Hee hee! I really hope you guys will like this chapter. I actually thought
about it and figured I might.. Nah, I'll keep it a secret ;)
Chapter Four: The Guessing Game
"I understand the situation now." Yuna stood up from her seat ahead of Nooj and placed a finger on her chin. "But I wonder. why should Nataraja be awakened now?"
Nooj shook his head. "Nataraja isn't going to be awakened now. We have to wait maybe a week. But just don't worry about it, Yuna. You should take a break."
"Well, I guess."
Nooj smiled. "I'm heading to Guadosalam since LeBlanc wants to talk to me."
Yuna snickered, thinking of Gippal and Rikku's impression of them flirting.
"What's so funny?" asked Nooj with a strange smile.
Yuna shook her head. "Oh, oh nothing. I'm just thinking of a place to go for our little break."
"Break? Did I hear something about a break?"
Their heads turned and saw Rikku walking in, smiling as if nothing in the world could prevent her happiness. She waved at Nooj then turned to her cousin.
"Where are we gonna go for break? To a beach maybe?"
"A beach," Yuna sighed dreamily. "Does sound nice."
"There's one by the Calm Lands you know."
Rikku gritted her teeth and turned. Gippal stood with his arm against the tent's wall, smirking.
"Oooohhhh no!! No no no no! I remember the last time you went to a beach with me and Brother!"
Gippal laughed. "That's only because Brother invited me."
"Mmmm... Okay fine. You can come."
Gippal laughed and started his way out. "I bet Baralai would like to too."
Rikku's head lashed back again. "Hey!! Who said you were in charge!?"
Yuna giggled. "Oh Rikku, calm down. Everyone can come."
~*~
The beach was more fun than everyone else thought. While Nooj went off to Guadosalam, Baralai, Rikku, Yuna, Brother, Buddy, Shinra, and Gippal went off to the beach near the Calm Lands for their week break.
Yuna sat with Brother and Shinra on the beach in their lay back chairs. Brother had on navy blue swim-shorts, Shinra still had his regular outfit on since he was working on the CommSpheres, and Yuna wore a sea green and sky blue tie bikini.
Rikku was splashing water on Gippal after he ruined her sand castle by the shore. As he came closer to attack, she would back up and guard the straps on her sunset colored bikini top and her bottom's side ties.
"Geez Rikku! It's not like I'm gonna do like I did last time!" laughed Gippal trying to move closer to Rikku.
She shrieked playfully as she dodged Gippal's tackle towards her. "You lie!"
Gippal came up from the water, his spiked up hair now spreading out to its sides but not totally flattened.
"Aww, c'mon. I promise I won't."
Rikku smirked. "And how can I tell if you're not crossing your fingers hmmm?"
Gippal raised his hands up. "See?"
She examined him carefully. Rikku noticed that his hands were suddenly hidden behind his dark green shorts. She arched an eyebrow and started walking closer to him.
"Hmmm. Gee, I don't know.."
Gippal's smile got bigger each moment until a small tidal wave of water shot up from Rikku. He stumbled backwards and laughed as she did.
"Okay, it's payback time little girl!"
Rikku huffed then splashed more water on him. "Little?!"
"Yeah 'little'! I'm a year older than you!"
"And your point being!? It's close enough!"
"So? I can just beat you up." Gippal seemed proud.
Rikku smirked and started running towards Gippal. "Oh yeah?"
As she raised her hands to push him down, Gippal dove to the right, dodging Rikku's attack.
"Hahah, you missed!"
Rikku's sudden excitement had faded when she noticed something brightening in the water. Like electricity. Gippal walked over to her and turned to where she was facing.
"What? Do you see something?"
A zapping noise echoed through. Rikku screamed and dove for Gippal for cover. He began stumbling as she clung onto him panicking.
"It's come back for revenge!! It's gonna shock us! In the water!"
Gippal tried to keep his balance. "R-Rikku!! Let go. of me!"
"EEEE!!!" she whined.
"Whoa!!"
A big splash came when both of them fell into the water. As the light got closer, a head of silver hair popped out from it. Baralai rose up more and laughed, pointing at Rikku and Gippal when they came back up.
"Why you evil bastard!" joked Gippal, smirking.
Rikku placed her fists at her hips. "You big meanie!!"
~*~
"Isn't it funny to see Gippal and Rikku fight like that?" said Shinra, looking up from his work.
Yuna had a thinking face on. "Yeah. do you suppose that Rikku.. And Gippal..."
Brother arched an eyebrow. "Them? I dunno. Never thought of them that way."
Rikku's cousin giggled. "They sure do act like a couple. Like that one time when---"
"Gippal said they made quite the couple? I agree. I think there's chemistry."
Yuna turned to see Paine taking a seat in the beach chair next to her, wearing her maroon two piece.
"Good thing you decided to come." Shinra looked to Paine.
"So you think so too, Paine?"
Paine nodded with a smile. "Yeah. It's funny though in a way."
"Oh! Also that one time when Brother was going to charge Gippal extra until Rikku said; 'can we give him a discount?'"
They all turned back to where Baralai, Gippal, and Rikku had been chasing each other around and saw that Baralai was splashing water on them.
"Okay Baralai! Geez!" laughed Gippal, trying to escape.
Rikku giggled non-stop until she started tumbling backwards. "He-ey!"
~*~
It was later on that they had all decided to head over to Bevelle with Baralai for a continued meeting for Yuna. Rikku had exited the meeting room after Gippal, Shinra, Brother, Paine and Buddy went back to the Celsius to get ready to sleep.
When she exited the main doorways to the balcony top, she could see the lighted buildings of Bevelle from as far as her eyes could see. As the breezes chilled her, she began to wonder of her dream. Why does Seymour always come back? Is it a sign? Rikku had no evidence to support any of it. She placed her arms on the balcony side and sighed, looking down.
"Who're those people in my dream last night anyway? It kinda' seemed like Shuyin and Lenne. But Lenne is always with Shuyin right?"
She huffed and looked up at the twinkling stars. It was like a midnight blue blanket with glitter specs on it.
"Everything's so confusing. First Seymour, then a golden thread, then something like Lenne and Shuyin. then something that Seymour keeps saying.. What does it all mean?"
"Having funny dreams again?"
Rikku's head perked up a bit and turned. She saw Baralai walking out of the doorways she had exited. She gave him a small wave and let him stand next to her. His silver hair had been gently blown back a few times of their silence, giving off a relaxed and peaceful look to the young praetor. Finally, Rikku had to say something.
"What do you mean 'again'?"
"Gippal's been telling me about you having weird dreams about one of the masters."
Rikku took a deep breath and faced upward. "Why doesn't he tell the whole world then?"
Baralai snickered. "Oh no, it's quite alright. He's actually concerned you know."
"Hmmm?" Rikku arched an eyebrow.
"Gippal is pretty good at hiding things you know."
"Yeah," she turned around but kept her hands on the railing. "How can you tell that he's concerned?"
Baralai smiled gently. "He told me."
Rikku smiled back. "Well, that's new."
"I guess. I can't agree or disagree on that."
She looked up and her smile faded. Rikku couldn't take the fact that Gippal was worried about her. He shouldn't be. Rikku could take care of her own problems.
"Baralai, why did Yunie have to go to that meeting?" she looked to him as he looked towards the door. "You didn't tell any of us."
"Yuna had to come and give us some information."
"For what?"
"Our project that we've been working on for quite a while. This time, Nooj, Gippal, and I are in charge of that project."
"Oh."
Baralai nodded. "If you would like, I could tell you a little more about it. Even though it's confidential, I think I should tell you. After all, you are on Lady Yuna's team."
Rikku nodded without saying a word. She felt it wasn't needed for her to keep talking small.
"Project Nataraja is almost an exact copy of Vegnagun. The only difference is that Nataraja has a negative aral system that disrupts any signals and destroys anything related. Also Nataraja has a high defense system and offensive maneuvers. All in all, I guess you can say that Nataraja is not only equally matched with Vegnagun, but it's a major threat to society if you misuse it."
"But why are you working on it now? Isn't Vegnagun enough?"
Baralai shook his head. "Without engaging Vegnagun with any type of fighting of hostility, he could never be stopped without someone getting killed. Nataraja is truly the same way, but is in top shape. Nataraja is said to even have its own conscience. Nataraja is the key to ridding Vegnagun."
"Oh, okay then." Rikku turned to Baralai. "Thanks for letting me in."
"Oh, no big deal." Baralai moved up from where he was leaning and turned to Rikku directly. "I have to go back to the meeting. We have some beds you can sleep on inside the temple's housing if you want."
Rikku nodded. "Thanks."
~*~
Chapter Four: The Guessing Game
"I understand the situation now." Yuna stood up from her seat ahead of Nooj and placed a finger on her chin. "But I wonder. why should Nataraja be awakened now?"
Nooj shook his head. "Nataraja isn't going to be awakened now. We have to wait maybe a week. But just don't worry about it, Yuna. You should take a break."
"Well, I guess."
Nooj smiled. "I'm heading to Guadosalam since LeBlanc wants to talk to me."
Yuna snickered, thinking of Gippal and Rikku's impression of them flirting.
"What's so funny?" asked Nooj with a strange smile.
Yuna shook her head. "Oh, oh nothing. I'm just thinking of a place to go for our little break."
"Break? Did I hear something about a break?"
Their heads turned and saw Rikku walking in, smiling as if nothing in the world could prevent her happiness. She waved at Nooj then turned to her cousin.
"Where are we gonna go for break? To a beach maybe?"
"A beach," Yuna sighed dreamily. "Does sound nice."
"There's one by the Calm Lands you know."
Rikku gritted her teeth and turned. Gippal stood with his arm against the tent's wall, smirking.
"Oooohhhh no!! No no no no! I remember the last time you went to a beach with me and Brother!"
Gippal laughed. "That's only because Brother invited me."
"Mmmm... Okay fine. You can come."
Gippal laughed and started his way out. "I bet Baralai would like to too."
Rikku's head lashed back again. "Hey!! Who said you were in charge!?"
Yuna giggled. "Oh Rikku, calm down. Everyone can come."
~*~
The beach was more fun than everyone else thought. While Nooj went off to Guadosalam, Baralai, Rikku, Yuna, Brother, Buddy, Shinra, and Gippal went off to the beach near the Calm Lands for their week break.
Yuna sat with Brother and Shinra on the beach in their lay back chairs. Brother had on navy blue swim-shorts, Shinra still had his regular outfit on since he was working on the CommSpheres, and Yuna wore a sea green and sky blue tie bikini.
Rikku was splashing water on Gippal after he ruined her sand castle by the shore. As he came closer to attack, she would back up and guard the straps on her sunset colored bikini top and her bottom's side ties.
"Geez Rikku! It's not like I'm gonna do like I did last time!" laughed Gippal trying to move closer to Rikku.
She shrieked playfully as she dodged Gippal's tackle towards her. "You lie!"
Gippal came up from the water, his spiked up hair now spreading out to its sides but not totally flattened.
"Aww, c'mon. I promise I won't."
Rikku smirked. "And how can I tell if you're not crossing your fingers hmmm?"
Gippal raised his hands up. "See?"
She examined him carefully. Rikku noticed that his hands were suddenly hidden behind his dark green shorts. She arched an eyebrow and started walking closer to him.
"Hmmm. Gee, I don't know.."
Gippal's smile got bigger each moment until a small tidal wave of water shot up from Rikku. He stumbled backwards and laughed as she did.
"Okay, it's payback time little girl!"
Rikku huffed then splashed more water on him. "Little?!"
"Yeah 'little'! I'm a year older than you!"
"And your point being!? It's close enough!"
"So? I can just beat you up." Gippal seemed proud.
Rikku smirked and started running towards Gippal. "Oh yeah?"
As she raised her hands to push him down, Gippal dove to the right, dodging Rikku's attack.
"Hahah, you missed!"
Rikku's sudden excitement had faded when she noticed something brightening in the water. Like electricity. Gippal walked over to her and turned to where she was facing.
"What? Do you see something?"
A zapping noise echoed through. Rikku screamed and dove for Gippal for cover. He began stumbling as she clung onto him panicking.
"It's come back for revenge!! It's gonna shock us! In the water!"
Gippal tried to keep his balance. "R-Rikku!! Let go. of me!"
"EEEE!!!" she whined.
"Whoa!!"
A big splash came when both of them fell into the water. As the light got closer, a head of silver hair popped out from it. Baralai rose up more and laughed, pointing at Rikku and Gippal when they came back up.
"Why you evil bastard!" joked Gippal, smirking.
Rikku placed her fists at her hips. "You big meanie!!"
~*~
"Isn't it funny to see Gippal and Rikku fight like that?" said Shinra, looking up from his work.
Yuna had a thinking face on. "Yeah. do you suppose that Rikku.. And Gippal..."
Brother arched an eyebrow. "Them? I dunno. Never thought of them that way."
Rikku's cousin giggled. "They sure do act like a couple. Like that one time when---"
"Gippal said they made quite the couple? I agree. I think there's chemistry."
Yuna turned to see Paine taking a seat in the beach chair next to her, wearing her maroon two piece.
"Good thing you decided to come." Shinra looked to Paine.
"So you think so too, Paine?"
Paine nodded with a smile. "Yeah. It's funny though in a way."
"Oh! Also that one time when Brother was going to charge Gippal extra until Rikku said; 'can we give him a discount?'"
They all turned back to where Baralai, Gippal, and Rikku had been chasing each other around and saw that Baralai was splashing water on them.
"Okay Baralai! Geez!" laughed Gippal, trying to escape.
Rikku giggled non-stop until she started tumbling backwards. "He-ey!"
~*~
It was later on that they had all decided to head over to Bevelle with Baralai for a continued meeting for Yuna. Rikku had exited the meeting room after Gippal, Shinra, Brother, Paine and Buddy went back to the Celsius to get ready to sleep.
When she exited the main doorways to the balcony top, she could see the lighted buildings of Bevelle from as far as her eyes could see. As the breezes chilled her, she began to wonder of her dream. Why does Seymour always come back? Is it a sign? Rikku had no evidence to support any of it. She placed her arms on the balcony side and sighed, looking down.
"Who're those people in my dream last night anyway? It kinda' seemed like Shuyin and Lenne. But Lenne is always with Shuyin right?"
She huffed and looked up at the twinkling stars. It was like a midnight blue blanket with glitter specs on it.
"Everything's so confusing. First Seymour, then a golden thread, then something like Lenne and Shuyin. then something that Seymour keeps saying.. What does it all mean?"
"Having funny dreams again?"
Rikku's head perked up a bit and turned. She saw Baralai walking out of the doorways she had exited. She gave him a small wave and let him stand next to her. His silver hair had been gently blown back a few times of their silence, giving off a relaxed and peaceful look to the young praetor. Finally, Rikku had to say something.
"What do you mean 'again'?"
"Gippal's been telling me about you having weird dreams about one of the masters."
Rikku took a deep breath and faced upward. "Why doesn't he tell the whole world then?"
Baralai snickered. "Oh no, it's quite alright. He's actually concerned you know."
"Hmmm?" Rikku arched an eyebrow.
"Gippal is pretty good at hiding things you know."
"Yeah," she turned around but kept her hands on the railing. "How can you tell that he's concerned?"
Baralai smiled gently. "He told me."
Rikku smiled back. "Well, that's new."
"I guess. I can't agree or disagree on that."
She looked up and her smile faded. Rikku couldn't take the fact that Gippal was worried about her. He shouldn't be. Rikku could take care of her own problems.
"Baralai, why did Yunie have to go to that meeting?" she looked to him as he looked towards the door. "You didn't tell any of us."
"Yuna had to come and give us some information."
"For what?"
"Our project that we've been working on for quite a while. This time, Nooj, Gippal, and I are in charge of that project."
"Oh."
Baralai nodded. "If you would like, I could tell you a little more about it. Even though it's confidential, I think I should tell you. After all, you are on Lady Yuna's team."
Rikku nodded without saying a word. She felt it wasn't needed for her to keep talking small.
"Project Nataraja is almost an exact copy of Vegnagun. The only difference is that Nataraja has a negative aral system that disrupts any signals and destroys anything related. Also Nataraja has a high defense system and offensive maneuvers. All in all, I guess you can say that Nataraja is not only equally matched with Vegnagun, but it's a major threat to society if you misuse it."
"But why are you working on it now? Isn't Vegnagun enough?"
Baralai shook his head. "Without engaging Vegnagun with any type of fighting of hostility, he could never be stopped without someone getting killed. Nataraja is truly the same way, but is in top shape. Nataraja is said to even have its own conscience. Nataraja is the key to ridding Vegnagun."
"Oh, okay then." Rikku turned to Baralai. "Thanks for letting me in."
"Oh, no big deal." Baralai moved up from where he was leaning and turned to Rikku directly. "I have to go back to the meeting. We have some beds you can sleep on inside the temple's housing if you want."
Rikku nodded. "Thanks."
~*~
