**Finally, ne? A new chapter! Sorry it took so long, guys, really--first I got this horrid icky flu (possibly the actual INFLUENZA--double eeks!) and just this past Tuesday, I threw out my back somehow. Long story, that. I went to the ER the next day and have been hurting ever since. Peh. Anyway, here's the chapter! I'll try to hurry as much as I can with the next one! --Jedi Ari**
"Niet!" Mattian shouted. Yueh watched confused as Mattian shifted his weight to hold on to the chain one handed, as if he was trying to grab Niet no matter how far away she was.
"So you do like her!" Gage yelled back to him. Mattian blushed madly and shouted Niet's name once more.
"Arashi, do somethin', ya?!" Hunter shouted.
"Hai yo!" Arashi said. She hung on to the chain with one hand (much like Mattian) and grabbed her belt from her waist. She wiggled it gently beneath her, muttering something under her breath. Arashi finally ended with, "Kite kudasai yo!"
One blinding flash of white light later, the white mare Tsuki came flying down and swooped underneath Arashi, who shook her head.
"Kare! Onegai shimasu!" Arashi said, pointing way down the line to Mattian. The mare nodded and flew to the front of the group and maintained her position underneath Mattian. "Mattian! Let go, Tsuki will catch you and get Niet!"
Yueh watched as Mattian blanched. He began to stutter.
"Do it!" Yueh finally screamed at him. He gulped and nodded before releasing his final grip on the chain and dropping onto Tsuki's back. Tsuki whinnied and flew after the steadily dropping Niet.
"Ganbatte!" Arashi shouted.
"Will they be okay?" Yueh asked, looking back at Arashi. She nodded as she put the belt back around her waist.
"Tsuki flies quite quickly. She'll catch Niet and meet us at the bottom," Arashi replied. Yueh bit her lip and hoped Arashi was right, watching as Tsuki and Mattian got smaller, as did Niet. They had to be nearly touching the ground right now…
"Yatta!" Arashi shouted suddenly. Tsuki and Mattian had reached Niet in time, and she was now sitting, albeit slumped, right behind Mattian. He waved up to the group, giving a thumbs up as Tsuki went to land.
"Great! Now we just have to land!" Gage shouted, readjusting his grip. Yueh did the same, now looking at the rising peaks of Mount Gagazet. They were coming ever closer, and rather quickly at that.
"Arashi? How are we supposed to slow down so we down crash into the mountain?" the black mage asked, glancing back and forth between the summoner and the mountain.
"Good question, ya?" Hunter agreed.
"Simple. You'll see when we get there," she replied simply, closing her eyes. Yueh swallowed. We'll see…that's great… As was her apparent custom now, she began singing softly in Japanese.
"Arashi…" The peaks seemed barely a football field away. "Arashi, we're kinda getting a little close…"
"Arashi!" Gage screamed. "Do something now or we're all gonna die!"
Her singing increased in volume, until it sounded like it came from all around them, off of the clouds and the mountains. At one point, Yueh was sure that there was more than one person singing. It was like Arashi was harmonizing with herself.
That was when the sparkles came. Bright blue in color, they filled the air around Yueh, Gage, Hunter, and Arashi. The singing continued to become louder as the group began to slow down.
Not quickly enough for Yueh's tastes, however. The mountains were still coming up at a rapid rate. "Arashi, faster—I mean, slower, but quickly—agh! You know what I mean! Just do it!"
"Haiiiii," she sang, still in the tune and still coming from a million directions around the group. They began to slow down even more so, until they were going only about 15 miles an hour. They finally came to a stop, each person hitting the base of the mountain with their feet before letting go and hopping to the ground. Once Arashi had touched the ground, the four went over to see Mattian and Niet.
Mattian was on the ground next to Niet, holding up her head in one hand. Yueh gulped again. It didn't look good for Niet.
"She's breathing, but other than that…" Mattian sighed and let Arashi take over. "She's not moving, and I don't know why." He stood up and patted Tsuki on the neck. "She'd be dead though, if Tsuki hadn't helped. Thanks…" He looked around the group. "But…Niet doesn't hear any of this, all right? I'm…"
"Mattian's got a crush, ya?!" Hunter shouted, laughing and nudging Mattian in the shoulder. "He likes Niet! Who woulda guessed dat one?" He laughed harder, doubling over.
"It won't mean anything unless she wakes up," Gage pointed out.
"She will," Arashi said. She pulled out a small pouch from her backpack and took from that a small vial. She uncorked it and held it over Niet's nose.
Niet blinked slowly, wrinkling her nose and cracking her neck. She sat up straight and looked around at everyone.
"…where's the food?"
Nearly everyone groaned, and Yueh rolled her eyes. "Niet and her food…"
"No dice, Niet," Arashi said, waving the vial in her face. "Smelling salts." Niet fell backwards and grunted.
"Mean trick." She looked up at Arashi from the ground. "…what happened?"
Mattian suddenly looked panicked and walked away from the group, mumbling under his breath. Niet shot him a look as Yueh and Arashi tried to keep down giggles. "Well?"
"You lost your grip. Arashi had to call Tsuki to save you," Gage said, helping Niet up.
"Speaking of which…" Arashi herself stood up and patted Tsuki's mane. "You can go now. Thanks again!"
Tsuki neighed and gave a small bow before returning to wherever it was she came from.
"Someone helped me." She looked around at the group, almost suspiciously. "Who caught me?" Everyone was quiet, which made Niet furious. Her cheeks quickly became red. "Who caught me?"
"I did," Mattian said from the back of the group. Niet looked up at him with an odd look on her face. Her face quickly paled. "I caught you on Tsuki…"
Yueh shook her head and whispered to Arashi, "But I thought he wasn't going to tell?" Arashi held up a finger and shushed Yueh.
"Wait for it…"
Mattian's face turned into a sneer. "No one else wanted to catch your sorry butt. I was left to do the job."
Niet became infuriated once more. "You…!" She jumped up like a lightning bolt and began chasing Mattian across the landscape. "Jerk! You…you…baka!!!"
Yueh let out a small snort as Arashi stood up and brushed off her skirt. "Told you to wait for it."
Hunter was laughing like crazy, but Gage just shook his head. "Just when you think he shows a sign of maturity…I don't think he'll ever grow up." His eyes turned to Hunter, who was almost on the ground with his laughter. Gage rolled his eyes. "Neither will you, apparently."
"Well! Once Niet and Mattian stretch out their legs, we'll head to Zanarkand," Arashi pronounced. She pulled a blanket out of her backpack and promptly sat back down.
"Stretch out their legs," Gage scoffed, watching the pair run around. "Gouge each other's eyes out is more like it." Hunter continued to laugh, slapping a hand on his thigh.
"Dat was priceless, ya? Hilarious!" he said, breathless. Yueh couldn't help but giggle; Hunter's mood was rather contagious. "Sayin' he was d'only one left…awesome!" Gage simply shook his head and wandered off, apparently trying to find some silence or peace of mind.
As Arashi was now lying down on the blanket, Yueh couldn't see much to do but wait. She looked over the mountain of Gagazet and to Zanarkand beyond. She unconsciously wandered towards it, giving a small sigh.
"Dat was great, eh, Yueh? Yueh?" Hunter whirled around and saw the mage staring off into the distance. He stopped laughing and stepped up behind her. "Yueh? Hey, what's wrong?"
Yueh shook her head and tried to smile. "Its nothing, really. Just…thinking."
"Thinking, ya? You look like you're doin' more den dat." Hunter looked at the mountains, pausing. "Kinda like lookin' into d'future, ya? Not knowin' what's gonna happen next, who we're goin' t'meet up with next…"
"Or if we're even going to survive." Yueh's faux smile faded quickly and she walked closer to the mountain side, leaning up against it. "Its my fault this whole world even got like this…so if we can't fix it…"
"We'll fix it, ya? We hafta." Hunter shrugged and leaned up next to Yueh. "Besides, its not totally your fault…I did part of it too, ya? Lulu even said so. We called d'aeons at th' same time…I got part of it on me, too." He slid down the rock face and onto the ground. His eyes stared at the ground. "Makes y'feel kinda…kinda bad, doesn't it?"
Yueh let out a small snort and sat down next to the brown-haired young man. "No kidding. I've been…all along, it's been…" She let out a long breath and shook her head. "All along I thought it was all me, all my fault. To know…to know someone else had a part in it, that someone else is in your position is kind of…kind of…"
"Nice?" Hunter finished. Yueh smirked and nodded. Nodding along with her, he said, "I know what y'mean. We're not alone, ya?"
Yueh gave an honest smile this time. Blushing, she reached out her hand and took Hunter's in hers. He looked up at her suddenly, his own face turning red.
"We're not alone…not anymore." Hunter returned the smile after a moment, having trouble looking Yueh in the eyes. She giggled, which made Hunter a bit more at ease.
"Lovebirds, let's get a move on!" Gage shouted over. Both of them blushed and got up.
"Are Niet and Mattian done yet?" Yueh asked.
Gage held up two fighting figures—Niet in his left hand and Mattian in his right.
"They're done now," Gage said, grinning.
Niet stopped struggling and pouted, while just out of her view, Mattian relaxed and let out a sigh.
"Guess his secret is safe for now, huh?" Yueh whispered in Hunter's ear. He nodded, laughing lightly.
"Arashi's all packed up and heading up the path," Gage said, turning around and dragging Niet and Mattian with him. "We should reach the ruins of Zanarkand soon—"
"What about dinner?" Niet asked, struggling again.
Gage kept her within his grasp. "We'll eat once we enter the ruins, hobbit girl."
"I'm no hobbit—I'm an elf!"
"Well, you eat like one…" Gage trailed off as he headed up the pathway.
"Minna-san, hayaku ikimashou!" Arashi yelled from farther up. Yueh jogged forward, only to be stopped by Hunter holding her back.
She turned around and looked at him questioningly. "What is it?"
Hunter's face was turning red. "Yueh, ah, when we…when we…"
"…yes?"
"When we reach Zanarkand, and we have to beat Sin…" He swallowed and closed his eyes. "I'll…I'll protect you, ya? I'll…keep you safe." Opening his eyes, he smiled nervously. "I'll make sure no sinspawn get ya, ya?"
Yueh's face became hot, and her grip on Hunter's hand tightened. "Th-thanks—"
"Yueh! Hunter! Hayaku!" Arashi shouted, even farther ahead this time.
"C'mon, let's go, ya?" Hunter suggested, running forward. Yueh grinned and followed his lead.
"Yeah…"
"Quit being lovey-dovey and get a move on!" Mattian shouted, quite back to his normal self.
"Shut up, you! You're slower than both of them, you just had a head start!" Niet said, sticking her tongue out at him. Mattian saw this and went into his fake rage mode again, chasing Niet past Arashi up the way. Maybe she imagined it, but Yueh could have sworn she saw a small smile grow on Mattian's face as he ran after Niet.
Who would have thought—Mattian likes Niet… Yueh laughed inside her head. Then again, who would have thought all of this would happen? Sin, Spira, magic, and aeons…
Its finally coming to an end…its not much longer from here, is it?
She smiled, her brown eyes staring at Hunter, who was still pulling her along.
It isn't…and I have him to help me. Her eyes stared forward at the rest of the group: Gage shaking his head at Mattian and Niet, the latter two chasing each other up the mountainside, and Arashi walking like Radical Edward from Cowboy Bebop, singing to herself.
I've had help all along…and I'll have it until the end.