Sorry for not updating so long! Being in Las Vegas and all, plus playing Xenogears almost constantly now, I haven't really gotten to it. Also, Animal Crossing has become my new home. Yes, I enjoy it when creepy looking animals laugh, tease, and yell at me. And they'll write letters to me!! It's very entertaining.
Las Vegas was fun, but too much second hand smoke (and I'm allergic to it!). Much more down there than up here in snowy, cold Maine. Of course, I'd go back to Las Vegas just to see more Cirque du Soleil shows. That has become my new obsession.
By the way, do you like the new summary? Now it sounds like a semi-cheap rip-off from FFVIII.
Kirei na Kanjou,
Ku pushed aside the colorful leaves that stood in the entrance to the Chamber of the Fayth, when she suddenly felt a slight sting run through her forehead. She quickly grasped at it, and it passed through at her touch. However, despite the pain being gone, she was suddenly extremely tired.
"Ku?" Brother looked into the small corridor that his Summoner was in. She was now supporting herself with one hand on the cold stone wall.
Ku gave a tired laugh. "Heh… Sorry, but… I think I'm going to faint again…"
Brother quickly walked up to her, put one hand under her knees, and used his other arm to support her head and pick her up. "You are ok?"
She struggled a little, surprised at her guardian's protective gesture and also not wanting to be babied by the older boy. Exhaustion eventually forced her to submit and relax. "I think so," Ku said. "I'm probably just tired from talking to the Fayth." She closed her eyes, then opened them again and asked, "Can we go back to Kilika now? I still want to explore a little."
He rolled his eyes at her persistence. "Oayr. We explore now." At his answer, the Summoner managed a small smile, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Making sure that they had everything, Brother, while holding an unconscious Ku, walked down the path between the temple and the village. The walk seemed shorter this time; not as many fiends attacked them, and there was no second encounter with the Lord of the Forest. After a few minutes, they emerged back into the welcoming Kilika sunshine.
Feeling the warmth on her heavy eyelids, Ku woke and mumbled, "Are we there?"
Brother set her down by one of the small huts of the village, and she shakily stood up. "Oac," he replied. "Kilika is here."
She glanced around once more at the small village. From where she stood, most of her view was obscured by straw huts. She walked a little farther to another spot, shady from the overhanging leaf of a palm tree. Numerous houses lined the dock, and wooden boats were tied on the outer edge.
"Hey," she said, "There's a shop over there. Let's go."
"We need to?" Brother questioned.
Ku sighed. "In case you don't remember, you recklessly started a fight with Lord Ochu. You got thrown into a tree and were hurt. You used up our supplies. That's why we need more."
Her guardian was silent. She hid a smirk behind her hand, then started off towards the shop.
The shop itself couldn't really be considered a shop at all. It was really just an octagonal platform with a paranoid old man and a box. There were some supplies stacked by the man, which he was extremely protective of. When Ku and Brother walked in, the man limped quickly over to them.
"Hey, you!" he screeched. "Stop tryin' to steal my stuff already!" He was about to continue, when realization hit him. "Oh, wait! You're a customer, ain't ya? Well, why didn't you say so! What'll it be?"
Brother rolled his eyes again, and Ku elbowed him in the ribs. Thankfully, the old man was half-blind anyways and couldn't see the Al Bhed's action. "I'd like a Potion and an Antidote," she requested.
The shopkeeper slowly walked to a pile of glass bottles and gingerly picked two out of the jumble. He unhurriedly walked back to them, finally reached them and handed Ku the two bottles.
"That'll be 100 Gil." The old man held his hand out expectantly. Ku rummaged in her pouch, which somehow held all their money and supplies. After a short while, she pulled out the correct amount of Gil and handed it to the shopkeeper. "Thank you. Come again!" And with that, he pushed them out of the crude shop.
"Well," Ku grumbled, "Wasn't he nice…" She was about to say more, when a round blue object, similar to the two that had almost hit her before in Besaid and Home, fly towards her. Brother's hand quickly shot out and caught it.
"Hey!" called a voice from the ocean. Turning around, they could see a white-bearded man with tanned skin wearing the blitzball uniform of the Kilika Beasts. "Could you pass that ball back over here?"
Brother nodded, positioned the ball an arms length away from him, and dropped it. He then proceeded to kick it, sending it flying past the man in the water, and leaving a shocked look on both the blitzball player and the Summoner.
Ku turned to Brother and said, "Wow…I didn't know you were so good at blitzball…" She watched as the man in the water swam to retrieve the blitzball. "You should join a team or something. You're as good as a lot of the players on the Zanarkand Abes."
"Dra Al Bhed Psyches tet ycg sa du zueh dras uhla," (The Al Bhed Psyches did ask me to join them once,) he responded.
"Why didn't you?"
"E tu hud ghuf... E kiacc dryd E fyc suna ehdanacdat eh machina dryh blitzball..." (I do not know… I guess that I was more interested in machina than blitzball…) He sighed regretfully. "Huf drao ryja ahuikr bmyoanc. Drao tu hud haat sa." (Now they have enough players. They do not need me.)
He was quiet after that. Ku took a quick glance at him, and saw that he was looking out towards the ocean. Isn't that the way back to Home? she thought. He must miss it. I doubt that a pilgrimage around Spira is his ideal vacation, especially the way Al Bhed are treated around here… She turned back to the blitzball player, who had now retrieved his blitzball and was heading back to them.
"Hey!" The man had finally reached the dock and was now leaning one arm on the surface of the deck. The other held the blitzball. Now that he was closer, Ku could see that he had many scars on his face and arms. His features were accented by the black eyepatch he wore on his right eye. She estimated him to be in his mid-thirties. "You're pretty good! My name's Vuroja. Who're you?"
This time, it was Brother who made the introductions. Struggling slightly, he slowly answered, "I am Brother. This is Ku."
"What's an Al Bhed like you doing out here?" Vuroja asked. "And with a Summoner?"
"Well," Ku started, "The Al Bhed were the ones who found me when I first arrived in Spira. They--"
"When you first arrived?" the gray-haired man interrupted.
"Er…" Ku stammered. "I mean… I, uh, got near Sin so I forgot everything. The Al Bhed helped me out a lot." The often-used excuse was becoming second nature to her. "They even let me become a Summoner, and Brother's my guardian."
"Praise be to Yevon," Vuroja said. He placed his blitzball on the water's surface, then quickly performed the prayer gesture. Picking the blue ball up again, he said, "It's a miracle you're still alive after getting close to Sin." To Brother, he asked, "You want to blitz? I need to practice for the tournament in Luca."
"Wait," Brother said, slightly puzzled. "You do not mind an Al Bhed?"
Vuroja laughed as though it was the oddest thing he had ever heard. "'Course not! In blitzball, nothing matters but the game, right? So, are you going to blitz or not?"
Brother looked questioning to Ku, to which she answered, "Go ahead. The ship to Luca isn't here yet, and I wouldn't mind watching." Brother grinned gladly and dived in the water to where Vuroja was waiting. They started talking about something, though Ku was too far away to hear them. Next, they swam farther out to the ocean and started to play blitzball.
Kinda like Zanarkand, Ku noticed. Just sitting around, watching blitzball; that was really the only thing someone like me could do. It's a lot calmer here, though. I wonder… if I could go back, would I even want to? At least here, I can forget…
A warm hand gripped her shoulder as a feminine voice said, "Mind if I watch with you?" Swiveling her head around, Ku saw a face she had met just a short while ago.
"Go ahead, I don't mind." She searched her mind for a name to match the face. "Um… Suki, right?"
The brunette smiled. "Yes. And you're Ku?"
"Yeah." Ku looked around, but couldn't find the other two that were with Suki before. "Where are your guardians?"
"Oh, Ari and Griffis like to wander around. Actually, Ari likes to wander, and she just drags Griffis with her." She waved one hand to the village. "They could be anywhere. They'll come back when the ship to Besaid arrives."
Ku nodded and leaned backwards, her back touching the wooden planks of the dock. "It must be nice to have guardians like that."
Suki looked confused as she spun her body around to face the younger Summoner. "What do you mean? Isn't Brother a good guardian?"
"What?" Ku sat back up, shaking her head vehemently. "No, no, that's not it. I like having Brother around. It's just that, sometimes…" She took her previous laying position again, letting herself get lost in the vast emptiness of the sky. "Sometimes, he just seems so sad, like he never wanted to go on the journey in the first place. I don't want him to be forced into doing this, but I think that's how he feels. I guess I kind of feel bad about it, you know?" She stopped for a moment, awaiting a response. When none came, she laughed and said hastily, "I probably sound really stupid… forget what I said."
"No, I can understand," Suki replied. "Griffis was the same way. You probably didn't guess, but he's my brother."
"Really?" Ku asked, surprised. "You look really different."
"He's really only my half-brother. His father was different from mine, but we share the same mother. They were always proud of me, so when I told them I wanted to become a Summoner, they supported me. But Griffis, he never had the same kinds of dreams as me. My parents… he doesn't even consider them his own parents anymore. He didn't live up to their expectations, so when I left home, they forced him to become my guardian."
Ku sighed sadly. "I know what that feels like," she sympathized. "Not wanted by your own parents…"
Suki was about to question that comment, but thought better of it. "Yes, well… For the first week or two, during our journey, he wasn't really enthusiastic. It wasn't something he wanted to do. But, we started to learn about each other, and we were finally able to really talk about things. Then, when Ari joined us, the pilgrimage became much livelier. She's so open, and easy to talk to. I think it really helped Griffis." She peeked behind her for a moment, then seemed satisfied and continued. "I think just having someone other than family to talk was a welcome pleasure for him. They're very close friends now."
"I'm sort of hoping to get at least one new guardian on the way," Ku said softly. "It's just that, not a lot of people like the Al Bhed. It must be hard on him. That's why… I'm going to try to find someone who doesn't care about that. Either that, or I'll find another Al Bhed for him to talk to."
A loud splashing could be heard behind them, and turning around, they both saw a large ship with the name "S. S. Liki" printed on the side. An unseen horn onboard bellowed, and two figures from the village started to run towards the Summoners. They soon revealed themselves as Ari and Griffis.
"Suki!" Ari exclaimed. "We're back! And look at what we bought!" She held out multiple items to her Summoner, who inspected them and laughed.
Suki looked to Ku and smiled kindly. "Your guardian's lucky to have a Summoner who cares about him. Well, we'll be going to Besaid now. You're going to Luca, right?" Ku nodded. "Then, maybe we'll meet again in another town. Take care until then." They waved goodbye to each other, and then Suki ran to catch up to her two guardians, who were waiting on the boarding plank. Once on board, the three waved again, then went inside the boat as it departed.
Ku turned back to the blitzball game. Both the players were laughing heartily and passing the ball. Ku grinned; it was seldom that she saw Brother this cheerful.
Maybe, in Luca… Ku contemplated. Maybe I should let him stay there. I'm sure someone there will be able to take him back to Home…
Ku laid back down, her arms crossed behind her head. She closed her eyes and was about to rest for a while when a loud horn, similar to the S. S. Liki's, sounded.
Startled by the loud noise, Ku jumped up and looked the way of the siren. Another ship, larger than the one that had departed to Kilika, was approaching, with the name "S. S. Winno" scrawled sharply on the side. It docked at the end of the walkway, and a man ran out from the ship.
"S. S. Winno!" he cried out. "Goin' to Luca! We depart in twenty minutes!" He ran back into the ship and disappeared from view.
"Brother!" Ku shouted to the Al Bhed. "The ship's here!" Her announcement was not needed though, as Brother and Vuroja were already pulling themselves up onto the walkway.
"The Kilika Beasts are taking that ship to Luca," Vuroja said. "I have to meet with the rest of my team before we depart. I'll see you in Luca, I suppose." He started to walk away, then turned back and yelled, "Thanks for the practice!" The blitzball player waved, and the two of them returned the action.
Ku was still lost in thought as to whether or not she should leave her guardian in Luca. She made her way to the ship, Brother following vigilantly behind her. He realized, once she almost missed the boarding plank, that something was wrong.
"Ku?" he said hesitantly. "Everything is ok?"
She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and answered, "Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Just thinking."
He nodded, then stared at her as she hurried onto the boat's deck. He shook his head, then followed her up and stood next to her, by the front of the boat.
After a few minutes, many more people started to board the ship. Ku recognized the Besaid Aurochs, Wakka leading them as always. Soon after, Vuroja, trailed by the rest of the Kilika Beats, took a spot on the deck and started practicing. Other people she didn't know also came on, mostly Kilikans on their way to watch the Luca Tournament.
She leaned over the railing of the ship, attempting to get a better view of the island they were leaving. Its serenity was so hard to get away from, and she almost considered staying for a few extra days. But in the end, she decided that she had to go on to Luca. She had come to the conclusion that it would be there that she would part from her guardian.
Brother leaned over and pointed at Kilika. The ship had started to move, and it got farther and farther away, until it finally vanished altogether. He watched as his Summoner prayed to the island, using Yevon's well-known gesture. It was almost strange, seeing her do this to every place she left, and sometimes he questioned why she did it. But like usual, he said nothing.
Ku touched her head; the pain that had left her so tired before had returned. She rubbed her temples, trying to force the pain away, but the effort was in vain. The pain only worsened. She didn't want her guardian to worry anymore; if she was going to leave him in Luca, she would have to take care of herself. She moaned, causing her guardian to look down at her with concern. Ku saw him say something, but no sound was heard. The world started to turn unnaturally, and faded to nothing.
Another chapter done. This one took me a lot longer than usual, and I think parts of it sound kinda sappy. Oh well. At least it's not as sappy as my friend's co-dependant boyfriend.
Just curious… do you think this is turning into a Mary-Sue? Please tell me if it is… Cause that's really the last thing I want this to be. (Mary-Sue's annoy me very, very much.) Also, is it too repetitive?
Argg… I have to practice for my flute recital on Sunday. Then I'm auditioning for a talent show on Monday, then another music rehearsal on Tuesday. It's mostly the recital I'm worried about. I have to play two songs, one with four short movements, and the other one has a solo in it. I always manage to mess up the solo too, and no one else is playing so you can really hear it… Bahhhh. Well, I'm sure it'll work out somehow. ^^
