Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews again but I'm running out of ideas round here... what do you guys want to happen in the next chapters? I was planning to have a battle in chapter 3 but I couldn't properly fit in my ideas on the right spot. (Sighs) wouldn't it be lovely if your ideas merge in the plot? Heh. You're decision guys!! -=smylz=-
I'm not used to making short chapters coz it doesn't feel like a chapter. It should be called episode if it was short so I tried to make this one longer...
Chapter Two
Slap!
"Yeouch!!" Rikku immediately sat down from where she was sleeping; blinking her eyes a couple of times before fully regaining her complete senses. "Wha-?" Rubbing her hand on her slapped cheek, Rikku frowned and looked at the faces of her friends surrounding her bed.
"What 'what'?" Paine asked as she looked down at Rikku's wide-opened eyes after slapping her back to reality.
"What was that for!?" She pouted as she rubbed her hand on her aching cheeks and then realizing that everyone was staring at her in a bewildered manner.
"You were tossing around your bed and Vidina heard you calling out for help." Yuna explained, sitting on her bed with the worried look on her face.
Rikku's hand dropped to her sides and blinked twice. She was trying to swallow down Yuna's explanation as she glanced at everyone's concerned faces. "I was?" She asked, dumbfounded.
"That's what the slap is for..." Paine answered as if she didn't do anything serious at all.
"You meanie!!" Rikku frowned at the expressionless Paine.
"What was that about, eh?" Wakka stared at her questioningly. She didn't want to answer his question but it seems that everyone's waiting for her to elaborate something. Rikku remained silent for a while, looking at her hands with a small and queer smile. "It's nothing..." She replied seriously.
With the current tone of her voice, she knew that no one would really believe that it was nothing- with the exception of Wakka of course. But at that moment, she really didn't care. Her grogginess was still rubbing up on her and she doesn't feel like answering any question or adding a cheerful mood just to lighten up... she was feeling peculiarly different this day.
"Well, you should get out of bed now, ya? It's a good day outside!" Wakka smiled at her and ran outside the tent. "Hey! You goin' to practice or what?" He shouted back. Tidus looked outside the tent and threw another worried glance over at Rikku. "Would you be alright, kiddo?" He asked.
"Maybe I was just oversleeping. I'm fine anyway." Rikku answered with a half-hearted and less enthusiastic smile. Tidus glanced worryingly at the others and then outside the tent to look at the Aurochs again.
Rikku knew that she wouldn't convince Tidus with that kind of attitude so against her own will, she forced up a cheerful air to brighten up her face and grinned at Tidus. "Okay... maybe not so much but what do you expect from someone who has just been awaken by a painful slap?" Rikku threw a frowning glance over at Paine making everyone chuckle.
"Hmph..." Paine's lips curved into a small smile as her gaze went down on her feet with a shrug.
"See ya later!" With that, he ran outside and caught the blitzball to begin their practice play.
Silence consumed the whole tent as her remaining onlookers watched her curiously. Rikku tried her best to ignore their glances with a yawn and a very cheerful smile. "Good morning!!" She greeted happily and jumped out of bed. Yuna, Paine and Lulu watched her every move, refusing to believe her very convincing cheerful act this morning. Someone who has a complete sense over a matter wouldn't believe somebody who has just been whisked away from an obviously frightening nightmare.
"Aren't you going to tell us about your nightmare?" Paine inquired seriously. Gone was the sarcasm in her voice and all that was too obvious was the growing curiosity and concern. Rikku smiled cheerfully and went over to the sink to wash the sleep away from her eyes.
"Rikku?" Yuna finally stood up from the bed to look at her cousin quizzically. Lulu on the other hand remained silently still. The black mage has a way of reaching out without saying anything at all. By the time that Rikku met her gaze for a few seconds, she knew that the older femme was gazing searchingly through her green eyes.
"A dream's a dream, you know." Rikku answered with a smiling shrug as she snooped around the table for breakfast. When she finally found something edible, she straightened her posture and swallowed the food on her mouth before speaking again, "So," She began stretching her body with a content look on her face. "When are we leaving for the mission that Brother has in store for us?" She asked, gulping the contents of the coffee mug on her hand as she looked back towards Yuna and Paine.
As much as possible, Rikku was trying her best to avoid Lulu's eyes because she knew that she would be firing questions at her soon if not immediately. Whenever Lulu's looking at anyone in that manner, there's no escaping her inquiry over something. But the good thing is, even though Lulu's attitude is often in its cold state, her maternal side just adds up through the whole matter. Even in Yuna's pilgrimage in the past, she never runs out of comfort to either Rikku or Yuna- the one thing that is totally admirable.
Letting out a defeated sigh, Yuna smiled at her cousin, "We'll be leaving this afternoon." She said.
"You're going to have lunch here, right?" Much to Rikku's surprise, Lulu finally moved away from her spot to fix the table with a small smile after delivering her question.
"I'll help!" Rikku volunteered cheerily and immediately whisked the dirty dishes away.
"Will that be okay with you?" Yuna asked her former guardian. Lulu looked back at Yuna with a smile and nodded.
"Of course..." She answered and went towards the sink to wash the dishes with Rikku.
"Rikku," Lulu began, flashing a small smile at the Al Bhed beside her. She tried searching the black mage's face for any clues of questions but all that she saw was an ordinary and kind smile. "I can manage here. You might as well enjoy yourself here in the village before you leave again." Lulu's eyes were glinting but Rikku couldn't tell what she was thinking. Rikku looked around and saw Paine's eyes move away immediately when she threw a glance over at her. Yuna disappeared outside the tent and something that she said made Vidina laugh happily.
"Okay!" Rikku smiled widely and ran outside the tent towards Vidina. Lulu stared at the entrance of the tent for a while, hearing Rikku's conversation with the little boy about going to the beach to play. When they've finally run off with Yuna, Lulu's attention went back to her dishes.
"I'll help you with that..." Paine said, walking towards the sink next to Lulu. The black mage nodded gratefully at Paine as she picked a dirty plate of dish on the table and began cleaning. There was a very awkward moment of silence between the two women but neither of them made a move to spark a conversation- and both of them looked perfectly calm about the present state.
After a minute of silence, Paine looked out of the tent and glanced at Lulu with a small smile. "I'm worried about Rikku." Paine finally decided to break the ice between them. The mage glanced at her and nodded in agreement as she whisked another cleaned plate to the shelf. "We all are..." Lulu said after cleaning the last dirty plate on the sink and putting things in order again.
"I know her, Paine and just seeing her like that makes me think that something is troubling her." Lulu sighed and looked back at the crimson-eyed lady in front of her.
"How long have you known her?" Paine asked.
"Long enough to notice that she's not herself."
Paine nodded and stared down at her own boots. "Maybe you should go and talk to her."
Lulu raised an eyebrow and Paine couldn't stop noticing that she was amusingly smiling at her. "Is there anything amusing?" The warrior asked.
"I thought you've already talked with her."
"I did..."
"And?"
"I messed up..." She confessed, making Lulu chuckle as she walked past her towards the tent's entrance.
"I think you did alright last night. You knocked off some sense in her after your little talk." Lulu said, recalling Rikku's lively attention to their gathering around the fire the previous night. "You're not used to making talks like that, aren't you?" Lulu asked and formed a friendly smile on her lips after seeing Paine nod at her direction.
"Just knowing that you care brought her comfort, Paine." Lulu took a step outside when she didn't hear any reply.
"I may not be vocal about it, but I do care for her. She's my friend." Paine said with her voice slightly rising to let the mage hear her out; her eyes down on her boots and her back on Lulu's face.
The black mage nodded with a satisfied smile. "And you simply despised the idea of Gippal hurting her feelings, am I correct?" Lulu took a long glance at her before finally seeing the stoic lady of twenty-three, nod slightly. Normally, Paine also despised the idea of confessions but she figured out minutes ago that she needed to get all her fury out before she explodes it all on Gippal again.
"Gippal's my friend and he's like a brother to me you know." Awkwardly, Paine turned to face Lulu with a small smile, "But Rikku and Yuna are my sisters for years now and I don't like the idea of some guy hurting them."
Lulu nodded and chuckled appreciating, "And you just have to run after Gippal at Djosé Temple with a mood enough to tear him to pieces."
"It's his fault." Paine shrugged and Lulu noticed that her cheeks were turning red. "I appreciate him telling the truth earlier but why did he make Rikku fall helplessly in love with him if he's just going to hurt her in return?"
Lulu was standing still on the same spot and gazed at the frustrated lady. "The heart is a complicated part of a person... especially if it belongs to a man." Lulu's words struck a chord in Paine's chest, making her dart up a confused stare at the sagacious woman standing near the tent's entrance.
"So you're telling me that it's not Gippal's fault, is that it?" Paine's eyes narrowed in disbelief as she stared at Lulu.
"I'm just telling you that nobody's perfect. Even you can commit a mistake like that." Lulu stared back at Paine steadily, trying to make her point reach her senses. "But I'm not saying that what you did isn't right... I'm just justifying things. I can't judge a person that I don't even know."
"And you're thinking that you know me?"
Lulu was about to say something in defense but decided not to continue. Instead, she stared back at Paine with a kind smile that confused her even more. "Yes..." She answered confidently, "I think I do." She added and walked out of the tent.
Paine stared at the place where Lulu disappeared. Her answer isn't exactly the thing that she has in her mind and her words simply caught her off guard. This unexpected encounter with Lulu made Paine understand why Yuna and Rikku looked up to her for advices and maternal comfort. Chuckling to herself, she shrugged and looked down on her boots muttering words under her breath with a small and appreciating smile:
"That's a lot of respect points, you know..."
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That afternoon, the whole gang went to the beach to wait for the Celsius. Tidus, Wakka and the Aurochs were playing blitz on the side hoping that their practice would suffice for the upcoming season before Tidus left for their mission again.
Paine, Yuna and Vidina were playing their own game of blitzball near the water and just a couple of feet away was Rikku, sitting on her own and staring at the calm afternoon waters of Besaid. Paine and Yuna invited her a couple of times to join in but she wasn't completely in the mood for play. When she realized this, she began thinking that she was becoming more like Paine with an attitude like that.
Shrugging the 'funny' thought aside, she stared back at the waters ahead of her with a small smile on her lips. She was enjoying the moment to herself anyway and that week has been unbelievably superb. When the week out of the airship was decided, she immediately knew that all of the preparations were for her to cheer up even just for a while. Yuna and Paine kept saying that they needed a vacation for a while and it was really convincing. Unfortunately, Barkeep ruined it all for them when he spilled the beans one time in the cabin.
I needed the time out anyway... Rikku told herself and sighed happily as a gentle breeze of cool air brushed her face.
"Somebody's quiet today..." Lulu has been unknowingly standing behind her for quite some time now. She was actually waiting for Rikku to notice her but Lulu thought that she was too absorbed in her thoughts to even know that there are still a lot of people existing around her. Rikku grinned at the older woman who was now sitting comfortably beside her on the shore.
"You think so?" Rikku thoughtfully cupped her chin with the arc between her index and forefinger. "I'm not transforming into somebody like Paine... am I?" Rikku worryingly glanced at Lulu. The black mage thought that she was only joking but her eyes told her that she IS serious about that. Lulu chuckled and turned her attention towards the sea. "Don't worry... You're still you, Rikku. But unfortunately," The smile on the mage's face faded but the glitter in her eyes remained as she sat down on the shore thoughtfully. "You're just not yourself..."
Rikku raised an eyebrow confusedly as she began to scratch the back of her head. "I'm still me but I'm not just myself? It doesn't make any sense!!!" Rikku frowned frustratingly and fumbled the sand underneath her boots. Lulu glanced back at Rikku and smiled amusingly at her reaction.
"There's something bothering you but you're refusing to tell it to anyone." When Lulu dropped the bomb, the confused look on Rikku's face faded and a sad smile replaced the comical look on her face.
"Don't tell me that it's nothing. Your face tells a thousand stories you know." That was a serious call from Lulu. She glanced back at the Al Bhed beside her with a knowing smile.
"I only got two stories to tell you know." Rikku's half-hearted joke made Lulu chuckle in disbelief. She was simply amazed by how a person like Rikku could even tell a joke at her current state.
"Why don't you tell me then?"
Rikku was immediately drawn by Lulu's encouraging words. Until now, she's still wondering why it always sounds so different whenever it was Lulu comforting her. Of course, she knows that she can see through Lulu the ideal quality of an older sister that she could never have. Perhaps that is the reason why Rikku is always drawn to her maternal image. She couldn't hide anything from Lulu and even if she did, she would tell her eventually.
After a long pause, Rikku decided that it was about time that she tells the thing that has been weighing her down for two years now. How she felt so stupid about Gippal and how it affected everything about her. She also told Lulu that she's gotten over him but explained that the scars that it left needed time to heal completely...
"And then there's this really scary dream..."
Even though that was the first time that she had ever seen that dream, the emotions that she was feeling while she was drowning was in fact the same thing that she was currently feeling. She was so helpless and alone but still, she refuses to give up her life no matter what the circumstances were. Lulu gazed at her interestingly with a small smile on her lips and after she was done, the black mage looked back at the waves thoughtfully.
"I think that it's more of a representation than a foresight..."
"What do you mean by that?" Rikku asked. Her eyes were glittering with interest as she listened closely to Lulu's words.
"It's hard to explain but maybe someday you will understand..."
"Aww... and I was really looking forward to your explanation, you know!"
"There are things that I can explain but there are also a lot of things that only you can explain to yourself, Rikku."
Rikku glanced at her with a smile, "I think I know where you're getting at!"
"Aunt Rikku!!!" Vidina excitedly dashed towards them and pointed at something from a distance. "It's the airship! It's the airship!"
Lulu and Rikku's eyes searched the vast horizon for the airship and spotted something flying towards them that was getting bigger and bigger as it approach the island.
"This is Brother..." The familiar voice of her older brother was transmitted through their comm. link.
"Hiya!" Rikku answered cheerfully.
"Ahh!! Rikku! Are you alright now?"
"Yup-yup!!" Rikku quickly got on her feet and waved both her hands frantically at Yuna and Paine. "Hey!! They're here!!" She pointed at the approaching Celsius as it parked a few meters away from where they were waiting.
"When can we expect you again?" Lulu walked beside Rikku as the Gullwings were boarding the airship.
"We don't know yet but it'll be soon... hopefully." Yuna answered as she waved back at Tidus who was finishing his little pep talk with the Aurochs.
Lulu turned to give Rikku a hug. "Remember what I told you." She whispered with a smile as she fixed Rikku's crumpled headband. "And always remember that patience is a virtue... you will find what you're searching for soon. Trust me. You just have to wait patiently."
Rikku smiled broadly at her "older sister" and then turned to Vidina to give him a hug. "If you wanna see the Gullwings, just give us a ring and we'll be there in two shakes!" She said and patted the boy on the head. "But promise me that you're going to be a good boy while Aunt Rikku and the others are gone, okay?" Vidina stared at Rikku with a smile.
"Promise!" Vidina placed his small arms around Rikku's neck and then whispered something. "Be quick. And I told Aunt Paine and Aunt Yuna to teach that meanie, Gippal a lesson coz he deserve more whooping than what he had received from hurting you."
Rikku chuckled at the boy and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Thanks for that, chump!" After giving the boy one last pat on the head, she immediately ran towards the Celsius' entrance and waved back at the villagers until the engine room closed in on her.
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When Rikku turned around, she saw Yuna, Paine and Tidus throwing an accusing gaze at her. "What?" She looked back at them quizzically as she stood rooted on one spot.
"Aren't you telling us the things that you told Lulu?" Tidus asked immediately, ruining the momentum that Yuna and Paine were trying to build. The two ladies rolled their eyes at Tidus and stomped away towards the lift. "What did I do?" Tidus asked, alerted at the sudden departure of the two women beside her.
"Gullwings! Report to the bridge!" Brother's voice rang through the air as he spoke through the comm. link in his station.
"The Gullwings are back on business!" Rikku ran towards the lift to join the others; already psyched for their awaiting mission.
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Author's Note: I was planning a cliffhanger but I think I'm going to reserve that on the next chapter... or perhaps... chapterssss... hehe... please review!!!!!!!!!!