1
"I caught him myself," Chappu said. "Isn't he a beauty?" The chocobo was impressive, I had to admit. But then, I had only seen pet chocobos before.
"Is he for racing?" I asked.
"Nope. He's gonna be a war steed. Clasko's not training many, because there's not much demand, but I'm gonna buy this one myself."
I frowned. "What for? You're not going mercenary on me, are you?"
Chappu's laugh was wonderful, even when he was laughing at me. "No, no. I just want to know how to train them. And it's always handy to have an extra fighter with you, eh Arion?" The bird chirped in confirmation. "So what about you? What are you doing out here?"
"I'm apprenticing for the summer. Didn't you know?" I glanced back at the shop. "Speaking of which, I'd better get back to the counter. When are you coming home to visit?"
"Probably in a month or two. When business slows down." My brother smiled. "You'd think now that machina are legal, everyone would want a speeder, but most people still trust chocobo power."
We hugged, and Chappu jumped back on Arion. "Have a safe trip," I called. He waved to me, then rode North along the highroad.
I entered the shop again, and inwardly groaned as I saw Rin behind the counter. "Oui mywo kenm, frana ryja oui paah?" he asked sharply.
"Cunno, Rin" I muttered, ducking behind the counter. "My brother was passing by and-"
He cut me off. "What about the customers? If I hadn't been here, the store would have been unmanned! Ruhacdmo, ouihk baubma dutyo."
A summer had taught me better than to argue with Rin when he got like this. Instead I got back behind the counter. Telling him that I would have seen anyone entering the shop would have been futile. I reminded myself once more that I chose to be here, and stared at the door, waiting for a customer.
That night, I slept fitfully on my cot. I heard voices, but they were far away and indistinct. For reasons I couldn't define, I had to find the owners of these voices, but I was lost in a gray fog. I awoke in a cold sweat. This dream had been getting steadily worse for weeks now, but I had no idea what to do about it.
Troubled, I got up quietly and slipped outside. To the South, I could see the soft glow of the lights of Luca stadium. I smiled, picturing my father coaching his team to victory for yet another season. Chappu always claimed the world would end when Father actually retired, and it probably wasn't far from the truth.
A sudden noise shattered my train of thought. People were coming up the highroad, making no attempt to move silently. On my guard, I re-entered the shop. Just as I closed the back door behind me, a loud pounding shook the main entrance. Rin sleepily ordered me to answer it, so I grabbed a bracer and a small dagger from the shelves and cautiously went to investigate.
The door swung outward at my touch, and in front of me stood two cloaked figures. "This is Rin's?" the shorter man asked gruffly. I nodded, tensely. "Good."
With that, the taller hit me with the flat of his blade. I reeled backwards, too stunned to call for help right away. The other covered my mouth with a rag, and before I could struggle away, I passed out. My last conscious thought was something along the lines of "I can't believe this..."
Well, well. Wakka did all right for himself, ya?
Come on. We don't have much time.
Reke, can you hear us?
Yes. Who are you?
We don't have the time now. You must find the sword.
What sword?
You will know.
We will help you as much we can.
But you must hurry.
When I awoke, I found myself in a small, slightly damp cavern. Three men looked at me intently from across the room. The tall one in the corner said, rather obviously, "Look, she's waking up!"
I sat up as quickly as I could. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
The man sitting in a cushioned chair shook his head. "Nothing, my dear. We are not the ones who kidnapped you."
"Then why I am here?"
The tall one looked embarrassed, but when it became obvious the other two expected him to answer, he quickly offered "We sort of stole you from the people kidnapping you. So we didn't know where to take you. We'll get you wherever you need to go."
I put a hand to my forehead. I had a massive headache, and wasn't completely sure what was going on. Sensing my distress, the silent man handed me a canteen. I drank; it was water mixed with hi-potion. Refreshed, I handed him back the canteen and thanked him.
The sitting man said "How rude. We have not introduced ourselves. I am Issaru, this is Maroda," he indicated the silent one, "and this is Pacce." The tall one. "And you are..."
"My name is Reke. Are you the ex-summoner, sir?"
He laughed, good-naturedly. "I am. How did you know?"
"My father has mentioned you before." I tried to stand and failed, so I sat down again as gracefully as possible. "It is an honor to meet you."
"The honor is mine," he replied. "Are you feeling all right?"
Maroda sat next to me and offered some more potion. "I'm fine, thank you," I said, though accepting the drink. "If it's not rude, why did you rescue me?"
Pacce looked angry, but Issaru calmly replied "One of your attackers was a Guado. Pacce and Maroda assumed the worst when we saw him carrying you unconscious up the highroad." He didn't elaborate any further. "Now, if I am not rude, may I ask who your father is?"
I decided that I could trust them. "Wakka of Besaid Island."
This seemed to enlighten all three of them. "Oh, Wakka!" Pacce looked amused. "I forgot he had a daughter."
"You know him then?" I asked, confused.
"Long ago. In any case..."
His words were cut off by a loud crash that echoed down the cavern. "Ah, we have visitors."
Pacce told me to wait, and then the three of them disappeared. I got up slowly, and examined the room. It was well-furnished; someone had obviously spent some time in Bevelle. My study was interrupted by sounds of a battle. Startled, I decided to ignore Pacce's order, and ran off in the direction of the sounds, readying a spell. However, the battle abruptly ceased, and the trio of men rounded the corner.
Maroda frowned. "You should have stayed. You're too weak for fighting."
I turned to Issaru. "It was the Guado, wasn't it?" He nodded. "I'm sorry I led them to you."
Pacce jumped in. "That was my fault, not yours. I do need to get you home, though. If you're an enemy of the Guado, I take it you have no problem with machina?" When I shook my head, he looked pleased. "Fine. Where are you going, then?"
I thought a moment. Going directly back to Rin seemed stupid, given the circumstances. "Besaid."
A/N: Due to school-related commitments, this fic is going on hiatus for a bit. It will be finished, just not now.
