**Wow, I can't believe how many chapters this thing has! My last story was ten very short chapters, LOL. Well, thanks to all who've been patient and stuck by me--trust me, there's plenty more to come! Oh, by the way, feel free to drop me a line ::winkwink:: ::nudgenudge:: Hehe. Anyway, I also wanted to thank UA for all of her beautiful piccies she's drawn of the characters, and for Saito's piccies as well! She CG'ed the one of Niet stuffing her face for me...WAI! I love it! Thanks again, girls! Now, on with the story!**
The sun was just coming over the horizon when the trio of girls reached the New Djose Temple. Yueh ran into the temple in a tired sort of fury, shouting out some garbled language she supposed later was English. The main priest of the temple came out of one of the side rooms after hearing the commotion and managed to understand Yueh's frantic speech, especially when Niet began towing a weak and red Arashi into the temple.
"Quick! Kiara, Min, help the guardian get her to a bed. Jon, get some herbs. Stronger than tylanel, try the--"
"I know," the young man said quickly. He ran off to the room the priest had just left from. The aforementioned girls gave Niet a hand in bringing Arashi to the other room and to a bed. The priest, meanwhile, was peppering Yueh with questions.
"When did she get sick?"
"Just last morning, when we left New Luca--"
"How did she become ill?"
"I--I don't know," Yueh stuttered. Kiara, Min, and Niet began to lay Arashi on the small bed in the room. "I think--there was an attack on the stadium, and she fought alongside, well, while riding on an Aeon and I think she may have caught something while in the air--"
"Not good," the priest mumbled. He kneeled next to Arashi and removed the blanket from her head and pulled it down around her shoulders. Putting a hand on her forehead, he went on. "How long was she up there?"
"Barely--barely half an hour," Yueh guessed. A small wave of smoke came off of the priest's hand, and he took his hand off of Arashi's forehead. Arashi let out a small mumble and turned her head to the side. The young man entered the room with a small basket full of herbs and small ceramic utensils and bowls.
"She must have caught something in the air. I cannot tell what it is precisely." The priest grabbed the basket from the young man and began to crush one of the many leafy, dried herbs in one of the ceramic bowls. "I will need some room to do this. Kiara, Min, if you would..."
The two young women nodded in tandem and each grabbed an arm of a guardian. Niet protested a bit, and Yueh gave in only because she was too tired to fight. Min and Kiara led them out of the room and into the nearby inn, where food was already being prepared for the weakened guardians. Even Niet's face lit up only slightly at the sight of a table piled with dinner and desserts.
Despite their weariness and their worry, Niet and Yueh were still hungry, so they each grabbed a plate and piled it up high with salads, fruits, and egg rolls, and ate in silence. Niet's head almost fell onto her plate, she was so tired. Only with a small kick from Yueh was this avoided.
An hour later, Yueh still sat awake at the table, poking at remnants of an egg roll that had been there for the last quarter-hour. Niet was keeping herself busy by spelling out various phrases in the small grapes she had left on her plate. The silence was finally broken when Min or Kiara (Yueh didn't know which) came in and knocked lightly on the doorframe.
A smile was on the young lady's face. She spoke softly, but somehow her words carried throughout the whole room.
"The Lady Summoner is fine. She wants to talk to you two right now, if you wouldn't mind." She did a sweeping gesture towards the door, and both Yueh and Niet scrambled to their feet, running out the door like they had actually gotten some sleep.
Inside the temple, the girls were silent, but still excited. When they entered the room where Arashi had been set down, Yueh let out a loud, grateful sigh as she saw Arashi sitting up, calmly drinking a cup of tea while conversing with the priest and the young man from before. She had to repress the urge to run over and tackle Arashi with a hug.
Arashi was still a bit pale, but her gray-blue eyes were bright and happy. Yueh let out another sigh of relief. We did it. We...
That was as far as her thoughts got, as well as her feet. She fell over from exhaustion right at that moment, drifting off into a peaceful sleep without dreams.
*-*-*-*-*
"Although I'm glad she's getting rest, I wish she'd wake up. I'd like to ask her how on Spira we got here so quickly."
"Lady Arashi, your other guardian..."
"Niet?"
"She's awake now."
Yueh's eyes fluttered open. She squinted at the bright light above her and put up a hand to block it. The voices then resumed.
"Yueh! You're up!" Arashi exclaimed, putting a hand on Yueh's arm that covered her face. "I'm so happy that fall to the floor didn't hurt you at all. You could have conked your head rather nastily..."
Yueh moved her arm so she could look at Arashi. "I fell?"
Arashi let out a short giggle. "You fell over, asleep. I'm thinking it was the ride over here. From what Niet told me before she went to sleep, you drove all night, so you were awake that whole time, but..." Arashi trailed off, tapping a finger to her chin. "Even if you rode the whole night, you still couldn't have gotten here that fast at any normal sort of speed."
Yueh sat up. "The chocobos were fast." I hope I didn't push them too hard... Giving a shrug, she went on. "It wasn't that hard, I was more concerned that...well..."
"I would die?" Yueh nodded quietly, and, much to her surprise, Arashi laughed again. "Yueh, I'm stronger than that. I might've been down with a cold for a few days, but I wouldn't have died." She stood up and grinned. "Now, I'm going to go check on our other sleepyheaded guardian." Arashi out of the room and left Yueh alone with the girl from before.
The young woman regarded Yueh for a moment before saying anything. "She puts it off lightly. The Lady Summoner could easily have died from what she had." She turned around and went to follow Arashi. "It was great luck that you got here so quickly, otherwise, she would have died." The girl turned her head to look at Yueh before she left the room.
"You should take better care of her, Guardian."
The girl's footsteps echoed as she walked out of the chamber, leaving Yueh alone. She frowned and grumbled something under her breath before getting up from the bed and stretching a bit. Her back was a bit sore (presumably from the fall), but other than that, she felt quite fine and rested.
Take better care of her, Guardian...' Peh. I've been taking good care of her. Yueh stomped out of the room and followed the chattering voices to Arashi and Niet. I've been taking very good care of her. Its not my fault she caught something in the air... She gave a short wave to Arashi and Niet and a small grunt to the young woman before seating herself next to Arashi.
"So! All well and rested, guardians?" Arashi asked, smiling. Niet let out a short yawn, but still nodded, as did Yueh. Arashi clapped her hands together. "Great! So, we can now go to the Chamber of the Fayth and--"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Lady Arashi." A hesitant voice came from the doorway. Turning, Yueh saw it belonged to Jon, the young man from before.
In his arms was a large basket of breads and cheeses, along with three cups and a pitcher of some sort of drink (which Yueh couldn't quite identify). He set these things down on the bedside table next to Niet and bowed his head.
"I...think it would be best if you rest for a day before going to pray, milady." His voice was quiet, not much above a whisper. Yueh had to strain her ears to hear him. The young woman frowned at him and stomped out of the room with a curt, "Pardon me, Lady," and a glare at Jon. He winced as she swept the curtained door shut behind her, slamming it as much as one could slam a door made of cloth.
"Don't mind Min," Arashi said, giving a small sigh and patting Jon on the shoulder. "She's been in a rather foul mood since I refused to let her become my guardian, although I don't quite see why."
"You would be the second to refuse her within the past week, Lady Arashi," Jon explained. He began to pour a cherry colored liquid into each of the glasses as he went on. "She wasn't very happy when Lady Mariana refused her as well. In fact--" He cut himself short as he handed Arashi a glass. "Maybe I shouldn't--"
"No, go on, Jon." Arashi took a small sip of her drink. "If its all right. I won't tell Min. And neither will my guardians," she added, noticing Jon's glance at Yueh and Niet. He nodded and began to pass cups to Niet and Yueh before going on.
"Min really wants to be a guardian, and you are only the second summoner to come along for a long time. She tried hard the first time, and she thought..." He trailed off, and Yueh could see he was thinking of how best to word what he wanted to say. "She thought it was a sure thing, and bought a sphere to record the occasion. She set it up, hidden, and she caught her...her rejection on sphere." Jon's face began to turn red. "She wasn't happy, and threw away the sphere, but I...I kept it."
Yueh's curiosity got the best of her. "I don't suppose we could see the sphere?" At Jon's puzzled look, Yueh began to turn red. "We've heard about this other summoner for a while and I want to know what she looks like."
"As would I," Arashi put in. She took a large slab of cheese and began nibbling on it. "Could we see it?"
Jon nodded wordlessly and dashed out the door. In less than five seconds, he was back with a small movie sphere in hand. He kneeled down in between the three girls and switched on the sphere.
Min's face was the first thing to appear, wide-eyed and excited as she set up the sphere at the perfect angle. Her hands reached out and adjusted the sphere ever so slightly before jumping to the other side of the room and standing up straight. At that moment, the back of a barely-dressed, brown-haired woman was seen walking in.
"What is it, Min?" The voice of the woman sounded irritated, but to Yueh, it sounded vaguely familiar, especially the tone. "Genki and I have to get going."
Min hand her hands clasped together. She bowed. "I would like to ask you, Lady Mariana...may I...may I become your guardian alongside Genki?"
The brunette paused. "No."
Min's face twitched, and her face began to turn red. "...no?"
The brunette stepped past Min. "No. And...I don't think it wise to record me without asking me first, Min." She turned to the sphere and, in that moment, Yueh gasped with recognition.
The sphere ended and both Arashi and Niet turned to Yueh. "What is it?"
Yueh pointed shakily to the sphere. "That woman...that...remember the psychiatrist?" Arashi and Niet nodded. Yueh gulped and continued. "That's her. That's Mary."