I'm finally done with this chapter. Do I say that on every chapter I finish? Sigh…

I still need to expand my vocabulary. I have so many repetitive words in this chapter it's not even funny… But just how many synonyms are there for words like 'sigh' and 'nod'? Probably thousands… I just don't know about them.

Sorry if this chapter's a little weird to read. I wrote most of it 12:00 AM or later (or earlier, depending on how you look at it) on different nights for each paragraph or so. Plus it's the first chapter that wasn't already written once and revised. It was mostly written off the top of my head, a very bad strategy.

Just a note: the reason that some of the Al Bhed isn't translated is because Ku can't understand it. So neither can you. Ha ha. So there. ^^


Kirei na Kanjou

Ku walked out of the room she had talked to Cid in. Closing the door, she hung her head and took a deep breath. She was confused about everything: where she was, why she was here, Zanarkand, Sin, everything. She felt so helpless, a feeling she had often felt before and hated. Here she was, in a place she knew nothing about, and she couldn't do a thing about it.

The floor suddenly sank beneath her. "Aah!" she yelled in surprise. The platform she was standing on was slowly moving downwards in a spiral. Oh, she realized, It's just a lift. Rubbing her temples, she thought, I must really be nervous to be scared of a lift, something you see everywhere in Zanarkand… She laughed at herself.

The lift finally stopped at the bottom of the tower. Getting off of it, Ku told herself, "Cid's right. I probably just imagined I was from Zanarkand. I'll probably recognize something in Home." The statement was made half-heartedly.

She walked out of the tower and into the large city. Looking around briefly, she could see that it shared many things with Zanarkand. It too was a city of metal and streets. People weren't as numerous here, but it was hardly noticeable. The most obvious difference was that the people all had blond hair. From the ones Ku had seen, they all possessed bright green eyes. It was a little strange, and it also made Ku stick out greatly with her black hair and brown eyes. Her clothing also received many odd looks from the people around her.

She was never one to start conversations with people, especially those she did not know. She did try to smile at those around her and most returned the gesture. Every once in a while someone would flinch slightly and quickly walk away, or they would mumble something in their language.

The city itself was amazing. She enjoyed looking at the city's structures as much as she had liked it in Zanarkand. The high metal towers were like the buildings in Zanarkand. Instead of the blitzball stadium that had occupied the center of Zanarkand, there was an empty central square, mostly made of sand. Bridges and streets were plentiful in the new city. Machines could be seen around every corner, and sometimes, a small green cactus-like creature would run across Ku's path and past the city limits. The city that Cid had called Home was making her homesick.

Ku sighed. So far, she had seen nothing that she recognized. She was near the central square of Home and sat at the edge of it on the warm sand. "This isn't working," she said. "I haven't seen anything that makes me think of anything other than Zanarkand. And Cid says all that's left of Zanarkand is ruins… But, I can't remember anything. I'm sure I really came from Zanarkand, but no one's gonna believe me…" She leaned her head on the slab of metal sticking out of the ground behind her and shut her eyes in frustration.

Almost on cue, something round and hard hit her. "OW!" She rubbed her head and opened her eyes to see a blitzball roll in front of her. A blitzball? Ku picked it up and examined the ball closer to make sure it was real.

"Rao!" a voice yelled. "Cunno ypuid dryd. Luimt fa ryja uin blitzball pylg?" A tall blond man, whose hair stuck out oddly in a way that made Ku think of horns, walked over to her.

"Blitzball…" she said stunned.

"Oayr, fa fana zicd bnyldelehk vun dra kysa eh Luca," he explained. "Luimt fa ryja ed pylg?"

Ku stared at him blankly. "…What?"

The man took the ball from her cautiously and gave her a sideways glance. "Faent..." he muttered as he walked away.

The girl sat back down. "So, there's blitzball here too, I guess. Too bad I don't understand anything he just said…" She laid down and closed her eyes again, this time just to enjoy the warmth of the sun on her face.

"I see that you have trouble with our language."

Ku opened her eyes to see a man with tanned skin and shoulder-length blond hair. These people wouldn't stop bothering her. She finally realized that he had spoken English.

"You speak English?" she said, more as a statement than a question. She got up and stood in front of him, brushing some sand off of her black pants.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear." He spoke with a strange, almost foreign accent, more like one that had been influenced by things all over the world. "Ah, please excuse my rudeness. I am Rin, the proprietor of Rin's Travel Agency." He held out his hand to her, which she took and shook in greeting. "Hela du saad oui. It means 'Nice to meet you' in Al Bhed."

"Al Bhed…" she said thoughtfully. "Is that what the language is called here?"

"Yes," Rin replied. "It is also what the people here are called. However, a few Al Bhed have also learned English, and that is what most others in Spira speak."

"Oh," Ku said. "It's nice to know that some people can understand me, at least." She absentmindedly looked in the direction that the blitzball player had gone. "My name's Ku."

"I am curious, Ku… Would you like to learn our language?" Ku looked at him. "I can teach you, if you would like."

"Um… If it's not too much trouble, it would be nice… I think I might have to stay here for a while anyways, considering how well I'm doing." At Rin's confused look, she told him, "Cid says I got too near Sin, so I keep thinking I'm from Zanarkand. I'm a little lost, if you know what I mean."

"Ah," Rin said as he gave her an understanding nod. "I see. It will probably help you to know our language and to know how to get around. Why don't I show you around Home? It should not take a very long time, and it will be good for you to get used to your surroundings." She accepted the offer. "Good. Come on, then. I will show you the main part of the city first."

After a few minutes of walking, the two walked into what appeared to be the largest part of the city. Many more people were here than in the previous area and there were more buildings as well.

"This," Rin explained, "is what you might call the Shopping District of Home. There are many shops here, as you can see." He pointed to a particularly large building. "Over there is one of the most popular stores here. You can find almost anything in there." He paused for a moment, pondering whether he was forgetting something.

"Rin!" Another Al Bhed man ran over to them, holding a small slip of paper. "Rin, fa ryja dra cibbmeac dryd oui ycgat vun. Yna oui kuehk du kad dras?"

"E ymsucd vunkud ypuid dras," Rin said. "Oac, E femm kad dras huf." He turned to regard Ku. "Please excuse me for a moment. I need to get some supplies from this man for my shops. If you would just wait for me over there, I will be back shortly." He pointed to a small clearing and walked away with the other man.

Ku went over to the place that Rin had pointed out to her. She stood on the edge of the area and looked around nervously, hoping that Rin would be quick. She felt awkward just standing there, especially when she looked so out of place. Ku started to fidget, making her look even stranger. Erg… she thought. Rin had better hurry up. Oh well, as long as nothing else happens today… ******************

"Brother, Keyakku! Rinno ib! Kaaw, oui yna pudr cu cmuf!" (Brother, Keyakku! Hurry up! Geez, you are both so slow!)

"Rikku! Fydlr frana oui yna kuehk!" (Rikku! Watch where you are going!)

"Aah! Rikku, muug uid!" (Aah! Rikku, look out!)

The young blonde Al Bhed girl collided with something. Getting up with Keyakku's help, she looked down to see a girl with long black hair on the ground, whom Brother picked up. "Aah! Cunno! Cunno!" she said quickly to the person.

"Um… that's ok…" the other said to her nervously, holding her head. She tried to nod but stumbled to the side instead, caught by Rikku's brother and pushed upright again. "Uh… thanks."

"Hey!" Rikku yelled. "You speak English! So I guess you aren't from around here? We don't get many visitors. I'm Rikku! Who are you?"

"Wait…" Ku said in a half-dazed manner. "You understand me?"

Rikku smiled and laughed. "Yup! My dad taught me how to speak English. Brother knows a bit of it too." At the reference, she pointed to the boy with the mohawk and flame-like tattoos next to her. "Keyakku doesn't speak it, but he understands it." She gestured to the other boy on her other side. He, of course, had blond hair, and he wore goggles with his orange-yellow suit.

"I'm Ku." Thinking of what Rin had said earlier, she attempted to speak some Al Bhed. "…Hela doo sad we." At the odd looks the three gave her, she said hastily, "I mean, nice to meet you."

"Ohhh…" the three Al Bhed said in unison.

"Well," Rikku said, "We gotta be going now. Dad told us we had to be back home soon. Maybe we'll see you around sometime! Bye!" Rikku waved enthusiastically at Ku and ran off, the other two trailing behind her.

This isn't as bad as I thought it would be, Ku thought. So far, I've already met four people who can speak English, and Rin said he would teach me Al Bhed. I'm sure I can get used to this.

"I see you have met Cid's two children?" Rin was walking towards her holding a few new bags of supplies. "I am done getting the things I had ordered. Shall we go to another part of Home now?" He started to walk off and Ku ran after him.

"This," Rin said as he waved his hand at the area around him, "is the Residential section of Home. Most of the houses are here, including my own." He pointed to a small beige house that looked like all the others. "Would you like to come in? I can start teaching you our language now, if you wish." Ku nodded and followed Rin into his house.

It was a small house, and the inside looked very much like the outside. It appeared to be made of a mix of brick and metal, painted beige to give it a sandy texture. Inside there was little furniture, only what was necessary. It was very modest housing, but retained a cozy feeling to it.

"Please excuse my humble abode. It is really only a temporary home as I am usually out in my shops around Spira, but I am able to make do with it."

"Oh," Ku said as she smiled. "It's fine, really. I think it's nice." She sat on one of the small uncomfortable chairs near one of the corner tables.

Rin started to unload some things from the bags he had received. "Ah, this will be good for the Macalania shop." Looking at Ku, he explained, "Macalania is one of Spira's cities. It is fairly large, but pales in comparison to Bevelle. It is very cold there. Perhaps you will see it someday."

Ku nodded at him. "I'm hoping to see some of these other cities sometime." She looked at a box that Rin had taken out. "Is that birdseed?"

"This?" He picked up the big container. "It is Chocobo feed. I can probably send this to Mi'ihen Highroad…"

She took the box from him and examined it closer. "What's a chocobo?"

"Chocobos," Rin started, "are similar to birds. They are one of the main forms of transportation in Spira." He took more supplies out of the bags. "If you ever go to the Mi'ihen Highroad, there is a man working in the agency who is very good with Chocobos. You should ask him about them if you ever meet him." After putting a few of the things away, he asked, "Do you want to start learning Al Bhed now?"

She nodded. "Ok."

"I suppose that you would want to learn the basics first. Like I said before, 'Hela du saad oui' means 'Nice to meet you'. 'Rammu' means 'Hello'. 'Kuutpoa' is 'Goodbye'."

And so, the Al Bhed lessons began.



And so, another bad conclusion is made. I really have to improve on my endings.

It's strange. Ku won't talk to most people on the streets, yet she'll talk to the strange foreign man who just happens to overhear things. How convenient. Rin seems a little too friendly. Notice how he always just happens to be lurking around the corner, ready to make a small comment? I find that to be freaky.

Something round and hard hit her. That line's never gonna sound right…

Next chapter will be when stuff actually starts happening! Yay. You only had to site through 3 chapters for something to happen. Amazing. (Can you tell I'm tired? It's 1:58 in the morning right now… don't ask me why I'm still awake. I don't know why. But I'm going to sleep. Right now.)