A/N: Woo~Chapter 5. ^^ Once again, thanks everyone for your reviews and
comments, and I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story so far. =) As you
all know, this is obviously my first GippalxRikku fic, so I'm glad people
like it so far. =p
***
{{ Chapter 5: Heaven's Reminiscence }}
***
Rikku's hands came up as she tugged at her hair. She was unused to the feeling of it down, but it was just going to be for today. Just a way for her to apologize to Gippal.
Stepping out of the elevator, the firm clang of the doors shut behind her. She tucked a strand of hair behind one ear before heading towards the double doors leading out onto the bridge where Gippal was giving orders to the men.
"Sir, there seems to be a barrier surrounding the Guadosalam area."
"What? How...?" Gippal asked, his one hand coming up to graze his hair. The other Al Bhed didn't respond to him. Just then, the front door suddenly opened, causing Gippal to move his gaze away from the map and up to the entrance.
He felt his eye widen slightly at the sight of Rikku, her hair down and trailing behind her. Marveling in the way the sunlight managed to strike down upon her just right, he fought to return his attention back to the map. But he couldn't. This was the second time that day that Gippal had felt his breath catch. He blinked, trying to recompose himself as he tried to tear his gaze away from her. It was a losing battle.
Rikku darted her eyes around the other Al Bhed in the room who were staring at her with curious expressions. Gippal watched as her eyes finally landed on him, and she approached, her lips forming a weak smile.
She seemed to hesitate before speaking and Gippal met her eyes.
"I um, hope you don't mind that I came down here..." Rikku began slowly. She looked around the room, maps and navigation screens all around. A beep from one of the men's computer screens filled the room.
Gippal blinked as if looking for his words. "It's all right."
The other Al Bhed who was sitting beside Gippal looked back and forth between his boss and the girl who had just entered. He noticed how Gippal was watching the girl.
"Um, sir?" he slowly asked Gippal.
"What's the problem?" Gippal asked as he faced the other man, his gaze finally moving away from Rikku.
"The uh, barrier?" the man repeated again, albeit nervously this time.
Gippal looked to the maps again, trying to keep his attention on the situation at hand. Although he struggled to admit it to himself, the sight of Rikku standing before him had undoubtedly caused his words to falter.
Rikku watched Gippal's expression carefully as he turned his back to her and stared at the map screen, the glow from the coordinates illuminating his face. She didn't know how to interpret how he had just reacted at the sight of her, but she did know one thing. Rikku had certainly noticed his shocked expression. She hoped he understood that she meant nothing more than to apologize to him by letting her hair down.
"It seems to be coming from some sort of source inside the village, sir," the Al Bhed spoke up, prompting Rikku to turn her attention to them.
"Damn..." Gippal replied moments later. He straightened up and paced around the computer terminal, as the eyes of the other Al Bhed in the room were locked on him. Gippal turned to one man in the corner. "Check to see if the barrier is penetrable."
"Yes sir!" the other Al Bhed responded.
Rikku watched as the man inputted commands into the computer, his eyes focused carefully on what he was doing. After another moment, he looked up to face Gippal.
"Sir, the barrier is indeed penetrable, but how exactly do you plan to break through?"
Gippal seemed to chew over the words for a moment. He didn't reply, but stood with one hand on his chin thoughtfully.
The other man continued on. "If you plan to break the barrier with an explosion, the villagers in Guadosalam will undoubtedly be injured by the impact."
"Look what they did to Kilika! Are you sayin' that it's ok for them to risk other people's lives by burning the damn village, and it's not ok for us to break through this...this barrier?!" Gippal replied sharply.
The Al Bhed didn't say anything else. He turned his eyes towards the ground at a loss for words.
Rikku looked on in confusion. "Gippal...we can't—"
He cut her off. "Rikku, do you understand how many people could have died in that fire they set? You would have been trapped in there too if I hadn't asked you to come to the temple..." Gippal trailed off. He suddenly stopped and sat down in the pilot seat.
Rikku watched him for another second before she slowly lowered herself in a seat next to him as well. She kept her eyes cast downward.
The other man who had been explaining the plan to Gippal earlier had quietly walked away for the time being. Rikku and Gippal were now alone in the front seat. The others in the room had averted their gazes from their leader, seeing that now was not the time to ask anything more.
"You know I realized that too," Rikku began after silence had passed. She saw him move his gaze to meet hers. Undaunted, she continued on. "You saved me, and you saved the villagers but..." Rikku paused before picking up again. "...You can't let your anger make you say things like that. Those are innocent Guado who probably don't know what's happened to Kilika."
Gippal moved so he was fully facing her. The solemn expression seemed to clear up on his face.
"Damn, I'm a mess..." he replied with his gaze to the ground. One hand ran through his hair. "Geez, I dunno what made me say that..."
"Hey, cheer up!" Rikku told him suddenly, a bright smile on her face. She reached out and poked him gently on his sides, causing his eye to widen slightly. "You're the leader, so lead! ...Or should I take charge of this ship?" Rikku added jokingly. She wanted to see Gippal back to his old and cocky self again, however annoying he may have been at times.
Gippal stared at her for another moment before smiling crookedly and standing up, brushing himself off.
"You have a point," he replied finally. Stepping over to the center of the bridge, he cleared his throat and the men promptly gave him their attention.
"Alright men. Here's the plan," Gippal began. He walked over to the map terminal and projected the image on the center screen so everyone could see the enlarged picture. "We need to find a way to get in there, or at least see if we can communicate with anyone inside" he explained with one finger tracing the entrance to Guadosalam.
"But there's no way to penetrate the barrier, sir," one Al Bhed spoke up from the other side of the room.
"And we can't send the Guado a signal unless the barrier is down. It would interfere with the sound waves," another Al Bhed explained from the corner of the room.
Gippal paused and turned his back for a moment. "Listen, are you all sure that the Guado really are responsible for the attack on Kilika...?" he asked softly, changing the subject.
Rikku barely heard him mutter under his breath. She walked over to him.
"Um, Gippal?"
He raised his eye to look at her.
"Is...um, something the matter?" Rikku continued. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back as she looked him in the face.
Gippal didn't respond to this but turned back around to face the room again. "Find me more evidence that the Guado really were responsible for the fire. Move!" he ordered suddenly. It seemed that his attitude had dropped down again.
Rikku watched in disbelief as the Al Bhed hurriedly stood up from their terminals and exited the bridge in a flurry. She turned her eyes towards Gippal after the men had left, leaving the room deathly quiet.
"Hey, what the heck was that all about?" Rikku asked with a wave of her arms. He was certainly confusing her a lot that day, but now she didn't have any clue what could have been bothering him.
Gippal walked past her suddenly and over to the map. Her eyes followed him.
"It's nothing," he replied shortly.
"Nothing? What do you mean nothing?" Rikku pressed on, undaunted by his odd tone.
"Rikku, I said it's nothing," Gippal answered. She watched as he walked around the bridge, his gaze sweeping by all the screens as if looking for something. The clunking sound of his heavy boots on the metal flooring filled the room.
He suddenly stopped short and sat down in the chair. Rikku watched as he hung his head down, blonde strands of hair falling in front of his eye.
He sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "I won't lie to you. This whole thing just doesn't feel right, Rikku," Gippal said softly.
Rikku froze at his words, but she sighed in relief that he was now letting something out. She walked over to him and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she took the opportunity to clear up questions of her own.
"Gippal, what exactly is going on?" she asked hesitantly, careful about her words. He seemed deeply troubled and she didn't want to hit a bad nerve.
He looked up at her. She watched as he stared hard at her face, as if this was the first time he had seen her. His gaze lingered on her for a few unnecessary moments before he sighed.
"I don't know...I don't feel right just goin' out and getting revenge on people like this," Gippal finally said. He had turned his face away from her.
Rikku slowly lowered herself down in the soft seatnext to him, her body falling slightly towards the direction of his weight. "I know—"
He cut her off. "We really don't know if the Guado did this either."
She closed her mouth, deciding to keep quiet about what she was going to say. Clearly, the whole idea of raiding the Guado was what was bothering him...wasn't it?
"Is that all that's bothering you?" Rikku asked after a while, deciding to voice her thoughts.
Gippal turned to look at her fully. "Well yeah, what else would be—"
"Nope. I don't buy it, Gippal," she replied casually, almost in a teasing manner.
He kept his gaze on her for another moment before tearing it away.
"You're right," Gippal began again. He took a deep breath, one hand running through his hair. Rikku smiled in satisfaction. At least she was finally getting him to speak some more.
"The reason why I can't bring myself to go into Guadosalam like that is because I uh, have some of my own memories there..."
Rikku paused at his words, not expecting it at all. "Memories?"
"Yeah," Gippal replied, turning to face her. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw the expression on her face. "You do have memories of your own too, right?" Gippal teased.
"Well of course!" Rikku retorted, her feelings a bit hurt at what he said. "We wouldn't be human without them, y'know," she continued more quietly this time.
His voice softened as well. "This whole thing. Burning things, watching innocent people get hurt—this isn't the way I wanted to see anything," Gippal said. He sighed as if he was giving up.
She chose not to say anything at this time, and wondered if he would talk about these "memories" that he had mentioned earlier. After some time went by, Gippal continued.
"I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I would never get involved in anything that caused others to get hurt." He paused before picking up again. "But after what happened to Kilika, I started to wonder about why Spira was like this," Gippal said with a wave of his hand. "Those people could have died the other day, Rikku. If it wasn't for us, they really would have," he said while turning to meet her gaze.
Rikku listened to him, her heart hanging onto his every word. In all of her years, no one had ever spoken to her about something like this, and she really didn't know how to respond to him either. Still, she needed to help him. It was the least she could do after what they had been through together.
"There are good and bad things in this world," Rikku heard herself begin softly. She looked down at her lap. "As much as we try to make everything okay here, it just doesn't always happen that way..." she trailed off, the image of their destroyed Home on Bikanel Island flashing in her mind. She shook her thoughts away, forcing herself to smile. "I um, guess what I'm trying to say is that the only thing we can do in times like these is do our best to do good, no matter what bad may come out of it..."
He had his gaze fixed upon her the entire time, her words sinking in. It was strange, even to him. In the last two days, Gippal had spoken to her about his inner thoughts and doubts, aspects about himself that he never really shared with anybody. But there was something in Rikku that was true to him. Something that he could feel every time they spoke to each other—it was what he knew made her a person whom he could speak feely and openly with, knowing he could trust her.
"Those memories I had in Guadosalam...I uh," Gippal began. She looked at him with questioning eyes, silently pushing for him to continue. "Ah, forget it. It's all in the past now. Nothing to get myself worked up over..." Gippal finished.
Rikku shook her head at him. "Man, do you always have to be so secretive all the time? Geez..."
"Hey, I've told you more about myself in these last couple of days than I ever had with Nooj or Baralai," Gippal replied with a light chuckle.
His words caused her to pause. She turned to face him seriously.
"Why?"
Gippal stopped laughing and looked at her. "Why what?" he asked at her sudden question.
"Why have you told me all this about yourself?" Rikku asked again. Her green eyes studied him curiously.
He stood up from the seat and walked a few paces away from where she was. After a moment had passed between them, he turned himself around again so he was looking at her in the eye.
"I...don't know..." Gippal replied solemnly, as if this was the first time he realized it. His head was down, and she could clearly sense that this whole situation was deeply troubling him. She stood up, offering a reassuring smile.
"Listen, you don't have to tell me if it bothers you and—"
He cut her off suddenly. "No. It's not that." He walked back to the seat where she was standing next to and sat down as well. "What would you say if I told you it's because I just did?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Rikku asked. He smiled at her sideways.
"Haha. Don't think about it too much, Rikku," Gippal replied as he stood up again. He began to walk away from the bridge but paused in front of her, looking down to meet her green eyes. He fought the urge to reach up and put a hand to her hair.
"Ah, so I see that you decided to take my advice," he said playfully to her before walking away again.
Rikku felt her eyes move away from his. She didn't quite know how to respond to what he had just said.
"We gotta find another way to do this, Rikku," he said to her.
She looked up at him in confusion. "Do what?"
"Guadosalam? The men are going to look for more evidence. After that, I need to decide what to do from there," Gippal explained.
Rikku mentally slapped herself for being so out of it that day. "Oh, right."
"Ok, so are you coming or not?" Gippal asked, stepping aside from the doorway to let her pass.
She blinked and smiled. "Coming!"
***
"Tidus!! Isaaru!" her voice echoed through the ruins.
"Yuna, it's no use. They're obviously not in the area," Paine said. She set her sword down on the ground and sat down, her legs aching from all the walking they had done.
Yuna turned to look at her friend. "But Paine, they told us they were waiting here. They said they were in trouble and now I'm—"
"Damn! Look over there!" Paine suddenly interrupted in alarm as she stood up. She grabbed the hilt of her sword again, squinting her eyes in the direction of the Zanarkand Dome.
Yuna spun around quickly, trying to see in the darkness through the fog. There. In the distance. It was very faint, but she could see spirals of smoke rising up into the night air. The moonlight provided enough light for her to see, but Yuna could see a fire blazing near the Zanarkand Dome.
Paine had already started, her legs quickly carrying her past Yuna's frozen form.
"Let's go!!" Paine's voice shouted.
***
The men turned to face them as soon as Gippal and Rikku entered the control room.
"Sir, we request to take the airship back to Kilika in order to fulfill our instructions from you," one Al Bhed spoke as he took a step forward.
Gippal ran a hand through his hair, realizing that the men were right. There was no other way for them to get there, and he himself needed to stay in the Guadosalam area to study the barrier. His attention then drifted to Rikku. And what about her?
"Alright. You will pilot the airship back to Kilika and gather more information. Ask the villagers what they saw while you're there," he announced to the men.
They nodded to him. "Yes sir!"
The same Al Bhed man spoke up again, eyeing Gippal and Rikku. "And what of you two, sir? Will she be staying here with you as well?"
Rikku glanced at Gippal. He met her gaze, silently questioning her. Her green eyes held no expression of refusal.
"Yeah, I guess Rikku and I will stay behind here..." he trailed off hesitantly.
The Al Bhed took another step towards Gippal and Rikku, away from the others. "In that case I shall stay here as well."
"What? That's not necessary, Serru, it will only be for a few days—"
"No sir. I cannot allow any danger to come to the young lady and yourself..." the Al Bhed whom Rikku heard was named Serru, said.
Gippal scratched the back of his head and smiled weakly. "Well all right then, if you really want to..."
Serru smiled as well before beginning to walk away. "I'll get the tents and the supplies we'll need for camp."
Gippal watched as Serru left the control room. The other Al Bhed still stood before him, waiting for orders.
"Ok, men. You will take the airship back to Kilika. Report anything you find through the spheres, alright? I expect you all to come back in about four days," Gippal told them.
With that, they were off. Rikku followed Gippal down the ramp of the airship, with Serru trailing behind them with their tents and food. Rikku stepped off the ramp carefully as Gippal offered her a hand to catch her as she jumped down near him.
Behind them, Serru watched Rikku's golden hair carefully, fighting off a sly smile on his face.
***
A/N: Ooh, I don't like that Serru guy. . What is he planning for our beloved couple? Hehe, Chapter 6 coming soon!
And thank you for your very kind reviews. ^.^
***
{{ Chapter 5: Heaven's Reminiscence }}
***
Rikku's hands came up as she tugged at her hair. She was unused to the feeling of it down, but it was just going to be for today. Just a way for her to apologize to Gippal.
Stepping out of the elevator, the firm clang of the doors shut behind her. She tucked a strand of hair behind one ear before heading towards the double doors leading out onto the bridge where Gippal was giving orders to the men.
"Sir, there seems to be a barrier surrounding the Guadosalam area."
"What? How...?" Gippal asked, his one hand coming up to graze his hair. The other Al Bhed didn't respond to him. Just then, the front door suddenly opened, causing Gippal to move his gaze away from the map and up to the entrance.
He felt his eye widen slightly at the sight of Rikku, her hair down and trailing behind her. Marveling in the way the sunlight managed to strike down upon her just right, he fought to return his attention back to the map. But he couldn't. This was the second time that day that Gippal had felt his breath catch. He blinked, trying to recompose himself as he tried to tear his gaze away from her. It was a losing battle.
Rikku darted her eyes around the other Al Bhed in the room who were staring at her with curious expressions. Gippal watched as her eyes finally landed on him, and she approached, her lips forming a weak smile.
She seemed to hesitate before speaking and Gippal met her eyes.
"I um, hope you don't mind that I came down here..." Rikku began slowly. She looked around the room, maps and navigation screens all around. A beep from one of the men's computer screens filled the room.
Gippal blinked as if looking for his words. "It's all right."
The other Al Bhed who was sitting beside Gippal looked back and forth between his boss and the girl who had just entered. He noticed how Gippal was watching the girl.
"Um, sir?" he slowly asked Gippal.
"What's the problem?" Gippal asked as he faced the other man, his gaze finally moving away from Rikku.
"The uh, barrier?" the man repeated again, albeit nervously this time.
Gippal looked to the maps again, trying to keep his attention on the situation at hand. Although he struggled to admit it to himself, the sight of Rikku standing before him had undoubtedly caused his words to falter.
Rikku watched Gippal's expression carefully as he turned his back to her and stared at the map screen, the glow from the coordinates illuminating his face. She didn't know how to interpret how he had just reacted at the sight of her, but she did know one thing. Rikku had certainly noticed his shocked expression. She hoped he understood that she meant nothing more than to apologize to him by letting her hair down.
"It seems to be coming from some sort of source inside the village, sir," the Al Bhed spoke up, prompting Rikku to turn her attention to them.
"Damn..." Gippal replied moments later. He straightened up and paced around the computer terminal, as the eyes of the other Al Bhed in the room were locked on him. Gippal turned to one man in the corner. "Check to see if the barrier is penetrable."
"Yes sir!" the other Al Bhed responded.
Rikku watched as the man inputted commands into the computer, his eyes focused carefully on what he was doing. After another moment, he looked up to face Gippal.
"Sir, the barrier is indeed penetrable, but how exactly do you plan to break through?"
Gippal seemed to chew over the words for a moment. He didn't reply, but stood with one hand on his chin thoughtfully.
The other man continued on. "If you plan to break the barrier with an explosion, the villagers in Guadosalam will undoubtedly be injured by the impact."
"Look what they did to Kilika! Are you sayin' that it's ok for them to risk other people's lives by burning the damn village, and it's not ok for us to break through this...this barrier?!" Gippal replied sharply.
The Al Bhed didn't say anything else. He turned his eyes towards the ground at a loss for words.
Rikku looked on in confusion. "Gippal...we can't—"
He cut her off. "Rikku, do you understand how many people could have died in that fire they set? You would have been trapped in there too if I hadn't asked you to come to the temple..." Gippal trailed off. He suddenly stopped and sat down in the pilot seat.
Rikku watched him for another second before she slowly lowered herself in a seat next to him as well. She kept her eyes cast downward.
The other man who had been explaining the plan to Gippal earlier had quietly walked away for the time being. Rikku and Gippal were now alone in the front seat. The others in the room had averted their gazes from their leader, seeing that now was not the time to ask anything more.
"You know I realized that too," Rikku began after silence had passed. She saw him move his gaze to meet hers. Undaunted, she continued on. "You saved me, and you saved the villagers but..." Rikku paused before picking up again. "...You can't let your anger make you say things like that. Those are innocent Guado who probably don't know what's happened to Kilika."
Gippal moved so he was fully facing her. The solemn expression seemed to clear up on his face.
"Damn, I'm a mess..." he replied with his gaze to the ground. One hand ran through his hair. "Geez, I dunno what made me say that..."
"Hey, cheer up!" Rikku told him suddenly, a bright smile on her face. She reached out and poked him gently on his sides, causing his eye to widen slightly. "You're the leader, so lead! ...Or should I take charge of this ship?" Rikku added jokingly. She wanted to see Gippal back to his old and cocky self again, however annoying he may have been at times.
Gippal stared at her for another moment before smiling crookedly and standing up, brushing himself off.
"You have a point," he replied finally. Stepping over to the center of the bridge, he cleared his throat and the men promptly gave him their attention.
"Alright men. Here's the plan," Gippal began. He walked over to the map terminal and projected the image on the center screen so everyone could see the enlarged picture. "We need to find a way to get in there, or at least see if we can communicate with anyone inside" he explained with one finger tracing the entrance to Guadosalam.
"But there's no way to penetrate the barrier, sir," one Al Bhed spoke up from the other side of the room.
"And we can't send the Guado a signal unless the barrier is down. It would interfere with the sound waves," another Al Bhed explained from the corner of the room.
Gippal paused and turned his back for a moment. "Listen, are you all sure that the Guado really are responsible for the attack on Kilika...?" he asked softly, changing the subject.
Rikku barely heard him mutter under his breath. She walked over to him.
"Um, Gippal?"
He raised his eye to look at her.
"Is...um, something the matter?" Rikku continued. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back as she looked him in the face.
Gippal didn't respond to this but turned back around to face the room again. "Find me more evidence that the Guado really were responsible for the fire. Move!" he ordered suddenly. It seemed that his attitude had dropped down again.
Rikku watched in disbelief as the Al Bhed hurriedly stood up from their terminals and exited the bridge in a flurry. She turned her eyes towards Gippal after the men had left, leaving the room deathly quiet.
"Hey, what the heck was that all about?" Rikku asked with a wave of her arms. He was certainly confusing her a lot that day, but now she didn't have any clue what could have been bothering him.
Gippal walked past her suddenly and over to the map. Her eyes followed him.
"It's nothing," he replied shortly.
"Nothing? What do you mean nothing?" Rikku pressed on, undaunted by his odd tone.
"Rikku, I said it's nothing," Gippal answered. She watched as he walked around the bridge, his gaze sweeping by all the screens as if looking for something. The clunking sound of his heavy boots on the metal flooring filled the room.
He suddenly stopped short and sat down in the chair. Rikku watched as he hung his head down, blonde strands of hair falling in front of his eye.
He sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "I won't lie to you. This whole thing just doesn't feel right, Rikku," Gippal said softly.
Rikku froze at his words, but she sighed in relief that he was now letting something out. She walked over to him and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she took the opportunity to clear up questions of her own.
"Gippal, what exactly is going on?" she asked hesitantly, careful about her words. He seemed deeply troubled and she didn't want to hit a bad nerve.
He looked up at her. She watched as he stared hard at her face, as if this was the first time he had seen her. His gaze lingered on her for a few unnecessary moments before he sighed.
"I don't know...I don't feel right just goin' out and getting revenge on people like this," Gippal finally said. He had turned his face away from her.
Rikku slowly lowered herself down in the soft seatnext to him, her body falling slightly towards the direction of his weight. "I know—"
He cut her off. "We really don't know if the Guado did this either."
She closed her mouth, deciding to keep quiet about what she was going to say. Clearly, the whole idea of raiding the Guado was what was bothering him...wasn't it?
"Is that all that's bothering you?" Rikku asked after a while, deciding to voice her thoughts.
Gippal turned to look at her fully. "Well yeah, what else would be—"
"Nope. I don't buy it, Gippal," she replied casually, almost in a teasing manner.
He kept his gaze on her for another moment before tearing it away.
"You're right," Gippal began again. He took a deep breath, one hand running through his hair. Rikku smiled in satisfaction. At least she was finally getting him to speak some more.
"The reason why I can't bring myself to go into Guadosalam like that is because I uh, have some of my own memories there..."
Rikku paused at his words, not expecting it at all. "Memories?"
"Yeah," Gippal replied, turning to face her. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw the expression on her face. "You do have memories of your own too, right?" Gippal teased.
"Well of course!" Rikku retorted, her feelings a bit hurt at what he said. "We wouldn't be human without them, y'know," she continued more quietly this time.
His voice softened as well. "This whole thing. Burning things, watching innocent people get hurt—this isn't the way I wanted to see anything," Gippal said. He sighed as if he was giving up.
She chose not to say anything at this time, and wondered if he would talk about these "memories" that he had mentioned earlier. After some time went by, Gippal continued.
"I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I would never get involved in anything that caused others to get hurt." He paused before picking up again. "But after what happened to Kilika, I started to wonder about why Spira was like this," Gippal said with a wave of his hand. "Those people could have died the other day, Rikku. If it wasn't for us, they really would have," he said while turning to meet her gaze.
Rikku listened to him, her heart hanging onto his every word. In all of her years, no one had ever spoken to her about something like this, and she really didn't know how to respond to him either. Still, she needed to help him. It was the least she could do after what they had been through together.
"There are good and bad things in this world," Rikku heard herself begin softly. She looked down at her lap. "As much as we try to make everything okay here, it just doesn't always happen that way..." she trailed off, the image of their destroyed Home on Bikanel Island flashing in her mind. She shook her thoughts away, forcing herself to smile. "I um, guess what I'm trying to say is that the only thing we can do in times like these is do our best to do good, no matter what bad may come out of it..."
He had his gaze fixed upon her the entire time, her words sinking in. It was strange, even to him. In the last two days, Gippal had spoken to her about his inner thoughts and doubts, aspects about himself that he never really shared with anybody. But there was something in Rikku that was true to him. Something that he could feel every time they spoke to each other—it was what he knew made her a person whom he could speak feely and openly with, knowing he could trust her.
"Those memories I had in Guadosalam...I uh," Gippal began. She looked at him with questioning eyes, silently pushing for him to continue. "Ah, forget it. It's all in the past now. Nothing to get myself worked up over..." Gippal finished.
Rikku shook her head at him. "Man, do you always have to be so secretive all the time? Geez..."
"Hey, I've told you more about myself in these last couple of days than I ever had with Nooj or Baralai," Gippal replied with a light chuckle.
His words caused her to pause. She turned to face him seriously.
"Why?"
Gippal stopped laughing and looked at her. "Why what?" he asked at her sudden question.
"Why have you told me all this about yourself?" Rikku asked again. Her green eyes studied him curiously.
He stood up from the seat and walked a few paces away from where she was. After a moment had passed between them, he turned himself around again so he was looking at her in the eye.
"I...don't know..." Gippal replied solemnly, as if this was the first time he realized it. His head was down, and she could clearly sense that this whole situation was deeply troubling him. She stood up, offering a reassuring smile.
"Listen, you don't have to tell me if it bothers you and—"
He cut her off suddenly. "No. It's not that." He walked back to the seat where she was standing next to and sat down as well. "What would you say if I told you it's because I just did?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Rikku asked. He smiled at her sideways.
"Haha. Don't think about it too much, Rikku," Gippal replied as he stood up again. He began to walk away from the bridge but paused in front of her, looking down to meet her green eyes. He fought the urge to reach up and put a hand to her hair.
"Ah, so I see that you decided to take my advice," he said playfully to her before walking away again.
Rikku felt her eyes move away from his. She didn't quite know how to respond to what he had just said.
"We gotta find another way to do this, Rikku," he said to her.
She looked up at him in confusion. "Do what?"
"Guadosalam? The men are going to look for more evidence. After that, I need to decide what to do from there," Gippal explained.
Rikku mentally slapped herself for being so out of it that day. "Oh, right."
"Ok, so are you coming or not?" Gippal asked, stepping aside from the doorway to let her pass.
She blinked and smiled. "Coming!"
***
"Tidus!! Isaaru!" her voice echoed through the ruins.
"Yuna, it's no use. They're obviously not in the area," Paine said. She set her sword down on the ground and sat down, her legs aching from all the walking they had done.
Yuna turned to look at her friend. "But Paine, they told us they were waiting here. They said they were in trouble and now I'm—"
"Damn! Look over there!" Paine suddenly interrupted in alarm as she stood up. She grabbed the hilt of her sword again, squinting her eyes in the direction of the Zanarkand Dome.
Yuna spun around quickly, trying to see in the darkness through the fog. There. In the distance. It was very faint, but she could see spirals of smoke rising up into the night air. The moonlight provided enough light for her to see, but Yuna could see a fire blazing near the Zanarkand Dome.
Paine had already started, her legs quickly carrying her past Yuna's frozen form.
"Let's go!!" Paine's voice shouted.
***
The men turned to face them as soon as Gippal and Rikku entered the control room.
"Sir, we request to take the airship back to Kilika in order to fulfill our instructions from you," one Al Bhed spoke as he took a step forward.
Gippal ran a hand through his hair, realizing that the men were right. There was no other way for them to get there, and he himself needed to stay in the Guadosalam area to study the barrier. His attention then drifted to Rikku. And what about her?
"Alright. You will pilot the airship back to Kilika and gather more information. Ask the villagers what they saw while you're there," he announced to the men.
They nodded to him. "Yes sir!"
The same Al Bhed man spoke up again, eyeing Gippal and Rikku. "And what of you two, sir? Will she be staying here with you as well?"
Rikku glanced at Gippal. He met her gaze, silently questioning her. Her green eyes held no expression of refusal.
"Yeah, I guess Rikku and I will stay behind here..." he trailed off hesitantly.
The Al Bhed took another step towards Gippal and Rikku, away from the others. "In that case I shall stay here as well."
"What? That's not necessary, Serru, it will only be for a few days—"
"No sir. I cannot allow any danger to come to the young lady and yourself..." the Al Bhed whom Rikku heard was named Serru, said.
Gippal scratched the back of his head and smiled weakly. "Well all right then, if you really want to..."
Serru smiled as well before beginning to walk away. "I'll get the tents and the supplies we'll need for camp."
Gippal watched as Serru left the control room. The other Al Bhed still stood before him, waiting for orders.
"Ok, men. You will take the airship back to Kilika. Report anything you find through the spheres, alright? I expect you all to come back in about four days," Gippal told them.
With that, they were off. Rikku followed Gippal down the ramp of the airship, with Serru trailing behind them with their tents and food. Rikku stepped off the ramp carefully as Gippal offered her a hand to catch her as she jumped down near him.
Behind them, Serru watched Rikku's golden hair carefully, fighting off a sly smile on his face.
***
A/N: Ooh, I don't like that Serru guy. . What is he planning for our beloved couple? Hehe, Chapter 6 coming soon!
And thank you for your very kind reviews. ^.^