To cure any false expectations: these couples will NOT happen

Zidane X Ari

Kuja X ANYBODY

Garland X ANYBODY

Blank X Zidane (no shounen-ai at ALL for that matter…)

If any more that comes up, I will be sure to cure you of any more false expectations. THESE couples, however, are guaranteed to come with extra CUTENESS!

Blank X Ruby (whee! )

Zidane X Garnet (duh)

Eiko X Vivi (not much, buthey, they're just kids!)

Steiner X Beatrix (not my preference, but I'll go with the game….)

Once again: there will be NO SHOUNEN-AI! For those of you who don't know, Shounen-ai is Japanese for –Guy- X –Guy- love (I think) and there will NOT be any in this fanfic, nor any other of my works. -Glare-

Another thing that will absolutely NOT happen is Kuja X Garnet. That, to me, is the utter meaning of the word 'sick'.

ONE FINAL NOTE: 'Bonding' as this chapter is called, will be short. However, there will be a 'Bonding' chapter on every plain, between the Evil Forest and the Ice Caves, and then the Ice Caves and Dali, and so on.

And finally, here's the chapter!

Bonding

Suddenly Ari stiffened and turned away from Zidane, though tears still streamed down her face. She went over to the camp, where Vivi was just recovering from shock, (A/n: I just realized I left him outta the last chapter's ending, sorry all) Freak/Rusty was fuming, and Garnet was still unconscious. Ari sighed, wiping at her face, and sat down next to Garnet, just…watching her.

Garnet rolled over, moaning. Ari just stared as she heard yelling between Freak and Zidane going on behind her.

"Hey, Zidane, she's awake," Ari called without turning around. Garnet sat up suddenly, holding her head. Zidane turned and broke out into a grin, all tears forgotten. Ari sighed, removing the grief from her features, as well. Garnet looked between the two of them, then at Vivi, then finally at Freak.

"Steiner…what happened?" She mumbled, shaking her head to clear it. Ari made a mental note of the name, too.

"You were unconscious, and I rescued you!" Steiner declared proudly.

"Yeah, right," Zidane snorted, "it was my dagger and Vivi's magic, not to mention Ari's skill that got you outta there, Princess." He smiled at her playfully, almost like a child.

"I thank you all," Garnet mumbled. Steiner seemed to be mouthing profanities, his face turning purple.

"P-princess! You aren't actually going to believe this thief!" Steiner demanded, and Ari could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

Garnet merely nodded, and Zidane stepped in. "Well, I think we should all get some rest for the night," he declared.

"Are you mad!" Steiner nearly shouted, "We are in the mist! People go mad down here! And the monsters it spawns! Princess, we must leave at once!"

Zidane, now also getting his temper up, yelled right back, "And what do YOU suggest we do, oh mighty sir Rust-a-lot? We're in the middle of a valley, and last time I heard south gate was closed. Garnet is still weak!"

"Well…yes…but…" Steiner stammered.

"Steiner! State your sworn duty!" Zidane ordered.

"To protect the heir to the throne, Princess Garnet til Alexandros!" Steiner declared, saluting, and then his shoulders fell. "Oh alright, I will keep watch for the night," he muttered, turning red.

"Good," Zidane smirked, sitting down next to Ari. Vivi was already asleep as they all drifted off, with Steiner keeping watch.

"Kupo!"

"Mmmph…Go away…" Ari grumbled, rolling over.

"That was amazing, Kupo!" The 'thing' called again.

That got Ari to sit up, and her blurry eyes scanned over a Moogle. A weird little creature with a body that looked like pink pompoms, complete with a pompom on a stick on top. (A/N: Just search for 'FFIX Moogle' on google images and you'll see)

"What was-?" She started.

"You're the first ones I seen to get out of the forest alive, kupo!" The Moogle announced.

"Well, then, you should look harder," Ari mumbled as Zidane stepped past her.

"I want you to have this, kupo! It's a Moogle flute, kupo! Just blow in it any time on the world map and one of us will come, kupo!" The Moogle explained excitedly, handing a stick with holes in it to Zidane, who stared at it then passed it back to Ari, saying, "you figure that out, Ari, I dunno how to work it."

Ari held the beautiful piece of work in her hand; she had only seen a scarce few flutes on the whole continent. Smiling slightly, she tucked it into her jacked along with the other special things she carried.

"Alright, let's go, everyone." Zidane announced, earning himself some stares. Shifting his tail around nervously, he continued, "I looked at that map Blank gave us, and there's a cavern to the south of us that should take us out of the mist."

"Alright," Garnet agreed, "let's go, then."

Ari stood up shakily, putting out a hand that landed on Garnet's shoulder to steady herself. "Err, sorry about that," Ari mumbled, pulling her hand away quickly. Garnet merely smiled and nodded, and then they were on their way.

Nobody actually noticed that Freak had been left behind, until he ran up behind them, screaming out, "Princess! Priiiincess!" Garnet turned around, sighed, and waited for him to catch up. Vivi resettled his hat as they waited, his big yellow eyes glancing around at them all, almost nervously.

Finally Freak caught up, and as soon as he did he doubled over, gasping. It was clear he didn't work out at all. Ari sighed, turning to keep walking, and so she did. Garnet put her hands on her hips, and man, if looks could kill…

'…Well, at least we wouldn't have to deal with Freak anymore,' Ari thought to herself, and then noticed that nobody was following her away from Freak. Turning to yell, or glare, or something, Ari merely stared as the Freak got up slowly, his face all red from either exhaustion, embarrassment, anger, or maybe all three. In any case, they were soon all on their way again, Ari fiddling with her flute while Garnet looked over her shoulder, Freak glaring at Zidane, and Vivi just…well…being Vivi.

Tada! I hope you liked that, but if you don't, please don't hesitate to flame me! The lack of them has made me nervous… What if you're all lying? OO

Please review! Your reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Oh, don't forget to check out my profile, it's been updated, and let me know if you think I should do Inuyasha or not!