Disclaimer: FFX, FFX-2 – neither of them belong to me, I'm just a poor, starving fan : )

A/N: Another week and another chapter in a story that finally has some kind of plot! Phew – I was worried there for a while but now that I have direction for this fic I can finally relax and enjoy writing it.

Some people have commented that this fic is FULL of Rikku's thoughts and there isn't very much action (as if blowing up a room full of people wasn't enough – lol) Seriously though, I take all comments really seriously and I tried to cut down the amount of 'thinking' in this chapter so that it flows more easily and is more enjoyable to read. It's basically Rikku/Gippal fluff so … enjoy : )

Chapter 3 is dedicated to Teef for a truly excellent review - thanks!

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Rikku's Story

By: JoeyStar

Timeframe: Set a month or so after the 'happy' ending of FFX-2

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Chapter 3

Who would have imagined that within a day of lamenting my boredom in the Bevelle party room, my whole life would have turned around. I think that walking out of that ward with Gippal and leaving my friends and family behind was possibly the hardest thing I have ever done but to be honest, Gippal and I were the only people with the opportunity and the knowledge to investigate who had been behind the attack.

I mean, I'm sure that whatever investigative team that New Yevon sent out would have done a good job but … well, as I had said to Gippal, it was an Al Bhed matter. Which we knew in advance of everyone else. And we weren't naïve enough to not work out what conclusions everyone would jump to when they found out the bomb was made by an Al Bhed. We wanted to use our head start, you know?

"Where are we going?" I asked Gippal as we walked down one of the endless corridors that seemed only too common within Bevelle. The reason for my question was that he had taken the lead – in fact, I was having to trot to keep up with him – and there was a definite purpose to his steps, as if he knew where he was going.

He glanced back at me and when he saw that I was struggling with his swift pace, he grinned but made no move to slow down. It was something so typical of Gippal that I resisted the urge to grit my teeth and settled on muttering rude comments about him under my breath in Al Bhed.

"The scene of the crime," he replied finally, ignoring my mumblings even though I'm sure he could hear them. "I wanna check it out."

I frowned, dropping my injured persona. "But won't it be crawling with New Yevon investigators?"

"Are you kiddin'?" he gave me a very patronising look. "Those old priests? I love Baralai like a brother but honestly, his followers are about as excitin' as a set of old books ends. And twice as slow."

I wanted to laugh because his comment had been amusing but the tone in which he had said it made me want to hit him. Torn between the two I ended up with a very odd expression on my face that Gippal instantly noticed.

"Hold that for too long and your face will stick," he told me mock-seriously. "And we wouldn't want that, would we Cid's girl?"

I am not going to beat him to death with my braids … I am not going to beat him to death with my braids …

I took a deep breath, composing myself. "So why do you want to check out the bombsite?"

I regretted the question before it had even passed my lips because another one of those patronising smiles graced his features. I knew we'd have to talk about that before too long; just because I was younger than him by a year – a year! – didn't mean I was somehow inferior. In terms of experience, I far outweighed Gippal. He hadn't defeated Sin, had he?

"When investigatin' any crime you always start by examinin' the original scene," he told me, sounding as if he was quoting a criminal investigations textbook. Where did Gippal get these ideas?

"I suppose that makes sense," I agreed grudgingly, twirling a piece of hair around my finger as I thought of something that might interest him. "Hey, you know the reason I was outside the room when the bomb exploded?"

He glanced at me, interested.

"I was following someone."

His eyebrows rose. "You're so bored with the endless parties that you've turned to stalkin' now to pass the time?"

"Of course not," I scoffed. "I was – hey! How did you know I was bored with the parties?"

"Sittin' on your own in the corner of the room nursin' a drink all night?" Gippal smirked. "Sounds like boredom to me."

The significance of his words took a moment to register but then I was scandalized. He'd been watching me? Gippal, the most self-absorbed person in the world, had been watching me?

What did that mean?

"So, you ever gonna tell me who you were stalkin'?" his light voice cut into my reverie.

I wrinkled my nose. "I was not stalking him," I retorted, feeling like a broken machina stuck in a repetitive cycle. "He looked suspicious … so I followed him."

"But you weren't stalking him?"

"No."

He stuffed his hand in his pockets. "Really?"

"No!"

"But you were following him?"

"No – yes – Gippal!" I broke off helplessly but he just laughed at my predicament. I waited impatiently for him to calm down but when it seemed as if his hilarity was never-ending, I stomped past him muttering: "E fych'd cdymgehk res." (I wasn't stalking him.)

He trailed after me, still chuckling and we continued down the corridor, him trying to control his laughter and me trying to resist the urge to turn my braids into a noose.

"So …" he drawled after several long minutes had past, in which I had refused to look at him. "Are you ever gonna tell me about this man you were followin', or do I have to bring up the stalkin' issue again?"

I decided to ignore his repeated attempts to turn me into some kind of madwoman and settled on answering the first part of the question. After all, I had been intending to tell him anyway – it wasn't just because he was asking.

"I followed him out into the corridor because he seemed familiar somehow, you know?" I told him diffidently, stressing the word 'followed'.

He stopped abruptly and turned to stare at me. "You knew him?"

"Not in the way you're thinking."

"And yet you recognised him from across a room …" he reached out and touched my bare shoulder, pretending to look intensely embarrassed. "Oh – I'm sorry … do you know him … intimately?"

"No! That's disgusting!" I knocked his hand away, trying not to notice how warm and comfortable his fingers had felt against my skin. "I recognised him because he was an Al Bhed but I certainly didn't know him," my cheeks coloured, "and certainly not like that!"

He began laughing again, his green eye dancing as he took in my disgruntled expression. I, meanwhile, was judging the merits of using my knives by way of payback but quickly realised that such signature weapons would leave easily identifiable marks on the victim. Perhaps I could use my scarf instead …

While I had been considering imaginative ways to dispose of Gippal, he had continued down the corridor and I hurried after him. "So he was an Al Bhed?" he asked when I had drawn level with him once more.

I thought about ignoring the question but decided not to, realising it would only bring me down to his immature level. "He was dressed like one."

"But you didn't get close enough to be sure?"

I shook my head, my braids swinging freely. One of them caught him on the arm and he jumped, swiping at it with a gloved hand. It was my turn to suppress giggles as he realised that the furry object he held was one of my braids and that he had just started as if a Lupus had brushed past him.

"Can I have that back?" I asked sweetly. "Somehow I don't think it's your colour."

"Really?" he held the braid up to his own blond hair, which forced me up onto my tiptoes seeing as he is a lot taller than me. "I think it looks nice."

"Hey! Gippal – let me go!" I complained, jerking my head down which only succeeded in nearly dragging the braid out by the roots. "Ow …"

He released the braid and ruffled my hair, his job of humiliating me a resounding success. I tucked the offending piece of hair behind my hair and glared up at him.

Standing there, with one hand on his hip, his single eye gleaming, he looked every bit as arrogant as I had always known him to be and I started to get the sinking feeling that by agreeing to accept his aid in this investigation, I had let myself in for a Blitztball stadium full of trouble.

Although, one part of my mind observed as a stared at him, he had actually been right our respective hair colours. They did complimented each other well.

Damn him! He always had to be right about everything – even hair colour! No wonder he was so smug. Camvecr, luhlaedat … syh! (Selfish, conceited … man!)

Who unfortunately, I probably couldn't do this without. Not that I was ever going to tell him that. I might be seventeen, but I'm not stupid.

"Right … so you were chasin' a man who you think was an Al Bhed because you think he looked suspicious?"

How did he do that? How did he make my completely rational decisions sound like the actions of a deranged maniac?

"Yes," I replied shortly.

"But you couldn't say for certain that he was an Al Bhed."

"No."

"So what happened next?"

"Next – " Next, I wanted to say, you came out and interrupted me before I could catch the man. And while you were getting your daily fill of Rikku-torture, that man was planting bombs.

I bit my tongue; I couldn't say that. Besides, when Gippal had distracted me, I had actually been about to investigate the strange object lying on the floor. The strange object that had turned out to be a bomb.

Gippal's interruption, as I called it, had saved my life.

"Next you appeared," I settled on, trying to sound as insulting as possible. "And prevented me from catching the man."

He chewed thoughtfully on his lip. "You know, this strange Al Bhed could have been completely innocent."

"Then why was he running away?"

"With you coming after him, who wouldn't?"

For some reason, I didn't find those joking words funny. Gippal grinned at me, obviously waiting for me to rejoice in his witty humour and though I satisfied him with a fake smile, inside I felt quite hurt at the careless way the question had tripped off his tongue.

It had nothing to do with the fact that it was Gippal who said it of course. It's just that no one likes to be thought of as ugly, you know?

"I think the bomb was evidence enough of his guilt," I retorted acidly. "Though I wish I'd had more time to study it …"

"Here." Much to my amazement, Gippal reached into one of his deep pockets and withdrew a hunk of metal which he dropped into my waiting hands.

"Is this …?" I frowned at it, my eyes widening in realisation. "You stole it from the bombsite!"

He looked unconcerned. "Those New Yevon Robes won't miss it."

"It's – it's … it's evidence!" I blurted.

"Yeah, well now it's our evidence," he dismissed it with a decisive wave of one hand. "You don't think it was the only one, do you?"

"Of course not! But … well, it could be the only intact one, you know?"

He shrugged. "Well then we'll just be one step ahead of them, right?"

"But – "

He reached out and took me by the shoulders, forcing us both to a standstill. "Rikku, do you want to Al Bhed to take the fall for this?" he asked me seriously, his single eye boring into mine with a level of intensity that Gippal rarely displayed.

"Of course not!" I replied indignantly. Why did he think I was here?

"Well then you're gonna have to accept that some of the things we're gonna do will be … a little unethical."

I fixed him with a scornful look. "Hey – I'm the one who defied Yevon and became a wanted criminal. I kidnapped my own cousin for Spira's sake. I think I understand the need to be unethical."

"And there I was thinkin' I was gonna have to teach you – hey! You kidnapped Yuna? Where was I when that happened?"

"Training in the Crimson Squad."

"What – you were fifteen?"

I rolled my eyes. "I've been telling you for years Gippal. I'm not a child anymore."

"I guess not," he murmured, still watching me. I wish I could tell what he was thinking but he had always been difficult to read, even as a child. He had been wily and unpredictable, his only constant the all-consuming urge to tease me at every given opportunity. He really hadn't changed that much in the years that I had been working on the salvage ship and then as Yuna's Guardian and he had been training in the Crimson Squad with Baralai and Nooj.

He has really, really brilliant eyes, I thought as I gazed back at him. Or eye – to be more exact. I mean, I've always been aware that Gippal would probably turn out to be a pretty attractive guy – he'd been a cute kid, you know? But I have to admit that when I met him again, back in Djose temple with Yuna and Paine, I was surprised at how well he'd turned out.

It's just a shame he doesn't have the personality to match.

Why am I even thinking about this? Especially considering everything that has just happened! I must be confused – that's the only explanation for it and …

Hey – is he checking me out? Is he looking at my … oh Spira – this is so embarrassing! What does he think he's doing?

I hurriedly folded my arms firmly across my chest. "You just called me 'Rikku'," I said suddenly, partly because I had only just registered the fact and partly to get the conversation going again. My voice came out strangled and I cleared my throat self-consciously, willing myself not to blush.

His eyes darted up to my face and when he saw my expression I was rewarded with the flicker of alarm that graced his normally good-humoured expression. Then he recovered and he gave me a funny look. "Well of course I called you Rikku. It's you name isn't it?"

Suddenly the scarf seemed like a really good idea.

"Well isn't it? I could always call you somethin' else … but that might get a bit confusing." He spoke a little too quickly and his words seemed slightly strained but before I could think of appropriate comment to play the situation to my advantage, he swiftly changed the subject.

"What do you make of it?" he indicated the remains of bomb.

I had forgotten that I still held it but now I raised it up to my face and squinted at it. "Definitely of Al Bhed manufacture," I concluded with a sigh. "More so than this mark –" I tapped the faded remains of some kind of logo, " – which is definitely Al Bhed. The wiring inside … I could have made it myself."

"Any Al Bhed could have," Gippal surmised when I glanced up to gauge his reaction. He was staring at the shattered bomb thoughtfully and when he reached across and picked it up, I didn't complain.

He turned it over in his hands and I quickly saw that he was focusing on the faded logo that I had been unable to identify. "Do you think that's the mark of the manufacturer?" I asked.

"I'm not sure – oh uh." He stopped turning the bomb and held it in a specific position, angled away from me.

"Uh oh?" I had sudden images of the bomb exploding. "What do you mean 'uh oh'?

"Er – nothing," he said unconvincingly.

I tapped my foot impatiently against the floor. "Gippal."

"It's nothing, really."

My arms unfolded and my hands found my hips. "Gippal."

"Honestly."

"Gippal!" I said for the third time, in a tone that broached no argument. "Tell me what that 'uh oh' was for."

He sighed theatrically. "You know Cid's girl, you're really very nosy."

"I thought you were calling me Rikku now?"

He winked at me. "So I'm unpredictable. But that's what you love about me, isn't it?"

"Gippal!"

"Okay, okay …" he rolled his eyes and muttered something about 'pushy women', but he did finally give me my answer so I let him off. He transferred the bomb to his left hand and held up his right, turning it so I could see the inside of his wrist.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" I asked.

"See the emblem?" He moved his wrist closer and suddenly I could see what he was talking about. Adorning his glove on the inside of his wrist, picked out in some kind of embroidered thread, was an insignia that I instantly recognised.

"That's the sign for the Machine Faction," I told him, adding, "which you already know because you're their leader – what's going on Gippal?"

Silently, he held out the bomb to me once more, twisting it so that I was looking at a specific side. "What am I – oh …" I trailed off and took the bomb from him, glancing from it to his wrist and then back again. "Is this …?" I didn't quite want to say it.

He nodded grimly. "The emblem of the Machine Faction. I hadn't noticed it at first – not until you pointed it out – because it's so damn faded. But now … well, there's no denyin' it."

"This is bad, Gippal. This is really bad."

"You think?" He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eye briefly. When he opened it again he seemed filled with a new resolved. "It doesn't change anythin'."

I didn't exactly agree. "When they find the other bombs and they discover this mark … Gippal – people are going to think it was you!"

"E ghuf!" (I know!) he returned sharply, unconsciously covering the emblem on his wrist with his other hand. "Which gives us even more incentive to find out who's really behind this, yeah?"

"Yeah, but – " I don't know why I was protesting so much. Perhaps it was the thought of this whole mess being placed at Gippal's feet. Perhaps it was the unwelcome idea of having to continue on alone if he was arrested. Or maybe I was just scared.

"Hey – " he reached out and lifted my chin with one finger so that I would meet his eyes, " – this is still an Al Bhed problem, right?"

I nodded, which is quite difficult to do when someone's holding your chin up.

"So we're so gonna investigate, right?"

Again I nodded.

"Then what's the problem?"

It was a fair enough question but my problem was, it didn't exactly know the answer. Something about the idea of Gippal being in danger, well – it woke my protective instinct, the same one that had reared its head during Yuna's pilgrimage and the search for Tidus. I don't know why because Gippal certainly wasn't a member of my family, like Yuna or Brother, and he wasn't a friend, like Tidus or Paine … so where did that leave him?

"Rikku?"

"There is no problem," I said quickly. "You're right. This is still a situation that Al Bhed need to deal with … so let's deal with it." I quickly stepped away from him and hefted the bomb in both hands. "If this thing is made by the Machine Faction then we should go to Djose Temple, you know?"

He was so easily distracted. "Yeah, but I'd hate to think that anyone I employ could have done this."

"Because you have such high standards and a prolonged interview system," I mused, recalling the rapid-fire interview that myself, Yuna and Paine had been put through by Gippal before we were allowed to dig in the Bikanel Desert. A blind Chocobo could have passed that interview.

"You were a special case," he corrected me, obviously following my thoughts. "I'm not always so lenient."

"Special, eh?" I cocked my head to one side and watched him, feeling flattered. Gippal was complementing me … was he ill?

"I was talking about Yuna."

He quickly dispelled those illusions. "Oh, yeah – of course."

I felt oddly jealous of my cousin just then. High Summoner Yuna, the most famous woman in Spira – surely by now I was used to her getting all the attention? And besides, this was Gippal. Who cared what he thought?

"Yeah, she drew in some big rewards by goin' on that dig," Gippal carried on regardless. "Savin' the Cactuar Nation and all that."

I resisted the urge to point out that Yuna hadn't done that single-handedly. "You heard about that?"

"Nhadala told me."

I remembered the sharp-tongued Al Bhed woman that we had met in the desert. "I don't think she liked us very much," I admitted doubtfully.

Gippal laughed. "That's just Nhadala for you – she's a bit prickly if you don't know her."

Suddenly I tired of the whole conversation. I didn't want to talk about Yuna, or Nhadala or any of the other women that Gippal seemed to hold in high esteem. I told myself that it was because the subject had nothing to do with our investigation and some part of me almost believed it.

I was searching around for another, safer topic – though why I was agonizing over a conversation with Gippal, I can't say – when we rounded another of those endless corners and found ourselves in the vicinity of the explosion. It wasn't that I recognised the area or anything but the piles of rubble and milling people were evidence enough, you know? I think we'd approached from a different direction and I briefly wondered how it was that Gippal knew Bevelle well enough to navigate his way here with such ease. By all accounts, he'd been busy with his work both before and after the defeat of Vegnagun.

"Well, here we are."

"I thought you said there wouldn't be any other people here."

"With a blast this big?" He gave me a mocking look. "Are you serious? I just meant there wouldn't be an investigative team yet."

"Then how are we meant to examine all of this," I waved my arms wildly to encompass the destruction, "with everyone watching us?"

He grinned at me. "One of the first rules of subterfuge is to hide in plain sight. With all these people already around, no one's gonna think twice when we start pokin' our noses in."

His backwards logic actually made a strange kind of sense and I sighed, unwilling to argue anymore. "Come on then."

"Oh hey – I'd better take that back before you're arrested." He indicated the broken bomb that I was carrying under one arm. I passed it to him, our fingers barely grazing and yet as he busied himself with returning it to his pocket, I used the time to contain the blush that had risen in my cheeks.

Blushing every time Gippal came near me – this was getting ridiculous! I didn't understand it; I didn't really want to understand and I certainly didn't have time for it considering what had happened.

It was best to keep myself focused on finding out the truth behind the explosion.

Right?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

As always, read, review and enjoy : )