**Here's the next chapter--the one after this, I'll tell you, is the tell all...^_^ So y'all are just going to have to be patient. But we're not over yet, nosiree! So, enjoy, and if ya like, review! It makes me write faster. ^_~;;
Oh, and my new name is now Jedi Ari. Y'see, due to their new naming system, I got a 5 after my name--and I don't like having numbers after my name. Its just a personal thing. So, new name, same oddball stories! But y'all can still call me Ari. Shorter that way. ^_~ See you next chapter!**
The hour that it was supposed to take took only fifteen minutes, as Arashi's sense of direction had been thrown off, as was usually the case.
Yueh took in a deep breath as she gazed upon the small village. It was nice to see the place had been completely rebuilt in the small amount of time they had been gone. All the rubble had been cleaned up and thrown away, and the new huts looked wonderfully inviting in the midst of the hot and sunny day.
Arashi had already found Kihou, and was talking to him, asking him questions by the look of it. The three boys had already went about finding Kiri so she could make some food, and Niet, surprisingly had stayed behind with Yueh, staring at the village.
"Nice now that it's all back up, eh?" Niet commented. Yueh nodded.
"I'm glad they did it so quickly…" Makes me feel better about the sinspawn attack, at least…
Arashi approached Yueh and Niet, the priest walking off to his house. "Kihou says they found our chocobos here. They wandered back all by themselves, the notes still around their necks. Our wagon, apparently, is still in the Calm Lands." She smiled. "So, we'll have to walk, unless only two of us want to ride chocobos while the other four walk."
"Four? You mean those guys are coming with there, too?" Niet shouted incredulously.
Arashi simply nodded. "I thought you knew…" With that, she turned on her heels and headed towards Kihou's house. "The guys made arrangements for supper, so it's off to eat then onto the temple for a…visit." Yueh could almost hear Arashi smile as she walked off.
"Food! Chicken teriyaki! Aaah!" Niet skipped onward to the small hut happily, continuing her little "mantra." "Food! Chicken teriyaki! Aaah!" Yueh followed, but a bit more calmly and dignified.
Most of Kiri's hut looked the same as the first time they had visited, so the only conclusion that Yueh could come to was that a lot of things had been salvaged since the attack. However, the hut was now even more cramped than it previously had been, due to the place settings, seats, and a larger table needed for the seven people eating (Kihou, apparently, was not joining them). Arashi, Yueh, and Niet sat down on one side of the long table, and Gage, Hunter, and Mattian were already seated on the other side exactly across from them.
"Food! Chicken teriyaki! Aaah!" Niet mumbled to herself. For a moment, Yueh thought she could see drool.
That was when Kiri walked in with the largest plate of teriyaki and eggrolls that Yueh had ever seen. Kiri set it down on the table and sat down herself.
"Let's eat! You must be hungry…"
That said, everyone piled on the teriyaki and eggrolls and ate to their hearts content—or, rather, their stomach's content.
*-*-*-*-*
Dinner didn't take very long, either, as everyone had acted like they'd been starved for a week as they ate everything. Yueh figured it was the same emotion that she had that caused them to act that way: nervousness. Arashi was the only one who even ate calmly. Probably because she actually knows what's ahead of us. I guess if she's not worried, we shouldn't be, really…
What did take a bit, though, was making the old parachutes into cloaks. A local seamstress offered to do it for free, but with only her and her assistant, it would take at least two days to get all six cloaks finished. Arashi, who had done some sewing in the past, offered to help, which guaranteed that the group would leave by the next morning. Until then, Arashi advised the rest of the gang to "rest up for the trip ahead."
The other five took this to heart. Each picked out a bed at the inn and promptly fell asleep. Half an hour later, Arashi walked in and looked upon everyone, smiling.
"Oyasumi nasai, minna-san…" Good night, everyone. She turned to leave. "Yoku nete…" Sleep well…
*-*-*-*-*
During the night the boat began pulling into the docks at Luca. The stars shone brightly in the sky, with the full moon next to them. Genki had fallen asleep, but Mariana, who always seemed to be awake, was standing on the bow of the ship, watching as they docked at Luca.
She stared up at the moon, her hair down and blowing in the gentle winds. The voyage, although short, had been quite pleasant. As a summoner, she and Genki had gotten the best room on board and had thoroughly enjoyed the meals that were brought to them very frequently. It hadn't really felt like they had been on a ship at all—that was how smooth the ride had been.
But, Mariana thought, still staring at the moon, that wasn't the best part of the ride… She hopped down off of the bow and made her way back down to the lower decks. I found something on this ride, something amazing…
She snuck back into her room. Sitting down, Mariana watched her husband sleeping on the bed, his form bathed in moonlight from the lone window in the cabin.
"And you helped me find the answer, Genki," she whispered, so quietly that a breeze could have overpowered it. Mariana kissed him gently on the cheek, and his eyes slowly opened.
"Hm? Mari…what time is it?" He blinked his brown eyes and sat up. "Are we at Luca?"
She put a hand to his cheek and smiled. "We're docking now, but we don't have to leave until the sun rises." Mariana pushed him back down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"S'okay…" Genki had almost closed his eyes all the way again before he bolted back up. "You're sorry? But…but…"
"Sleep," Mariana commanded softly. Genki tilted his head to one side, trying to study her face in the small bit of light in the cabin. Mariana simply smiled and made him lie down once more on the bed as she stood.
"Good night, Genki. Sleep well."
*-*-*-*-*
Yueh was the first one to wake in the morning. To her non-surprise, it was Arashi's snoring that woke her up. She looked around the room to find the noise's owner, and saw her in the very corner by the entrance on the last bed available. Her fingertips were red, and her left index finger had a small bandage on it. Arashi's arms and legs sprawled across the small bed, engulfing it wholly. The bed had obviously been meant for a much smaller person—like a child. Yueh giggled and grabbed the sheet off her bed to cover the sleeping summoner up.
Yueh left the small hut/inn and walked out down by the beach. Stretching, she looked over the ocean in front of her with a miniscule sigh. This time, the sun was rising, but it regardless reminded her of the last time she had been in this village.
She sat down on the sand and stared up at the clouds that were beginning to form. The sky seemed less foreboding than it had on that day, however, and that fact cheered her up a bit. By the look of the clouds, it seemed it would be a good day—weather-wise, anyway.
Yueh shifted. Sand was starting to creep its way in-between her toes and slowly up the hem of her capris. She stood up and dusted herself off.
With one last look at the sky and the ocean, she walked back into the small village. Her mind turned to other things.
I wonder what happened to Mariana…we haven't heard of her or seen her for ages… She kicked a rock down the path. And she really does want to control Sin. But Arashi let her go…it just doesn't make any sense. Yueh kicked the rock again, and cursed silently as the rock hit her uncovered toe rather nastily. From then on, she just walked. Wait…if Mariana's still out there, she could be heading for Sin right now! And if she beats us, then—
Yueh ran back into the inn and began to wake everyone up.
"Niet! Mattian! Gage! Hunt—ER!" She tripped on the edge of the boy's bed and fell straight onto his awakening form.
Both of them blinked rapidly, but neither moved, of course. Niet, Mattian, and Gage, unfortunately, were up and laughing.
"Woo, what were you doing, eh, you two?" Mattian asked, chuckling. Yueh and Hunter blushed a deep crimson red. "At least we couldn't hear you—OW!" Mattian had received a thwack on the head from the hilt-end of Niet's rapier. In less than a second, Niet was helping a rather stunned Yueh up off of the bed.
"Yueh's not that way, you pervert." Mattian opened his mouth to reply and quickly got another hit on the head. "C'mon, Yueh, let's get Arashi."
"She—she's right there," Yueh said, still stunned.
Hunter was trying to defend himself. "I didn't do anything, ya? I woke up, and dere she was!" he said, gesturing wildly. "I didn't—"
"Whoa ho! So she made the move on you—OUCH!" Mattian turned to Niet, who, as he had forgotten, was across the room. "Would you quit hitting me?!? Its just a joke!"
Niet glared at him. "I didn't hit you."
"I did," Gage said, calm, but with a hint of the laughter from before on his face. "Yueh tripped. I saw it as I woke up."
"Well, so did I, but I thought it was—"
Gage patted his friend on the shoulder. "You might wanna shut up while you're ahead."
Niet and Yueh, meanwhile, were trying to wake up the ever-sleeping Arashi. Yueh, still a bit out of it, was poking her in the shoulder, while Niet was trying the "shout in her face" method. Neither was working well. Gage, Mattian, and Hunter soon joined in, all three of them trying Niet's method. Quite soon it was noisier than a chicken coop with a fox inside of it. Finally, Yueh shouted for everyone to be quiet—an order that took thirty seconds for everyone to comply with (Niet and Mattian being, of course, the last two to quiet down).
"This isn't working," Yueh said, pointing out the obvious.
"What else is there?" Gage asked.
"She must be tired," Niet chimed in, lifting up one of Arashi's eyelids. Niet jumped backwards and tumbled over a bed. "Gyah!"
"What?!" Yueh looked over at the fallen Niet, then back to Arashi.
Who was sitting up and awake.
"Mmm…sorry, I just couldn't will myself awake." She held up her red hands and smiled. "I was working late last night."
"…oh."
There was a moment's silence as Arashi hopped out of the bed and began making it back up. "So! We'll go collect our cloaks and leave for the Tsukikage temple."
Niet stood back up and rubbed her stomach. "Without breakfast?" Arashi began to make her way out past the front desk of the inn. "Arashi?"
The summoner took an apple from the complimentary fruit bowl on the front desk and tossed it to Niet. "You can eat this on the way." Niet groaned, and Yueh's mood improved even more.
They were moving, and finally on their way to the temple.
*-*-*-*-*
"What does this temple look like again?" Mattian asked, looking around the forest. "A giant tree?"
"Yes, with vines all around the front," Arashi said for the umpteenth time. She was leading the way, with Yueh consulting the map right behind her. "Tsuki's fayth is there, waiting for us." Arashi readjusted the hood of her cloak on her back. "So we must hurry for the conference."
"Conference?" Yueh asked absentmindedly.
"More or less, yes. With everyone."
This stopped the whole group in their tracks. "What do you mean, 'everyone?'" Yueh questioned.
Arashi kept walking. "I mean everyone in this group…and everyone in her group."
"Whose group?" Arashi didn't turn around. "Whose group?!"
"In two days…you'll see." She laughed lightly, and began swinging the belt on her waist. "You'll see."
"I think she's psycho," Mattian whispered in an undertone. "This pilgrimage has been too much on her, I think."
Gage shrugged and ran to catch up with Arashi. Once he was out of earshot, Mattian grinned evilly and glared at Niet.
"I'll bet her guardians didn't take good enough care of her."
"Hey!"
Mattian shot off, and Niet followed him quick as lightning. He was laughing his head off, and she was steaming mad. If they don't shut up soon, Arashi's going to use a little white magic silencing…
Hunter scratched the back of his head, looking after the other four. "We should probably get going, ya?"
Yueh nodded, blushing for no reason that she could see. "Yeah…probably."
Hunter, whose tanned face was turning red, held out his arm for Yueh to take. Yueh's own face went darker as she took the offer.
The two smiled nervously at each other as they ran to catch up with the rest of the group.