirai had laid down in the grass, almost as if waiting for him to return.
Smiling to himself, Kuja walked through the doors. The place seemed to be flooded and the smell of wet leather and old books made its way up to his nose.
"Welcome to Daguerreo," a man close by greeted him. Kuja nodded and began to walk around, hoping to find more magic books. After looking around a while, Kuja turned to a nearby scholar, "Where can I find books on magic?" he asked.
The aged man pointed to a bookshelf on the far wall. "I recommend 'The Eidolon and I'," he called after Kuja.
~ ~
And to think I thought I knew a lot about magic! Kuja thought as he flipped through one of the books in his stack. This library had so many interesting books. In his stack alone there were books about White Magic, Black Magic, Status Effects, and Summoning. Up until then, he had never known anything about Summoning, now that's all he wanted to know about.
There was only one problem, there was only one race of people that could Summon, and they lived in Madin Sari, the village he had accidentally destroyed. Of course, he could always visit and see if anyone survived, but he doubted anyone could have.
Eidolons, they were truly fascinating. If I could Summon Eidolons, I would beat Garland for sure! I'd love to see the look on his face, beaten…by his 'reject'. Now, beaming with triumph, Kuja picked up his stack of books and started walking out of the library.
He was amazed to see Kirai was there waiting for him. "Ah," the teenager brought his hand to his chin, "you trying to get back at me?" The dragon growled but made no effort to move.
Keeping a cautious eye on him, Kuja climbed onto his back. The dragon threw his had back and let out an agonizing cry.
All of a sudden, Kuja was aware that his leg felt wet. "What the-?" he gasped. A thick red liquid was seeping out of its wing. Blood.
The silver haired boy slid off the dragon on the side that wasn't injured. He walked around to inspect the wounded wing.
"Wow," he muttered as he ran his slender fingers along the cut. Again, the beast roared in pain and snapped his jaws.
Kuja threw his hands up, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Kirai narrowed his eyes and turned his head away. Careful not to touch, he continued to inspect the injury.
Teeth marks, claw marks. What did this? "Cure!" slowly the wound started closing, but not all the way. Kuja repeated the spell, and Kirai was cured.
"So, I guess you weren't waiting for me. You were attacked," he said looking the dragon in the eye. "Well," he sighed, "a promise is a promise. Goodbye."
Waving over his shoulder, he began to walk off. Behind him he could hear the unmistakable sound of giant footsteps.
"Following me, eh?" he smirked, looking out of the corner of his eye. Kirai bowed down, allowing Kuja to climb onto his back.
~ ~
It started off shaky, but Kirai became the closest thing Kuja had to a friend. Everywhere he went, people stared at him and made snide remarks about his tail and 'choice of clothing'.
After traveling the world, he finally found a job. In a city named Treno, there was an old abandoned building. Using some of the treasures he found while traveling, he began an auction house. It wasn't long before he had a small fortune.
He had finally found a weakness of the Gaians, especially in Treno. They just loved to buy useless objects to show off to each other.
With the first bit of his money, he fixed the auction house up, to make it look more appealing. By the time he was finished with it, it was among the most beautiful buildings there.
The auction house was constantly bringing in more money, and Kuja was constantly looking for more objects to sell. However, with all of the money coming in, he was finally able to buy a mansion.
Finally, he could study his books in solitude! The mansion came with a huge basement and that was where Kirai resided.
As for Kuja, he would spend many long nights studying the books he was constantly borrowing from Daguerreo. According to them, many of the spells he was learning were nearly impossible.
Still, more than anything else, it was Summoning that he wanted to know more about. However, all the books he read said the same thing. 'The trademark trait of the Summoner tribe, is the face that they have horns.' Nothing of any use to him.
The nobles in Treno were always gossiping, and Kuja was constantly picking up snippets of rumors. According to them, a boat washed ashore close to Alexandria castle a few years ago. A woman and child were aboard, both of which had horns. The woman died of several injuries, the child however, survived.
Supposedly, the Queen Brahne's own daughter had passed away just before the incident. She took the tiny child under her wing and named her Garnet Til Alexandros.
A Summoner, he was sure of it! All he had to go was get inside the castle. Using Kirai wasn't a smart idea. Seeing a dragon hover a town was something the Gaians were not accustomed to, as he noticed when arriving in Treno for the first time.
Sighing, Kuja began eyeing the books on his desk. By this point he had learned almost every spell, except one. The Extraction Spell. With this spell he could draw Eidolons form a Summoner, as long as he or she was at the age of sixteen.
Suddenly, Kuja's train of thought was lost as he noticed something. "Oh, what's this?" he asked to no one in particular as he reached for a piece of parchment that protruded from one of the books. It was the spell book he had stolen from Garland. Smiling to himself, he realized that wasn't the only thing he stole.
~ ~
Ooohhh, how was that? You wanna know what he stole? Eh? Well, you'll have to wait. ::Laughs madly:: And, I'm not Japanese, so I'm not sure if it's correct or not, but I have a 'Learn Basic Japanese' book (it isn't so basic, I can't get past the first lesson!). But anyway, I looked through the whole book for a good name and I found Kirai which (I think) means: hateful, or hated one. I know zankoku means cruel, but that's too long of a name! Lol. ^_^ Anyways, review away!
