Hey, it's been a while but I've been busy. This will most likely be the last one for this month. I'm sorry but my mom said I should "balance out" my time and do something different besides going on the computer. Plus, I have a hectic Christmas waiting for me. I need a break.
Shutsumon: You know what, I was thinking about finishing the whole thing then redrafting…I'm kind of lazy though, so I don't think I'll do it, lol.
I know you didn't say my writing sucked but you know what I meant. It's hard to write stuff down and have it all nice and neat, with big words and complicated sentences you can barely understand…anyway that beta reader you suggested is a good idea. I don't think I want to do that right now though, after all, I am just doing all this for the fun of it. It is good practice though…well, maybe I'll get a beta reader someday but just not right now.
Gothictomboy: Hope you like action. Although I don't think my action writing is too good I'm going to give it a try. It'll be good practice anyway.
Fatlazicat: Sorry about that. I'll try to add in more romance. I can't do it all the time though; there are other elements in the story that are important besides fluff. Oh, and about the quotations, I might have messed up a little but I only did that because it was the same person talking and paragraphs make me, as well as other people, dizzy.
Chihiro breathed in the salty air. The ocean was a clear blue, stretching for miles. The sun was out, shining brightly, making the ocean sparkle and gleam.
Chihiro leaned on the boat's fringe and stared into the shining sea. She closed her eyes and soaked in all the beauty of it.
"So, this ship is headed to Bane City, right?" inquired Kuja.
"It should be." Rio answered. "Then from there we should walk about five miles north and find the ruins."
"How do you know so much about this?" Kuja asked
"Let's just say I have connections…that and I have more knowledge then twenty sages put together." Rio said confidently.
"Well then, Mr. I know everything, do you know where Haku is?" Kuja said, flickering his long eyelashes.
"Of course. He's on the boat."
"Haha, very funny. But seriously, where is that guy? It's like he disappeared into thin air." Kuja said, looking around.
"Ask Chihiro, she might know." Said Rio.
Chihiro? Oh, I will… "Okay." Kuja said, getting ideas.
Kuja found Chihiro staring at the ocean, day dreaming away.
He came up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and gave a faint smile.
"Hi." She said nervously.
"Hey." He started scanning her from head to toe. "So, what are you up to, Chihiro?" Kuja asked, in a flirtatious way.
"Uh, nothing, j-just relaxing, enjoying the air. You know…" Chihiro felt a little uncomfortable but she tried to act like normal.
"You bored? Want to have a little fun?" Kuja said suggestively.
"N-no, no. I'm fine. I'm not really bored. I'm having a good time just relaxing anyway. I'm taking a break. You know how Haku orders me around and stuff." She said, laughing for a moment but stopping, realizing it wasn't even that funny.
"Oh yeah," Kuja remembered. "Where is Haku anyway?"
"Oh, I think he's up front, near the captain's room." Chihiro said.
"Thanks a bunch. Say, has Haku been really mean to you? I know he's not the nicest guy sometimes. I could punch him one for you if you want." Kuja said, forcing a fist on an open hand.
"Well I am his slave. He doesn't always treat me well…. it wouldn't really matter much to me. But thanks anyway." Chihiro said, forcing a smile.
"Your welcome. Just remember, if you need anything, just give me a holler and I'll give it to you." He took a step closer and whispered in her ear. "Anything you want…anything at all." He said, making Chihiro even more nervous.
Chihiro gave a faint smile, and nodded ok. With that he left to go find Haku.
Kuja found Haku standing at the front edge of the boat. He was looking at the ocean attentively, seeming to be alert of some sort of danger.
"Hey Haku, what's going on? Is there a monster in the ocean?" Kuja joked.
"Yes." Haku replied.
"No really, what are you up to?" Kuja laughed.
"I'm serious. There's a creature in these waters." Haku said gravely.
Kuja looked at him and realized he wasn't lying.
"What! Wait, wait, wait…are you telling me that we're going to be attacked?"
"Possibly. I'm not sure what sort of creature it is exactly but it's dangerous. It's moving under the water. It may not attack us but there's a good chance it will notice us and start heading in." Haku said.
"Oh no…so what do we do?" Kuja asked.
"It may just be a false alarm. Don't worry about it." Haku said.
A second after he said that, Haku turned his head sharply towards the direction of the beast.
"Leviathan…" Haku whispered.
"Oh no…you can't be serious. What the heck are we supposed to do!?" Kuja said, getting frustrated and anxious. Haku thought quickly of a plan.
"Kuja, get Rio, quick now! We don't have much time!" Haku ordered. "Tell Chihiro to get up here too. We need all the help we can get!"
"But Haku, Chihiro is just a human! She might get killed!" Kuja yelled.
"She's been trained by Zeniba! Listen, she'll be in danger anyway. The whole ship will be in danger! Do you know how big this monster is?!" Haku shouted.
The waves started to rise. A huge screech then radiated to the ship and it's passengers' ears.
"Hurry!" Haku said. A loud shriek echoed from under water. "Go!" Haku ordered.
With that Kuja left to find them. Haku, stayed his ground, powered up, and stood on the front of the boat, waiting for the monster to show itself.
Meanwhile, Kuja tried to find Chihiro and Rio. When he finally found them, Chihiro was entering the deck below and Rio was making sure she got down there safely.
"Wait Rio! Chihiro! You need to get over here!" Kuja shouted.
Rio and Chihiro heard Kuja calling so they came running towards him.
"What's going on?" Chihiro asked.
"Listen." Kuja started. "The monster is a Leviathan. Haku's going to battle him. We need to get over there now and help him!" Kuja gave a quick look at Chihiro and reluctantly told her that she had to risk her life also.
"Chihiro, you need to help out too. I don't know why, but I guess it's safer with us instead of trying to hide. The Leviathan might attack other parts of the ship. It's best if you stick with us. Now let's go!"
"Wait, Kuja! Are you sure we are dealing with a Leviathan?" Rio shouted, as the boat jerked and a loud screeched echoed. They regained their balance and Kuja answered.
"I have no clue, but Haku swore there was something big under the water. Now let's hurry!"
Rio nodded and hurried to the front along with Chihiro and Kuja. They made their way through the terrified bunch of darting passengers and found Haku. As they spotted him, a large figure of water blasted up and faced Haku.
"Look!" A woman shouted, as she stepped out of the captain's room. "Caesar, move the boat! Tell them to get the weapons ready! And you! Get to your post! We need everyone to get moving or else this ship will go down! Get moving now!"
The crewmember saluted. "Yes Captain Nathalia! Right away!" With that the crewmember signaled the others to ready the battle stations.
Chihiro, Rio, and Kuja ran towards Haku. "You think they'll be able to stop the monster with those weapons?" Chihiro asked Kuja.
"No way in this world. It may put a few scratches if they're lucky but there's no way." Kuja made a dramatic pause and then continued.
"We need to step in!" Kuja shouted, as the three of them joined Haku's side.
"What took you so long?" Haku asked, as he was still powering up his energy.
"Leviathan, I heard, has a weak spot. He never opens his mouth under water. It's an instinct of his." Haku said.
"Why would that matter?" Chihiro asked. Seeing as nobody answered, and that they were focused on the battle, she backed up away from the monster's range and started to chant protection spells.
The monster stared at the three warriors standing before him. He screeched and put one giant claw on top of the boat. With the other one he tried to smack the team but they dodged the attack. Chihiro barely dodged it. It was a good thing she was out of close range.
Rio and Kuja looked at Haku. Haku moved his eyes to look at them both, making sure they had his attention. As soon as Haku looked at the monster and nodded, Rio and Kuja charged. Haku then flew up in the air to face the beast head on.
Rio and Kuja flew up and crisscrossed each other while in the air (to try and confuse the enemy a bit-it was part of an old formation they made up.) and started attacking.
Kuja threw a continuous assault of energy balls, like a machine gun. His war cry echoed throughout the boat as he gave his all.
Rio chanted a spell of fire and aimed at the monster's long neck. "Fu-fu-eh-go…Fyraga!" A big hoard of flames then suddenly blazed from Rio's outstretched hand and injured the beast's neck.
Chihiro kept chanting protection spells on the three fighters, which strengthened the already strong barriers.
Haku chanted a fire spell and his hand blazed with a large, bright blue flame. He sent out a loud war cry as he gave a strong uppercut to the beast. The monster screeched again, as he got wounded.
"Who are these people?" Nathalia wondered, as she saw the team at work, along with a human girl.
The tall pale woman stood there, all tense. She had long violet hair and dark eyes. Though her face appeared innocent, she could be forceful and strong when she wanted to. She wore long black boots, a tight white T-shirt, a dark purple uniform jacket, and a short skirt to match.
She was a good and successful captain. Nothing had ever stopped her before and she certainly would not be stopped now. She was determined to save the ship.
"Caesar, keep steering the ship! I'm going to fire the main cannon!" She said to her Co-Capt.
She rushed up a ladder to get to the highest part of her ship where the cannon was. She rushed over to it and started to press buttons. She aimed very carefully.
The monster became enraged as the three sprits attacked him with energy balls and punches. Chihiro soon made the three spirits seemingly indestructible with those barriers.
Chihiro paused her chanting.
She was getting tired. It was a good workout but it she had to stop or else she would drop.
She breathed deeply and kept watching the three warriors in their melee with Leviathan.
She started wondering what Haku meant by saying that the monster had a 'weakness' and that it doesn't ever open it's mouth under water. She watched the fight closely.
She saw the monster open its mouth widely to attack Haku. It suddenly did something totally unexpected. It breathed fire. Haku was fortunate enough to have a good barrier so the flames didn't affect him.
Chihiro started to understand but she was still unsure. Water can stop a fire, true, but it can't always stop the source. She wondered at how water would affect the beast's fire breathing at all.
She began to observe the beast's large mouth. When it screeched loudly, mouth open all wide, she saw two tubes on the walls of his mouth, behind the teeth. As the monster breathed fire, she noticed that those two tubes spit out chemicals that came together and reacted. Flames were the result.
"Hmm…this is where my boring chemistry class comes in. But I think I know exactly what to do!" Chihiro exclaimed to herself.
The three warriors were getting tired. The Leviathan wasn't easy to kill. It was practically impossible. They soon backed away from the monster and did long range attacks with small energy balls.
BANG! Nathalia had shot the main cannon straight at the monster's head. Though it hit him between the eyes, it didn't seem to harm the beast at all.
Nathalia clench her teeth. She slid down the ladder quickly and addressed the whole crew with a small mega phone. "All crewmembers! Don't waste your ammo! Close the battle stations! There's nothing we can do…" Nathalia felt hopeless. She knew her only chance was the mysterious group of fighters so she just hung tight, watching them fight.
The three warriors started to get fatigue. Kuja stepped out first to rest. Rio tried to gain the enemy's attention so that he could buy his companions some time. Haku kept throwing punches and kicks, getting even more tired with each blow.
As Haku gave a powerful kick at the animal's head, the beast figured out Haku's next move as part of a pattern. Haku started to charge towards the monster's heart (to try and finish it off) but the monster raised a claw and thrashed Haku's entire body, sending him towards the deck.
"Haku! Oh no Haku!" Chihiro yelled as he hit the wooden floor with a loud thump. Chihiro was tired from creating strong barriers, yes, but seeing Haku get clobbered made her forget fatigue. She powered up as much as she could.
She rose both arms into the air, moved them in a circular and mystic motion (sort of like a gypsy), shot them towards the sky, and let one arm drop to her side. With the other arm, she pointed at the creature, let out a yell to strengthen the attack, and sent water into the beast's mouth. The large blast of water went from her finger, all the way to his big mouth.
This attack caught Leviathan by surprise. He thought the human was totally harmless. As soon as he felt the water enter his tubes for making flames, he hid away in the water and escaped to somewhere far, far away.
Chihiro realized she had just defeated yet another monster. She jumped up in glee and shouted her victory.
Rio and Kuja landed by Haku, as he got up from the ground.
Rio stepped up to her first. "My, my…there is more to this human girl then meets the eye." Rio said, winking at her.
Chihiro smiled, proud of herself for what she had done. Then Kuja ran over, picked her up, and squeezed closely and tightly.
"Chihiro! You were awesome! I would have never expected that from a human at all. I thought all humans were weak." Kuja said, letting her go so she could breath. "You sure proved me wrong." He said, placing a hand on her head.
Chihiro gasped, trying to regain some air. He put his arm around her and said, "Don't worry from now on. As long as you stick with me, I got your back." Kuja felt like holding her slender body one more time but didn't want to suffocate her so he just kept his arm around her, smiling brightly. Chihiro just blushed a bright red.
She felt comfortable but knew there was only one person she wanted to be held by: Haku. It was a random thought circling through her mind so she just shook it off. She thought herself just a friend and nothing else. He was going to kill her after all.
"Excuse me!!" Nathalia shouted, as she ran towards the heroes. "This was indeed a job well done. You have saved my ship, not to mention many lives (including mine). I am eternally grateful."
"Your very welcome." Kuja answered. "Glad to be of service."
"Miss, what is your name? Are you the captain of this ship?" Rio asked.
"Why yes I am. I am Captain Nathalia Viva. I don't suppose there would be some way of repaying you now would there?"
Rio, Kuja, and Nathalia conversed for a while. Chihiro soon noticed Haku. He was quite injured and she got worried. She slipped away from Kuja's arm and went to him.
"Quite a performance, spec…"Haku murmured, as he forced himself to stand upright.
"Are you okay, Haku? You got hit pretty bad…" Chihiro worried.
"I'm fine. That hit was nothing. You think I can go down so easily?" Haku said, giving a faint smile. "I didn't need help. I had Leviathan right where I wanted him. He didn't stand a chance." Haku said, trying to regain some dignity.
Chihiro smiled and laughed. "Well I'm glad your okay!"
Haku smiled back, feeling a rush of heat in his face. He was blushing yet again. This human girl was getting the better of him.
"Chihiro, can I tell you something?" Haku asked, feeling the same way as he did before when she helped defeat Flare.
"Yes, anything." Chihiro said hopefully.
"Well um…" Haku then felt a pain on his chest and clasped his hand on it. He felt biting pain and fell on the floor. He breathed in deeply and gasped for air, as if he was suffocating.
"Haku! Oh no…Rio! Kuja! Help, Haku's hurt!" Chihiro said.
Rio and Kuja, along with Nathalia rushed over. Rio and Kuja helped him up.
"The infirmary is below. I'll show you where it is." Nathalia said.
They then rushed down to the infirmary to tend to Haku's wounds.
Well guys. I think that's the last one for this month. By the way, I'm doing something new: I need at least five reviews for any chapter before I move on to the next. Sure I'll keep updating but it'll only be once a month. I'll speed up if I get five reviews from you guys.
By the way, Leviathan was a creature that actually existed. People must have labeled him a dragon. Then all these people come up with wings, knights and i dunno wat else. I think it could be the loch ness monster too…the one up in Scotland I think. I'm not absolutely certain, but I'm pretty sure of it.
Well…that's about it…Merry Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and whatever else you might be celebrating.
Don't forget to R&R!!!