A/N-Well, that wasn't as many reviews as I expected, but I'm happy! Thank you guys for staying with me! And thanks mostly to people that read this story and actually take the time to review. It means a lot and most, if not all, of your reviews brightens a particular bad moment. Also, I've been trying to upload my chapters, but fanfiction.net isn't working sometimes. Something about heavy traffic, so know that I am trying! Ok, now that I'm done yapping, let's get going with the story!

♥Every Heart♥

Chapter Eight: Enter the Mighty Leblanc!

                I woke up the next morning, feeling full of energy. I just felt like if I stood in one place for too long, I would combust. I practically jumped out of my bed and pulled back the curtains, letting the sun's rays envelop me in a warm embrace. The storm had definitely left its mark. The usually dry desert sand was brown and muddy, and the trees were still dripping tears from their leaves. A faint fog hung around the air, so I guessed that it was probably humid outside.

                Shrugging, I skipped away to the bathroom, grabbing a plain white towel from the closet, deciding not to put on my fuzzy pink slippers. As I trotted down the hallway, my bare feet smacked gently against the tile, echoing happy music throughout the temple. I guess it was still pretty early in the morning because only two or three people were roaming around the place. Or maybe everyone was just plain lazy. I rolled my eyes and laughed, tripping over my own feet.

                Entering the bathroom, I flicked on the lights and closed the door, making sure that it was locked. Quickly undressing, I hung the towel on a nearby rack and bounced into the tub, pulling the shower curtains. Humming a cheery tune, I turned the knob as cold water rushed out, slowly turning warmer. After the temperature was juuuust right, I pulled the lever, squealing as the water lightly grazed my skin. Oh yeah, today felt like a good day, but then, everyday felt good to me!  I quickly lathered my hair, inhaling the sweet scent, and then presumed to the citrus soap. I breathed the tangy aroma in deeply, feeling lightheaded and intoxicated. Giggling, I scrubbed my body and washed vigorously, finishing my morning shower.

                Turning off the knob, I grabbed the comfy towel and wrapped it around my body, stepping out of the tub and feeling very refreshed. The mirror had turned foggy, and I laughed as I saw my distorted reflection staring back at me. I suddenly stopped as I realized something. I was just fine here, and I wasn't even putting up a battle with this "marriage". I sighed. Maybe it just wasn't worth the fight, I mean, at least Gippel understands how I feel. Feeling much, much better, I grinned and my happy attitude came back.

                 I turned on the vent and proceeded blow-drying my hair. When I finished, I made sure that the towel was snug around me and then raced out of the bathroom. The breeze was quite refreshing, and as soon as I saw my room coming into my vision, I made a mad dash towards it, slamming the door closed and hoping no one had seen me laughing like a psycho while sprinting towards my room.

                I walked over to my dresser and grabbed a CD from my suitcase, popping it into the stereo that was conveniently placed nearby the window. An upbeat and danceable song echoed throughout my room and I twirled around to the full-length mirror attached to the door of the closet, brushing my hair and quickly braiding some strands. I pulled my favorite blue bandanna over my head, adjusting it briefly before hurrying over to my suitcase, looking at my dresspheres. Which one to choose? Or should I just wear a regular outfit? But anything could happen, and I should be prepared, so I decided to choose a dressphere.

                I soon narrowed it down to my default sphere, Trainer, and Alchemist. I wanted my Thief because I usually wore it and it was one of the most comfortable outfits I had, even though it was a little revealing. But then, today was a humid day and I wanted to go outside and help with that supermachina that YuRiPa had fought not too long ago. That thing was fun, and an Alchemist was a nice dressphere to choose. I loved mixing stuff…soooo…and the reason I chose Trainer was because I love that monkey! It was fun to hang around with, but that was about it. Hm….what a toughie!

                After a ten minute debate, I finally chose Alchemist, throwing the sphere up into the air as light surrounded me, and piece by piece my dressphere embraced me. Checking myself one last time in the mirror, I hopped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me.

                Some more people were now wandering the hallways, yawning and scratching their backs, their hair messy and disheveled. I laughed, jogging over to Yunie's room. She was still sound asleep, snoring lightly and calmly. I grinned, closing the door. Paine's room was right next to hers, so I peeked into the door. The red-eyed warrior was no where to be seen. Ah well, maybe she was out for a morning jog or whatever. I still felt pretty bad about upsetting her, though I still don't know why a weapon would bust her flow. Shrugging, I skipped past Shinra's room, knowing how scary the kid could be when he was woken up, and he was one light sleeper…

                I passed by Gippel's door, but screeched to a stop and skipped back over, an evil grin on my face. Now was the perfect time to get payback for that scare he gave me last night! I quietly crept into the room, not surprised by how messy it was. Papers littered the desk that sat near the window. Dark green curtains shielded light from getting in, so the room was shadowy and kinda eerie. His muddy boots were beside the bed, laces lifelessly dangling towards the ground. A couple of machina parts were on the floor, some oily and some flawless, fixed by his hands.

                 He was under the comforters, his right hand hanging from the side of the bed, his other arm over the sheet. His face was turned away towards me, eye closed and black eye patch glaring at me. His spiky locks were still in place, and I giggled quietly as he snorted a little, scratching his side. I watched for a moment as he evenly breathed in and out, hypnotized by his peace. Well too bad for him, his peace wasn't gonna last long! Stifling a cackle, I tiptoed to his side, slowly leaning down to his exposed pierced ear. Breathing in through my nose, I opened my mouth and chirped,

                "RISE AND SHINE, GIPPEL!!!!" Just as I had expected, his eye shot open as his mouth did the same in a silent scream of shock. The only thing I didn't realize was that he would sit up straight, and as he raised his head on reflex, the side of his face collided with mine, so I was basically kissing his cheek. I froze, stunned and slowly turning red. What have I gotten myself into?!  I could feel his muscles tensing as realization dawned on his sleepy senses.

                "Um…Rikku?" he asked hesitantly. I quickly pried my lips from his cheek, stepping back quickly and muttering stuff, feeling like an idiot.

                "Hee-hee, see I can explain. Um, I wanted to wake you up and stuffs, that was totally unintentional, um, um, yeah." I finished my explanation dumbly, staring at the floor. He chuckled and I looked up, bemused.

                "Hey, it's ok. You just caught me by surprise," he said sleepily. I giggled nervously, wishing that my mouth would just be sewn shut.

                "Yeah, ok, uh huh. Well, I'm going to go work on the machina outside, so bye. See ya later!" I finished, making a beeline for the door. The springs under his mattress squeaked as he stood up and I could hear him yawning. Man, he sure had a great way of dealing with awkward moments. I should thank him for that.

                This was turning out to be such a great morning…I walked out of the temple and marched towards the stone bridge and past the hover, stepping onto Mushroom Rock Road. I found a malfunctioning machina and cheerily kneeled down to its level, trying to see what the problem was. It looked like the right leg had been ripped off, probably by a passing chocobo, and the wires were waving around wildly, tiny sparks flaring up every now and then. Taking my gun, I shot down the small machine and when it collapsed, I gathered it into my arms and raced off to the hover, telling the pilot to send the machina to Djose Temple to be fixed properly.

                Smiling, I continued with my work. I felt like being a big helper today, and that was what I was gonna do! After I had found five more malfunctioning machina, I grinned, wiping away the perspiration from my brow. The dressphere was taking its toll on me and I felt extra hot now that the sun had started to rise. I raced back down the road to the hover, plopping down onto the sand and enjoying the slight shade the machine offered. The pilot looked down at me, arms crossed casually, and smirked.

                "Had enough for today?" he teased, waggling a finger in my face. I playfully pouted and grinned, shaking my head enthusiastically.

                "Of course not! This is just the beginning!" I bounced up and gave him a thumbs up, winking and trotting off again. "You just watch, Mr. Pilot! I'll have at least another five done before noon!"

                "My name is Zanaso!" he yelled after me. I smiled and waved without turning back, determined to find more machina in need. Not a minute after I spotted a much smaller version of the AW24 that had stopped working completely. This was easy! I knelt down to its level and looked for a weak spot so that I could take the pieces apart. Machina that stop working completely need to be taken apart so that their assembly pieces can be used for other machina.

                I'll admit that I felt some sympathy for this machina because it wasn't entirely its fault that it had just…died. I almost rolled my eyes at my dramatic statement and found the weak spot. Quickly, I smoothly ripped out an assembly piece followed by another until the core was left. I hoisted to pieces into my arms and sprinted back to Zanaso, smirking.

                "Ha! There's one!" He shook his head and smiled, taking the pieces from me.

                "You're a fast one, that you are. Keep it up!" I nodded and turned around, ready for more.

                "Thanks, Zanaso. And by the way, my name is Rikku." So basically my morning was just taking apart or shooting down machina, and by the time it was noon, I was starved! I'm proud to say that I took down exactly twenty-five machina, and Zanaso was really impressed. He even suggested that Gippel and I should become co-leaders. I laughed. As if that cocky guy would allow someone to be at his level.

                After saying bye to Zanaso, I trotted back to the temple, ready for lunch. I suddenly remembered the incident this morning. I had had such a fun time taking apart machina that I had completely forgotten about that uncomfortable moment. I decided to shrug it off, quietly entering the temple doors.

                "Well, well, well, if it isn't group member number two of the Dullwings." I jerked my head quickly, eyes widening as I spotted none other than Leblanc, who was without her posse consisting of Ormi and Logos.

                "Leblanc? Whatcha doing here?!" I didn't give her a chance to reply as I practically pounced on her, embracing her fiercely. "I haven't seen you in a while! How's Nooj?" I elbowed her and wiggled my eyebrows, giggling as she glared at me.

                "Hmph! Noojie-Woojie is just fine, thanks for asking, love. I just came by to congratulate you on your marriage with Gippel." She smirked at me, her pretty face winking at me as I turned beet red.

                "Well, um, why don't you stay for the night or something? We have some catching up to do. You know, talk about the good ol' days!" I said quickly, trying to change the subject.

                "Oh yes, about that. Gippel over there invited me to come visit you. He says you might need an adviser for the wedding, love. And everyone knows that I, the Mighty Leblanc, am the expert on love." She seemed to swoon after her last statement, and I was sure I saw hearts in her eyes.

                What was Gippel thinking?! With Leblanc here, it was inevitable that I would be embarrassed out of my skin!

                "Gippel. Come over here, love. Show me to my room." Leblanc motioned him over with her finger, her pink lips smiling. Gippel sauntered over, slightly avoiding eye contact with me as he approached us.

                "It's this way. Oh, and Rikku," I faced him as his green eyes focused on me, "I'd like to have lunch with you."

                "…Ok," I said quietly, suddenly feeling insecure. He nodded and then walked away with Leblanc in tow, her colorful outfit swaying with her hips. As they disappeared around the corner, I could hear Leblanc chatting away.

                Oh, life just liked to deal me the oddest cards, didn't it?

                A/N-Just in case ya'll wanted to know, Zanaso means Jeremy in Al Bhed, but I wanted to name him in the Al Bhed way because it sounds more like a name in the FFX-2 world. Anyway, I'm trying to make these chapters longer now that I know you guys are really interested in this fic. This is so much fun to write and you guys' reviews really inspire me to write some more, so keep it up! Thanks!

Moshi Moshi Mai