The Paine in My Heart – Shinobi of Darkness
Chap. 2
[Disclaimer: I don't own anything of final fantasy, so you can't sue me. And like Shinra says: "I'm just a kid." ^.^ Technically, not anymore, but…you know. ¬.¬' I'm a fan. So I write Fan Fics. Live and let live. u.u
Oh yeah! The answer to the cliffhanger on Chp. 1 won't be answered until Chapter 3! Nyah Nyah! Don't worry folks! It'll come about! ^^ Just…have patience.]
She found herself glaring at the empty space delivered to her beyond the spotlight that followed her every step. Her surrounding, left enshrouded in total darkness. She swung around swearing that she heard a noise, something relatively close to the sound of footsteps.
"There you are." A voice echoed from behind her. She whirled around once more, stepping back a few feet as she clutched the hilt of her sword. Still, there was nothing.
"Show your face!" She yelled, squinting against the obscure background. She cringed, finding this game to be tiring and annoying. She hated being the piece, forced to play by someone else's hand. She lived by a set of her own.
Looming out of the darkness, blonde tresses formed followed by the rest of the tanned figure. A stride of superiority became apparent as each blonde strand touched the broad shoulders of a shadowed man. Her eyes searched frantically within the darkness as her grip tightened around her sword. Soundlessly, he stopped behind her and let his lips linger about her ear. A pair of hands wrapped around her middle.
"I'm here, now. It's me… ShuYin." She felt as his lips pressed against her cheek. Her eyes widened and her grip tightened. She whirled around, vaulting the 40-pound blade over her head and cringed, watching as the blade swiped through the darkness and slammed against the empty floor. She grunted seeing that she missed.
"Damn."
"Paine! God! What in machina is wrong with you?!"
Startled Paine's eyes shot open at the sound of a high-pitched Gippal. He was pinned against the wall with the blade of her katana wedge between his neck and left shoulder. She looked quite disoriented, sitting up in bed and looking around her room as if not recognizing it at all. She shifted her eyes at Gippal, still stuck beneath her blade. He struggled with the sword a moment, ripping the shoulder of his wife-beater in the process.
"Gippal! What are you doing here?!" she asked, looking around to make sure that she was in the right quarters. She checked off her list of things mentally as her eyes went over the room. The closet of clothes seemed in order with the exception of shoes that were in a clutter just outside the door. Her sphere recorder was still on the dresser with a sphere sitting beside it, and her warrior dress sphere was still draped over the ironing board. She raised a hand to her head, shutting her eyes. She couldn't remember a thing about last night except that she'd had a few drinks. And Baralai.
"Oh, so you don't remember?" He grinned, admiring her body. The sheer robe she wore was revealing a bit of black lace and Gippal would of killed if he hadn't noticed. He would refrain from telling her until his viewing pleasure was fulfilled. She opened an eye slowly, hesitating to remove her eyes from him. She was about to ask what it was that she couldn't remember when his childish grin and intense stare struck suspicion and she followed his gaze. She looked upon herself and she gasped, pulling the dark sheets to her chest. She wrapped it securely around her body, tucking in the corners.
"Get out!" She screamed, reaching for her sword. His smile disappeared. She screamed again when she noticed that him wearing a pair of trousers with the belt unbuckled. She feared the worst, shaking her head vigorously. "Out! Out! Out! Get out now!"
"Look, babe. Paine, I know you're upset and all, but you were the one who initiated it in the first place. You needed a way to get to sleep, so I helped." Paine couldn't believe what she was hearing. Or even thinking. This just had to be some twisted nightmare. Some fantasy that went wrong from all aspects of it. She slapped herself and sat there a moment, waiting to wake up, perhaps, in a better place. She didn't. Her eyes began burning a deep wine. Gippal had closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't notice Paine's blood boiling over in her eyes. He continued. "Now when I come to wake you up, you have a problem. So much for Sleeping Beauty."
What? Sleeping Beauty? Her eyes went wide on a single guess but moved to search the floor for another option detouring her from her assumption. She scanned extensively and found none. If only Gippal could have found that an opportunity to escape before she had realized that—
"You kissed me?!" She eyed him darkly, scrambling to climb out of bed. He looked around as if she were speaking to someone else. She lunged for him but he ducked, leaving her to grasp the hilt of the sword. Escaping a stumble, he started for the door while she struggled to pull the sword from the wall. She propped a foot against the wall and pulled harder. "Come back here, Gippal!"
"Hey! I had to wake you up somehow!" He said, stumbling backwards into the hall. He fell back against the wall opposite of her door. She pulled the sword from the wall and spun around. His eyes went wide. He lunged himself forward, grabbing the doorknob and pulled it forward. She threw her sword after him. The door slammed shut just as the razor-sharp blade of her sword cut through. The tip of the blade just inches from his face. He took off down the hall.
Baralai and Nooj looked to each other in silence at the onslaught of bangs and clanks that roared from upstairs. Nooj took a sip of his drink while Baralai reached for a cracker across the table. They turned their heads to the doorway as Gippal came tripping in. He pressed his back against the wall and waited to catch his breath. Baralai smirked at Nooj.
"She…S-She's up." Wheezed Gippal, dipping his head back in fatigue. Baralai nodded.
"GIPPAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"You haven't seen me!" He warned them, shrieking. Gippal shuttled to his feet and ran across the room. He hopped over the bar counter and hid in a crawl space beneath it, pulling closed a curtain that was meant to hide the hard liquor. He winced, rattling a case of wine bottles, and passed his hands over them trying to quickly silence the noise. He sat in silence.
Paine stalked in letting the swinging door slam against the wall then flap back and forth behind her. She glanced around the room then turned to Baralai and Nooj. They sat there silently, watching her wear the dark sheets around her body. She frowned, pulling in her sword.
"Where is he?!"
Nooj shrugged but Baralai said nothing. Her eyes narrowed on them. She turned to the Hypello behind the counter and advanced in his direction, still with the sword in hand. A fist clenched the Hypello's collar, dragging him halfway over the counter.
"Spill it!" She seethed. The Hypello began to struggle. Paine scowled.
"Dr. P, He'sh here. Behind s'he counter."
"Hey!!!!!" Gippal stood up and banged his head against the counter. Wincing, he came from under it. He grumbled something that the others couldn't quite understand as he rubbed his head. He paused to fix his once perfect hair. "Sell out…."
Paine dropped the hypello and reached for Gippal who just missed her grasping hand. He began running around the tables and hopping over a few with Paine trailing behind him. Nooj and Baralai still sat in silence, wondering if Paine would catch him or not. They began making bets.
"I bet you a drink that Paine catches him in a minute." Said Baralai.
"I bet you two that Paine does it in 30 seconds." Challenged Nooj. Baralai nodded.
"You're on." And they continued to watch.
Paine continued to chase the screaming Gippal around the room. He hopped over tables, overturned a few, and threw a few all in an effort to slow her down. She evaded all of his traps and still remained behind him. Trying to vault his body over a barstool, Gippal's foot was caught in one of the holes of the conjoined legs and hooked, bringing him crashing against the floor. The stool cluttered against the floor but not before bringing down a table with it. Paine grabbed him up and slammed him to a wall by his neck.
"Damn. I owe you two drinks." Said Baralai, feeling around in his pocket for some gil. Nooj grinned, looking up from his watch.
"Wow. 13.5 seconds flat." He mused looking over to Paine who was still draped in her sheets. Baralai ordered the drinks.
"Nooj! Help me! Help! Baralai!!!" He choked, kicking his feet about. Paine squeezed tighter on his neck.
"Nooj can't help you." She brought up a hand that stared into that Al-Bhed face, ready to pound four knuckles into it. She slammed her fist to his face.
"Paine!" A soft-spoken guy yelled. Her hand froze in mid-flight just inches from a blissful endeavor that she would have enjoyed to its full extent. All thoughts of entertainment were stripped away now that her name was called. She slowly turned to face Baralai. "I sent him to wake you."
"You?" She calmly asked. Baralai nodded and she dropped Gippal. Her eyes shifted between Baralai and Nooj, ignoring the loud thud behind her. Gippal groaned, rubbing the back of his head. She crossed her arms. The discomfort of the sheet around her caused her to drop her arms. She rested her arms at her sides. "What for?"
"We're on the coast of Luca." Gippal was now resurfacing from the floor. He adjusted his torn shirt and dusted off his trousers. Paine looked to Nooj.
"What happened to Besaid?"
"You missed it. We docked but you weren't awake." Replied Baralai. Paine brought a hand to her hip.
"What? How?"
"You were asleep and…we weren't sure if we should of awakened you." answered Nooj.
"What stopped you from waking me then?" She began to move across the room, glaring at Gippal. Once before he had intruded on her quarters and she woke up to find him in her bed, drunk, mistaking her for some blonde named Rikku. She gave a disgusted sigh and rolled her eyes. Gippal grinned, running a hand through his hair.
"Trust me babe, I tried." He paused bringing in a sing-song tone. "I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end—"
"Shut it." She scowled. Baralai laughed and Gippal frowned.
"Anyway, it was a waste of time." Continued Nooj. "The high summoner wasn't around. She left to visit the temples and people of Spira. Something about helping to rebuild."
"We have to go back." Suggested Paine. Baralai shook his head.
"We can't."
"Why not?"
"It'll set us back in our travels. Besides, we've about 20 more minutes until we dock."
"And tomorrow?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Tomorrow we leave for Mushroom Rock Road." Answered Nooj.
"What's to do there?" She asked.
Nooj took another sip of his drink. "I have some business to handle. Then afterward, we make our way to Mi'hen High Road."
"We depart from there." Inserted Gippal. He pulled up a seat beside Baralai and Nooj. Paine nodded.
"Fine. I'll get dressed." Gippal stood up and grinned. "And no, Gippal. You can't help."
He shrugged falling to sit in his chair. Paine stepped out of the room and Gippal turned to his pals. He grinned that childish boy grin that he was so blessed with. He leaned forward and Baralai asked,
"So how exactly did you get her out of bed?"
"Ah…just my charm. You know how the whole prince charming thing goes. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid. They all were saved with a kiss. That's all." He began rocking backward in his chair. Nooj shook his head at Gippal. It was all he could do. He didn't want to laugh because he knew what Paine would of done to him if he'd done so. And he imagined the reaction Baralai would have given him if he had even cracked a smile. So all he did was shake his head. Baralai stared at Gippal with an unreadable expression. Gippal laughed.
"Don't worry, I'm not taking her! I had to wake her up somehow!" Gippal rolled his eyes and expressed a 'sheesh' with a shake of his head. He propped his hands behind his head and shut his eyes. "Besides, It would have been better if she had returned the favor."
Baralai stretched a foot, kicking the bottom of Gippal's chair out from under him, sending Gippal slamming backward onto the wooden floor. Nooj laughed. Gippal gave a weak cry.
"Ow…"