Author's Notes: OMG…it has been literally forever since I last updated! I really really hope that all my readers haven't lost interest because of the wait! Believe me…there was good reason for the delay! School right before the holidays was extremely hectic! Christmas was coming up and I thought things would quiet down. But no…all of a sudden every teacher thinks they are far behind in the curriculum and pile twelve billion assignments each onto your head. If that wasn't enough…massive tests come along too! I finally got through school and then vacation came along and I went away from home. This is the first time I have been on a computer in three weeks. Isn't that horrible! Huff…at least now I can settle down and write! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm working hard to get it out after not writing for eons of time! Tell me if anything is too repetitive or just slow. R&R! Smile and be happy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2. But, I am totally fascinated and obsessed with them!! Like everyone else isn't?!?
Chapter 4: Meetings
"Rikku, are you okay?"
I could hear Brother's voice clearly and yet I just couldn't take in what he was saying to me. All I heard was the agitated mumble of his words as he asked me the same question over and over again, his eyebrows rising higher with each passing moment.
"RRRikku!" Brother yelled finally getting fed up with me for not responding for yet another time. He shut his green swirling eyes and slammed his fists against the table that he sat at. I opened my right eye first and squinted from the light that shinned from the orange lamps around us. Then I opened my left eye and looked at him from my slumped position. I leaned on one of my arms that held up my cheek and was basically the only support I had. The rest of my body did not fight against the forces of gravity.
"What?" I asked, the word coming out as a long exhale. Brother's eye twitched as he looked down at me with a surprised look on his face. Any other day his face would be really humorous and would send me into a fit of laughter and tears. But not today.; nothing could amuse me today.
His arms were straight and tight as the pushed him back in his chair so that he could have a better view in eyeing me oddly.
"Yna oui ugyo?" His voice seemed strangely sympathetic, despite the fact that he said the question again in Al Bhed.
"Yah, I'm fine," I said as I straightened up as much as I could. My back curled as I sat up in my seat and all my muscles stiffened. My eyes closed tightly as my mouth opened up wide for a deep yawn, trying to suck in as much air to wake up my weary brain. "Why?"
"Well," Brother said, "You've been zoned out there for the last half hour and haven't touched your breakfast!"
"And today it's really good!" Buddy broke in, a piece of toast in his hand and crumbs scattered over his face and chest. "Nienna really outdid herself today!" Brother gave him a side-glance before picking up his own piece of toast and crunching into it.
"It's definitely not you in there Rikku," Brother said matter of factly once he had finished chewing on his food.
"Not enough sleep last night," I grumbled at him. Brother frowned at me in an odd way, as if he hadn't believed what I said. I rolled my eyes and watched my brother as he turned from me to start some weird conversation about Buddy liking Nienna's food a bit too much. I turned from them and looked around me at the dinner tent that is sat in and watched the other people mill through the rows of tables.
The sun had only risen and hour ago and almost everyone was up and ready to begin working. The day was going to be hard, especially for me. Last night I had hardly gotten any sleep. All night I just tossed and turned in my bed, onto my right side, then my left, back, stomach, and then right again. It was horrible. And I looked even worse then I felt. Huge blue bags hung under my eyes, and wrinkles plagued my dry skin. I'm only seventeen and I have wrinkles! Even though I didn't want to admit what caused my restlessness I knew exactly what the reason was.
Last night, Gippal had returned "Home" and not too long after that I realized I still had feelings for him. I saw that I had felt like that for a long time now and not knowing that it had really changed me on the inside. But no matter what I felt towards him nothing would change. He didn't tell me directly, but I could tell from what he had implied. Gippal didn't love me anymore, and he told me so quite clearly. After talking to him, my mind was filled with so many questions and so many thoughts that seemed to cut into my already hurt scars even more. Then morning came bringing with it a new day of work and a new day of questions.
But I needed to push it out of my mind. I had to or I would end up hurting myself in the end.
I looked down at the plate of eggs, comonna wheat pancakes, and toast that Brother had gotten for me. I dug my fork into the comonna pancakes and took a big bite. Nienna had done a good job despite the fact that my breakfast was stone cold because of the time it took to wake from my stunned state. But hey…it was still food!
People in the tent finished up their own food and soon began to leave to begin work. I still sat at my table and took the last few bites of eggs that were left scattered across my plate. Once I had finished I watched the crowd of people get thinner and thinner, my tired haze still hovering over me.
"Well," Buddy said as he pushed his chair out to stand up. "We better get going. Your dad's going to kill me if I don't start that new security system soon." Brother smirked and stood up as well.
"Rikku, you coming?" Brother asked. I looked up at him and let my hair fall lazily around my face.
"I'll be out in a minute. I just," I yawned deep breaking up my sentence. "I just need a couple minutes to collect myself." Brother frowned down at me again, and then his eyes followed the rows of tables until they reached the other side of the tent. His frown deepened, but I was too tired to look at what was so distasteful to him.
"Fine," he said, his face lighting up oddly and rather quickly. Brother turned around walked away. When he was almost out of the tent Buddy looked at me and shrugged his shoulder. He waved and smiled kindly at me as he walked towards the entrance to follow Brother.
Once they were gone, I fell forward onto the table and rested my head on my arms. I just felt so exhausted…my head was tired…my body was tired…and my heart ached. I just couldn't take it anymore.
I closed my eyes and let my sleepy mind drift away. I enjoyed the couple minutes of peace that I got, seeing as the tent was almost completely empty. Only a couple of groups of people and the cooks were left in there.
Finally deciding that it was time for me to get to work, I lifted myself up from the table and walked slowly to the entrance. I pulled the rough tan cloth aside and was about to step out into the morning when a loud laugh came from one of the groups of people seated on the other side of the tent. My eyes widened as I let the cloth drop from my hand. The laugh was so familiar and the moment I heard it I knew exactly who was seated behind me. I turned around slowly with my head bent down. My eyes flicked up and I gazed across the tent at the people, whose faces were al lit up with delightful smiles. Gippal sat amid a small group of his friends and had just heard a funny joke from one of them.
My gaze fell onto his face, which had a wide curly smile on it. His green eye was wide and filled with a blissful happiness that made my heart stop beating inside of me. I turned from them and walked out of the tent into the blaring sunshine. The sky was clear of any clouds and was of the brightest blue. I looked down at the cold sand and grabbed onto my arms when I felt the chill breeze whistle by me.
Did last night leave him unmarked? Did it not affect him even a little?
oioioioio
That day I worked so hard to the point of exhaustion. My body couldn't handle it anymore, but I didn't stop because it was the only way I could keep my mind off of what happened the previous night. Every time I thought about Gippal and how easily he pushed me aside, I was hurt more and more. But every time, I wondered why he had come up to me smiling. His face looked so peaceful when he came up on the rock at the Oasis to enjoy the quiet with me. He had even said that he wanted to protect me. From what?
The days passed by in the same routine. I would have a sleepless night, work until I was near death, avoid seeing Gippal as much as I could, and go lie down. A week and a half had passed before I talked to him again, and even then the contact was not welcome. It was while I was working hard on a broken part for the massive steel entrance at the East side of "Home."
I was dirty, covered in machina oil and sand, and crouching under a large machina in my work cloths. I couldn't hear a thing because of the loud machines that were being used to build other parts of the building plus my own headphones to help block out that noise. It was almost time for lunch, but I already knew that I wasn't going to have any. The bell was rung, but I didn't hear it. All the other workers filed off to the dinner tent to get their sweet earned food, while I still worked as hard as before. Just a few minutes after the bell was rung, Gippal walked out of my father's office on the other side of the building from a meeting that they had just finished having.
I stood up and tossed my ratchet onto a bench that held my tool. I wiped a greasy hand across my forehead to get rid of some of the sweat that was sitting on my hairline. Pulling my headphones off, I tied my loose hair in a messy bun on the back of my head. I sighed as I slumped down onto the metal floor beside my bench. The day was hard.
I was too worn out to react, but I could hear the slow approach of footsteps.
"So all the building expenses are paid for," came Gippal's voice. I looked up and saw him standing on a small bridge around the corner from where I was that overlooked a district of apartments on a lower level. Pops looked very pleased and gave Gippal a friendly smack between the shoulder blades. He walked with his hands in his pockets and a small half-smile on his face. "The rest of the machina will be coming in a week. Other than that, there is nothing left for me to do here."
"Thank you again, for all your generosity." Cid said, chuckling as he spoke. I stood up again, with difficulty, and tried to get back to work, knowing that they were going to come my way. I grabbed onto a wire sparker and a small machina part and began to do some pointless work on it. Their footsteps came closer and closer and at any moment they would turn a slight corner and see me.
"Gippal, can you tell me—" Pops' sentence cut off when my tired hands dropped the wire sparker, the hard tool hitting the cold metal ground. My father's steps quickened and he followed where the sound had come from, until he turned the corner.
"Rikku," Pops said to me, a smile still on his face. "Why aren't you eating lunch?"
"I just need to finish one last thing before I stop," I said to him, picking up the wire sparker and trying not to show my fatigue.
"You don't need to finish," he replied. "Go eat."
"I'm not really hungry," I said to him, even though I could fell my stomach grumble inside of me. "Besides, who else is going to work hard if I don't?" A small weak smile crossed my face as I looked at my father, whose face was showing his concern for me.
"Okay, but go eat something soon." Pops replied with his hand on his chin. "What will I do if my only daughter tires herself out?" He chuckled quietly and gave me a soft kiss on the top of my head. He turned around and headed out of the main building towards that dinner tent for his own lunch, giving Gippal a little pat on his shoulder as he passed.
Gippal watched my father leave, and when he was sure that Pops was out of earshot he turned to me with a frown on his face. The smile that had lingered on my lips suddenly disappeared. I had been frowned at too many times lately.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked me quietly, at touch of concern skimming the tone of his voice. I looked at him for a brief second before I turned away to pick up some odd tool and mill around my work.
"Doing what?" I asked over my back, my voice cold and unwelcoming.
"You know what I mean." Gippal said, sighing as he spoke. "Why are you over-working yourself so much? Everyday I've seen you you've been slaving away when you don't have to, and you barely eat anymore. Cid hasn't seen it, but I have. You come into the dinner tent for a second and then disappear. Ever since…that night…things have been strange."
I didn't answer. I kept to my work and tried to forget the questions that again came into my mind.
"Rikku, look at me," he said, grabbing onto my shoulder and turning me around to face him. When I saw his face, my body became even weaker and I dropped the objects that I held feebly in my hands. He seemed tormented by the fact that I was hurting myself, but I wasn't sure what to think of him anymore or even think of what he felt. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" I looked up at him with a hard rock gaze.
"Why should you of all people be concerned about me?" I asked, my voice cold and barely above a whisper. His face dropped and his eyes became wide showing his surprise to my question. He took at step back from him and let his hands slide off of my shoulders.
"I—I just…" He couldn't get his sentence out.
"What?" I said almost yelling at him now. "You just what? Did you think the whole "noble" act thing would make me think that you actually did feel something for me?" Gippal's mouth opened slightly and his eyebrows furrowed up in inquiry. "Did you think I would just push that night away, without concern? It hurt me; you hurt me and it will never leave me. This is why I'm working hard and exhausting myself, so that I can forget what happened." I didn't even let him respond. I turned away and ran out of the building without looking back at him. If I had I would have seen the tears that coated his entrancing green eye and might have gone back and realized how I had scarred him as well with my words. But all I could think about was how angry I was and how much I was hurting, and so I ran out into the sand and didn't look back until I had reached the outskirts of the center desert.
Why is this happening? I thought. Why do I need to hurt and be hurt?
ioioioioi
It was pitch black by the time I made it back to "Home" and all the lamps around the encampment had been lit. The orange glow that radiated off of them sparkled in the sky and illuminated the surrounding areas with an ethereal glow. The place was entrancing and beautiful, but in my anger and distress I could not see the splendor that was in front of me.
I walked through the area until I reached my tent and was about to enter it when something dark was seen in the corner of my eye. I turned around to face the dark night and saw people run stealthily across the sand to the main building. It reminded me of the night that Gippal had returned when I saw him leave his airship and walk to the building in the cover of darkness. I don't think he expected anyone to see him, and I wasn't fully sure that it even was him, but everything seemed to fit. Curious to see what was happening, I followed the people that were running across the sand to the main building. I watched from a dark corner as more and more people, some I recognized, pursue the halls of the districts until they reached a dark room in the underground.
I listened to see if anyone was coming along the metal halls and when I was pretty sure that there were no footsteps I made my way to the room and peeked in from a broken part in the side of a wall. Inside were many Al Bhed facing a table where seven people sat. The faces of the seven people were overshadowed and I couldn't make out who they were, but I was sure that they were of some importance to whatever this was. The room was circular and all the walls were stone. On the walls were bracket lamp holders with the same orange glow as the outside lamps. One man stood up and walked from behind the table to pace in front of the crowd of people.
"Thank you all for coming," the man said. His voice was deep and cool and had a small air of distress on it. I was able to see who he was, but I didn't recognize him. He was tall and young, and his blond hair was cut short and sat flat on his head. He had really short bangs that fell onto his forehead in small waves. His face was slender and was very handsome but his green eyes, which held so much anger in them, made his face look like a livid fiend. He wore beige pants that hugged onto his legs and tucked into his dark brown desert boots. His torso was covered with a shirt that looked like it was inspired by a straight jacket, but many buckles along his chest and arms.
"All of you know why we are here, but since our first announcement has been made even more ridiculous attacks have been made on our race. It angers me immensely to see that the prejudices of society have taken such a turn and I will not stand to see such behavior between the races." The young man stopped his pacing and looked at the people with an intensive stare.
"Alassea. Will you please show them what has been happening all around Spira outside of our home?" A teenage girl stepped out from behind the table. I knew this girl. She was my age and I had grown up with her. She wasn't close to me because we were both so different. She was always a smart kid, much like Shinra, and spent much of her time doing some math equation or physics problem. She had grown up a lot in the last couple years that I hadn't seen her in. Her hair was pulled into two loose and short braids that fell lazily around her shoulders. She wore spectacles that sat perked on her nose that turned up like a mouse. In her hands were several newspapers and other random pieces of paper. She placed them messily and the table behind her and began to speak.
"Over the last three months a politician from Bevelle, Daeron Maroon, has been publishing stories about the "machina users of the Bikanel," in his local newspaper. Several articles have shown up stating false accusations about our machines and our knowledge of technology. He fears that we have become too smart and have learned too much of the efficiency of machina. He believes that we will create the next war of Spira, making a full-on attack on all people that are not of Al Bhed heritage." Alassea's voice was hard and straightforward. She took the issues that she was speaking of like facts or parts of an equation that needed to be analyzed and solved. "Besides his trepid view on our society, I believe that he dislikes us because of our appearance and language. He thinks our culture is repulsive and disgusting. All these insulting accusations have begun to spread from city to city and area to area. There have been reports from several of our scouts that some places even have the audacity to ban Al Bhed from entering. Our culture was spreading vastly over the last five years, and all of it has come to nothing when one man published his fears in a newspaper. The only reason he is even able to make such an impact is that he is an influential figure in the parliaments of Bevelle." Alassea stopped and looked down at the stone floor. The truth was hard to admit, but what was happening was reality. She picked up her papers and sat back down in her seat, ready for another leader to stand and state his facts.
I could hardy believe what was being said. The whole time that Alassea was speaking my mind coursed with new questions. Questions about the Al Bhed, about Gippal, and about "Home." Had I really been deceived in the people of Spira? Did they all hate us like that? I didn't really know what to think and the things that had happened to me lately seemed so little compared to what was happening for my entire race right now.
Soon another leader stood up, and the moment he stepped into the lamplight and his face was showered with orange rays my heart stopped. Gippal stood in front of the people with his hands intertwined behind his back. His head was bent down and as he began he closed his eyes and a tormented look crossed his face.
"Praetor Baralai is unable to do anything publicly about this and neither is Nooj of the Youth League. Both have been our contacts secretly and will continue send any information that they can. The most recent news that came only a few days ago has so far been the worst. It has been confirmed that Daeron has mustered an army in the underground of Bevelle and is preparing for a full-fledged attack." Gippal paused and opened his eyes. "The only thing that we see as possible is to rebel against him. We cannot do this openly, or his fears of a second war will be believed. So we must be stealthy and un-seen. And only then will our good name be restored. We need your support so please come up and—" Gippal's sentence cut off abruptly. His eyes flicked up suddenly to where I was watching him and his face fell. Our green eyes met and locked together as I felt my heart quicken beat madly in my chest.
I couldn't handle it anymore. Each second my eyes lay on his face, my heart ached more and more. No matter what I said or did I would never be able to stop the fact that I still loved him.
I turned from him and broke our haze, running as fast as I could from the room. My footsteps clattered loudly against the floor as I breathed loudly. My chest was tight by the time that I ran out into the cold dark night. Tired from running, I slumped down onto my knees and bent my head down. My breathing steadied and the heat from my body was soon cooled by the chill wind that whipped past me.
"Rikku?" came Gippal's voice from behind me. He had already caught up with me, and I was too faint to get up and leave. He crouched down and sat in the sand beside me. He placed his soft hand gently on my cheek and turned my face towards his. Tears welled up in my eyes and my lips began to tremble.
Why is he tormenting me like this? I thought.
"Rikku," he whispered into my ear very gently. "I can't hold it in anymore. I need to tell you."
"I love you Rikku."
Here you go! An update all the way from Montreal! Sadly my French has not been improved in my stay! Bonjour anyone? Hehe… Anyways…it has happened. He has declared his love for her! But…is it true? And can it actually work? Well…you are going to have to come back for that my dear friends. Please tell me what you think in a review! I really hope this wasn't disappointing for anyone…but oh well! The next chapter will be on soon but it will be on sooner if I get over twenty reviews!! Oh yah…HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Bye bye for now…love and peace…
