A/N: Oh my good Lord! I'm on someone's Favourites list! Joyous, happy day! -starts to dance with the still boogying Tobli- Thanks so much guys! I'm getting more reviews every chapter, so that's great incentive to keep going; and trust me, you're getting a lot more. I'm still writing as we speak and it's 40,000 words, or there abouts, so I'll probably always keep a chapter on hand, so I can meet my own deadlines, (I'm oh-so-demanding for a terminally lazy person).
Well... this chapter contains its share of fluff, random angst attacks, and the implication of a drunken ballad, which I may actually write if someone asks for it. Also, the smoochies are coming soon! -gasps- I know! It took me darned well long enough, didn't it? Reviews are still highly appreciated, they make me smile like a crazy person!
-Star99- No problem, as my only regular, you are entitled to the perks it entails. -giggles- I'm so glad you're enjoying it though, and I know, school really does suck, but heck, I get to drop Economics soon! -cheers feebly- Then I'll only have FOUR A Levels! -cries- Don't worry though, I'm still updating as quick as is physically possible!
-EdenJaded- You find me witty! -squeals excitedly- Thanks so much! I hope this chapter meets expectations too!
-K-Jaye- Yeah, I'm proud of my 'waffle iron' comment too, I'm so pleased that you liked it! I try my best to insert moments of utterly random humour or the fic'd get really bogged down in all the angst that somehow appears, but, then again, the situation's so surreal that it doesn't seem to detract too much from plot (I hope!) Thanks again!
-Jezzi- I'm gonna interpret that review in two ways: 1). The fic is good, your keyboard was just being stupid, 2). My mad authorz skillz are godlike... I think I like number two best... -giggles- Don't worry, I'm not being mean, at the best of times I miss the keyboard and end up creating a travesty disguised as English, I just thought it was funny. Thanks for reviewing!
Chapter Five: Pain in the Ass (or Confessions (and ballads in the making) of the Hopelessly Inebriated)
As soon as we turned the bend I looked desperately to my wicked compatriot.
"Please tell me that was all some sadistic joke and you're taking me to Djose as opposed to making me a pop starlet." I begged, making Gippal laugh cruelly.
"This is way too much fun to pass up, and it'd be nice to get the old axe out again." He answered nostalgically, no doubt fantasising over whatever monstrous instrument he had constructed. Over the years I became aware that Gippal really seemed to be trying to compensate for something: he had a huge faction that served as one of the three main powers in Spira, he had an airship the size of a luxury cruise liner, he had the biggest ego on the planet, and last but not least, and in the least perverted terms I can think of, he'd got a big fecking gun, in fact, it was more the size of a tuba than a gun…
"Gippal, you're really missing the point here. I'm not a singer, never have been, never will be." I said gently, not wanting to hurt his feelings by ruining his reunion with his guitar.
"I really must be, cos you've got quite a set of pipes on you, Cid's Girl." He said honestly, which was really rather sweet, unless I'd managed to pick up some lead piping that I couldn't see… I quashed my paranoia relatively quickly before re-establishing my argument.
"Even if that is the case, I still don't sing." I said more firmly this time, making Gippal frown.
"But you were singing just now… back at Home you used to sing all the time…" He said as if I'd gone mad, which I had done, but that was beside the point. Then I cringed, remembering that Gippal didn't even live anywhere near 'the family' back at Home. It had taken my father four years of my traumatic life to actually reveal to me that when I sang in my bedroom, you could hear me half way across the desert. Back then I had already been afraid of singing in public, hence only singing in my room, but from that day onwards I clamped down on opening my mouth and only really sang when I was absolutely certain that not a single person in all the world could hear me. I was also more than a little surprised that I'd been singing, and at such volume, just then as well, but I put it down to madness and the instigator of the madness: my hubby dearest. Deciding that there was no valid way to convey my argument to Gippal and make him adopt this particular philosophy without attacking him, I was left with the options of lying, emotional blackmail, or telling him something deeply personal to me.
"That was Brother… back in the days before his voice broke…" I lied. I must admit that I have at least a better poker face than Yunie, and that I could be quite the drama queen if ever there was need for melodrama to get my way, but Gippal was a soldier, and he was trained to read anything from a person's face and body language; and to tell the truth, I really didn't want to lie to him; that and the fact that my comment really couldn't apply to the present day, because it sure as hell hadn't been Brother singing all of five minutes ago, mostly due to the fact that he wasn't even here… True to my suspicions, Gippal didn't buy it.
"Cid's Girl, will you just tell me why performing for Tobli bothers you so much? If you've actually got some reason I really don't mind if we pull out, I just thought it might be fun." He finished quietly, making me feel like someone who shot a little kid's puppy. The man had always been able to manipulate me, curse him…
"They'll laugh at me…" I replied just as softly, waiting for Gippal to do exactly what I was afraid he would. I screwed my eyes shut and waited for some snipe about us being down as a comedy routine anyway, but it never came. I was still tensed, like a soldier being court-martialled, waiting for the deafening roar of the guns. I flinched when I felt a warm, calloused hand brush some stray hair behind my ear and linger momentarily on my cheek.
"Why would anyone laugh at you?" He asked concernedly. My eyes flashed open and I gave him a disbelieving look.
"Because I'm a joke!" I cried mournfully. "I've never been good at anything that matters! I try so hard to be good enough… but I'm not… I'm not Yunie, and I'm a disappointment as a daughter, a failure as a princess, and a disgrace to the Al Bhed." I finished sadly, determined not to cry in yet another public place. Gippal adopted a look of utter shock, before his iris darkened and his eye narrowed sharply.
"Who told you this?" He asked dangerously, voice low and rough with barely suppressed rage.
"Who hasn't told me this? Every single man I've had to… schmooze with at father's balls have told me that an incompetent little thing like me would only be a danger to herself and others if left alone with machina, or put in charge of an operation, or anything that could actually be of benefit to anyone else… All the guys I worked with in salvage said I was too weak to do the work and too clumsy to do the repairs… Even as a kid they mocked me cos princesses weren't meant to be covered in grease stains." I said pitifully, not even daring to look at Gippal anymore. He remedied this by tilting my chin upwards.
"Then they were all jealous or scared of you, Cid's Girl." He said evenly, causing me to look to him in confusion. "With machina, I daresay that you could give me a run for my money. Though if anyone asks me about that I will vehemently deny it." He said with a small smile, making me giggle. "And the guys who thought you were a feeble little girl? They were afraid you'd beat the crap out of them! For Yevon's sake, you took SIN on and won!" He said in disbelief, making me puff out my chest proudly… not that it improved my cleavage much… "And as for being a failure as a princess, you're beautiful, witty and a lot more erudite than you let on, you're passionate, moral, charismatic, and you're kind as well. You're not the Lady Yuna," He started, making me wonder why he'd built me up so damn high to push the foundations out from under me like a destructive toddler with building blocks. Now I really felt like crying… "I for one, am GLAD you are not Yuna, if you were I'd have probably drowned myself in the Moonflow now for boredom. She may be the most 'celebrated celebrity', but to be brutally honest, she annoys the hell outta me." He concluded before laughing at my scandalised expression. "What?" He defended with a chuckle, "She's too nice for her own good and that makes her predictable to a fault, and the Miss. Congeniality bit she does for the fans is beginning to do my head in." He said bluntly. After a few moments of stunned silence I began to laugh like I hadn't done so in an awfully long time. After a few minutes of this Gippal began to get impatient, so I held up an apologetic hand as I tried to catch my breath. "I'm not saying I don't like her, I just prefer her in small doses." He clarified tactfully, setting me off again.
"I think I have to get a sphere recording of that, just so I can always play back to myself that one person in all of Spira would choose me over Yunie." I said in wonderment, positive that I was grinning like the village idiot.
"Of course!" Gippal said like it was obvious. "Even on a really shallow level it's quite plain to see that you're prettier." He scoffed, again making my eyes go wide as dinner plates. Hoo boy, was he racking up the respect points!
"Even though I am loathe to interrupt this plethora of compliments, a feat from you I doubt to see ever again, but there is one thing that will change your opinion of me, quite drastically." I said, attempting breeziness and failing. Gippal waited patiently for his explanation, which was just as surprising as the compliments. "It's my fault Yunie's on this stupid quest to begin with. It's my fault her lover is dead. It's my fault my best friend is dead. I made a choice that will haunt me forever, and his blood is on my hands for it. Do you find me heroic now? Am I kind for sacrificing someone else to save the world and save a summoner?" I asked bitterly.
"I think you're one of the most heroic people I know if you can carry a burden like that." He replied seriously. The tears began to prick at my eyes again and I brushed them angrily away.
"Don't you see? Because I didn't tell anyone I let him die! The Fayth who were sick and tired of dreaming snuffed out his existence like it was something as insignificant as a candle. He faded away in front of her very eyes after I stripped her Aeons from her, because I didn't tell her, because I murdered him!" I shouted, bursting into tears. Gippal looked more than ready to intervene, but, never having had any female relatives, also looked confused and unable to deal with the random crying jag. However, before he lost what dignity he may have once possessed in the process of cheering me up, he was pinned by two bandits who had each grabbed one of his arms. Instead of frightened or even mildly shocked, he just looked rather irked and tired by what seemed to be another in a never-ending list of fiascos. Still sobbing and now utterly humiliated, I tried to compose myself, furiously pushing the heels of my hands into my eye sockets.
"Don't worry darling, we won't hurt him… if he gives us what we want." One of the bandits not involved in the process of holding Gippal and evidently the leader proclaimed. Deciding to be flippant 'til the end, if I was being extremely pessimistic, Gippal rather spoiled the mood.
"I'm really sorry about this, but I don't swing that way, so you'd better get it over with." Gippal said like he was actually repentant… as if… The leader started to massage his temples to stave off a migraine. I almost felt pity for the bandit; I knew what those headaches were like firsthand. The other two just seemed to be pole-axed by the fact that Gippal was not in fact whimpering like a little girl and throwing them everything he owned. The leader then decided that it would be much easier to pick on little defenceless me, as opposed to Gippal, who was still stoically waiting for death, apart from when he was uttering stinging quips accompanied by puerile gestures.
"Look, hand over the Gil, and we'll let you live, it's as easy as that…" He said soothingly, thinking my tears were due to fright. "Now, what do you say?" He asked, smiling broadly to reveal rotten and decaying teeth, which was most unpleasant. Gippal seemed to have noticed this as well.
"I guess the thieves' union don't have a dental plan then…" He stage whispered to me, and it was all I could do to hold my smile back. Then, obviously having had enough, the leader of the merry band of vagabonds took his sword out of its scabbard and then a step towards Gippal, who wasn't perturbed in the least. I wasn't either, I was just angry. As metal flashed in the afternoon sun, Gippal broke his captors' multiple grips and spun deftly to receive only a stinging gash to his back. Eyes narrowed, I stormed up towards the head honcho, who seemed rather stunned that Gippal wasn't a massacred mess at his feet, and tapped him hard on the shoulder. When he spun around his face poetically met my fist. Crumpling to the ground in an unconscious heap, I glared at him with disdain.
"That's a pretty universal gesture for 'no'." I snarled, kicking the sprawl of limbs like a sack of potatoes. The other bandits had witnessed the whole exchange and were looking at me like I had many heads, tentacles and quite possibly also a big cannon. They made up their minds pretty quickly however, and ran, leaving their leader in the middle of the road. As soon as they vanished over the horizon I ran as fast as my short little legs could carry me to Gippal, who was sitting awkwardly on a grass verge, wearing a highly amused smirk. I sighed at his typical nonchalance and began to fiddle awkwardly with the intersecting braces that held on his shoulder armour. Unfortunately this proved beyond me and Gippal was just making things even more complicated by moving while he was laughing at me. Exasperated, I snagged a pocket knife from my boot and got ready to saw through the blasted material, which just made the infuriating man laugh harder. He twisted the central buckle at his back with an eased, practiced motion and the straps unbuckled instantaneously, making a little: ta-da, motion at his fantastic skill that I could never hope to possess, what with being really stupid. I growled in response and brusquely pulled the armour from his shoulders, only feeling slightly remorseful when he hissed as I tugged the flesh near his wound. However, as I slipped my hands under his shirt I felt an expanse of warm, smooth skin and I paled, feeling utterly embarrassed, inexperienced and useless. Gippal again made matters worse by giving me a cocky grin, daring me to prove him wrong, because I KNEW that he knew that I was as innocent as a baby kitten, and that he wasn't going to help me in any way, shape or form until I begged him to.
This was what steeled my reserve as I gripped the fabric tightly and pulled. Fortunately the stupid man decided to facilitate things by lifting his arms, but I think this was more due to how stunned he was than any conscious kindness. But if he was stunned, I was like a chocobo in the headlights. I couldn't help but stare like a poor, helpless animal frozen in place by the glare of lamps and about to become road-kill. In fact, the most accurate way to describe me at that moment would probably have been incoherent, unintelligible mush. At a very optimistic best, I probably could have lunged forward with open grasping hands, gasping a Neanderthallic 'want'. Thank Valefor that Gippal thought I was pissed at him, or I'd have never ever lived it down. He dutifully turned around and presented the broad planes of his back, which I have to say were just as delectable as his front, therefore not giving me much room for improvement on the senseless gibbering front. The tan flesh however was marred by an angry cut that extended from the base of one shoulder blade to the swell of the opposite hip. It wasn't the only scar either, I noticed sadly, for the smooth, otherwise unblemished skin showed a myriad of battle wounds like symbols on a map. Shocked back into some sense of reality, I got my trusty sewing kit out and began a brave attempt to thread the needle. I must admit it was a hell of a lot easier when I could think straight, and when my hands weren't shaking so damned much. "Nice tattoo… ex-girlfriend?" I asked enviously, but much more comfortably now firmly embedded in the well worn trench of insults. The question resulted from the inked artwork ingrained in Gippal's left shoulder. The woman was, typically, undoubtedly gorgeous, with long, flowing hair curled by an imaginary breeze as most Artistes Nouveaux were wont to do, with laughing spiral eyes and a full, beaming mouth. I was pleased to note that she was about as endowed as I was, so I guessed Gippal wasn't that much of a chauvinistic pig troll, but I was still beyond hacked off that I was engaged to a man with a beautiful woman on his back.
-Looking back on that thought, that was really creepy…-
She was enfolded in some traditional heavenly bed sheet, with large, beautiful, frayed wings that had sprouted from her shoulders. The same feathers from her back had doubled as earrings, and I fingered my own fondly, glad that Gippal agreed with my tremendous fashion sense. A long glove graced one of her slender arms, ending in a truly brutal set of talons that were fixed onto the ridiculously intricate garment with reinforcements, small slides that each long claw would fit into and were riveted into a second leather glove that perched on top of the first. What I would've given for a weapon like that two years ago. Then again, anything would've been mightily preferable to the ramshackle knuckle dusters I'd set out with. The other arm stretched out into the cleft created by Gippal's vertebrae, and the angel's outstretched hand had ironically caught something painful, for the scar was far more vivid than any of the others, the mangled flesh having knitted poorly. The scar itself looked almost like a sphere of tiny tendrils, which worried me greatly, for not many injuries came from small, round objects that cut through skin like a hot knife through butter.
"Ha, no ex of mine would take a bullet for me; they'd be the ones who were trigger happy!" He said jovially, effectively answering my question. I wiped away the sluggishly trickling blood with an antidote and was relieved that Gippal had been lucky enough to receive a clean wound. Having finally found success with the needle, I began the routine stitches. My fingers flit across the torn skin, needle weaving unsteadily after them as I tried to make the distance between each stitch as minute as I could, for I couldn't bear to see him with yet another scar.
"When did you get it done?" I asked conversationally, desperately needing to be distracted from his tantalising flesh.
"When Home was destroyed…" He said sadly, and memories of that day rose in me, but I crushed them angrily and shook them from my mind. "I'd been there, to see if I could do anything, but everyone was dead, everything was in flames. Then, I saw a group of people, and I only realised a lot later down the line that it was you guys on your pilgrimage." He said with a wry smile.
"I'm hurt that you didn't recognise little old me." I said sarcastically, smiling back.
"Well, it had been an awfully long time since I'd seen you last, and you'd really changed, Cid's Girl." He said, hissing when I stabbed him for calling me the dreaded nickname.
"You kind of have to cut your hair for salvage." I said amusedly, remembering how short it had been.
"Well yeah, but I was expecting someone with hair down to their butt." He said snootily, making me laugh.
"You should have seen it when it was in a bob!" I said in mock agony. "I looked like a man!" I cried, crinkling my nose in displeasure.
"Well, you've always been waiflike, but you're still far too cute to be a man." Gippal replied.
"Nuh-uh." I answered petulantly. "In my wetsuit that was far too big for me I got hit on by women." I said, perfectly truthfully, even though I cringed to remember. Gippal didn't defend my feminine charms because he was too busy laughing like a fool. He stopped when I stabbed him again.
"Then blame the wetsuit, cos even though waiflike you may be, when I saw you last you'd definitely filled out some." He said whilst mock leering at me, earning him a half-hearted slap on the arm.
"Doris and Pearl were still in the pre-school years back then." I said sadly, reminiscing on how unfair it was to be a flat teenager next to Lulu of all people. Gippal laughed again until he felt my warning glare aimed at the back of his head.
"If I hadn't have been ambushed by some of Seymour's minions I would have beaten that guy silly…" He muttered to himself darkly, making me giggle.
"You mean Ti? What'd he do wrong?" I asked, wide eyed and innocent, even though I knew exactly what he was referring to.
"He hurt you, and even if I didn't know you were Rikku, you were still cute enough for me to go down there, play knight in tarnished armour and kick that bottle blonde's ass." He concluded venomously.
"I think it was a good thing, it really shook me out of my schoolgirl crush, let me tell you." I said with a grin. Sure, Ti was cute and all, but he was more like the goofiest big brother you'd ever have. Apart from Brother… but Tidus was crazy in a good way… unlike Brother. Gippal craned his neck round to scowl a mighty scowl.
"You had a crush on pretty boy?" He demanded sulkily, which made me laugh.
"He reminded me of someone, that's all… Someone blonde, tanned, blue eyed, hyperactive and mad as a ferret, kinda cocksure but nice once you got past the arrogance… catch my drift?" I said, painting a rather obvious picture.
"He is still a potential threat and I declare that he lost his claim to you the moment he raised his hand." Gippal said, still rather petulantly, but I found it all highly cute. Usually I would have been beyond annoyed that someone had the audacity to dictate to me, but a jealous Gippal was really too adorable to be mad at. However, like hell I was going to let him know that.
"You do not own me Gippal… You will NOT tell me what to do." I said primly, biting the thread so close to the knot I grazed his skin with my teeth. I blushed furiously at the sudden rapid fire voice in my brain screaming at me to do it again.
"Yes I do, so yes I can…" He said smugly, before flouncing up to his feet and lugging me with him. I sighed at his childishness but I wasn't about to let the matter go.
"I don't see your name written anywhere…" I said in exasperation, which proved to be a fatal mistake. Gippal delved into one of his voluminous pockets and pulled out a large marker pen. My eyes grew to the size of chocobo eggs as I realised what he was about to do but he tackled me back to the ground before I could run. My face was in the dirt and he was too heavy to push off, so I squirmed feebly while he cackled in triumph. A moment later he was back on his feet, energetic little rodent that he is, and a second after that he'd scooped me back up as well, depositing me furiously on my own.
"Voila!" He cried happily, brandishing a sphere in front of my face. Wearily inspecting it, I saw that my skirt clad backside had been filmed, proudly emblazoned with the word: GIPPAL'S, in large, permanent, capital letters. I was sorely tempted to break his face again, but the hilarity and strangeness of the situation struck me and I just cracked up, shaking my head as I grabbed Gippal by the hand and led him down the road in search of more vagrants. "Anyway, after I got back Baralai had found me in an utter mess and decided to perform an age old male ritual of getting absolutely plastered with me. At Yevon knows when we stumbled drunkenly into a tattoo parlour. This big burly guy came up and asked me what I wanted, to which I replied proudly, 'An angel, THIS angel!' Before shoving a sphere into his hand; a sphere I'd taken from someone's rooms so I could give it back to them if they were still alive.
However, I thought this frightening man with no visible neck was a genie, there to grant my wish to make this beautiful girl appear before my eye in a clichéd cloud of smoke, so I was pretty damned surprised when he carted me to a chair, ripped my shirt off and gave me something to bite on. I may have been well and truly inebriated, but when big scary guys like that give you a strip of leather? You panic blindly for your ass's survival." He said with a shudder, making me cackle like some wicked witch that lived in a giant toadstool. "Baralai managed to calm me down somehow, a wonder that will confuse me to this day cos he was further gone than I was, but then this wench pounced on him and offered to give him a free tattoo if it was below his hip and above his knee. Baralai, thinking he had great business sense, happily dropped his trousers and defiantly asked for Paine's name to be forever inked on his backside, therefore making me laugh like some mental patient cos that meant he'd have Paine in his ass for all eternity." He continued, both of us laughing like children.
"I'd love to have a sphere for the night they finally get together…" I said with an evil grin, making Gippal laugh impossibly harder.
"Definitely, we'll have to spy on them outside the window and then call the cavalry when she flips out." He answered just as malevolently. "After he'd got it done I had to stop him from tracking down Paine and showing her the extent of his love. It was truly awful when he started to compose a ballad." He said with a chuckle.
"I'll have to ask him to perform next time I visit Bevelle." I replied with a smile.
"Oh, woe ish me?" A Hypello voice called out from somewhere in the distance. We'd obviously found our man… er… Hypello… I jogged up to the flailing blue creature that was standing in front of his cart.
"Hi! Tobli sent us and we've already cleared out some of the bandits for you!" I said brightly, trying to calm the Hypello down, even though he looked catatonic.
"You ish here to help?" He asked, momentarily ceasing in his flailing.
"Yeah, that's us, warriors come musicians, now let's go!" I cried, pumping the air with my fist. The Hypello took it all in stride, which was unsurprising, and we set off. Only one bandit tried his luck, but he quickly came to his senses when I shot a vine from the cliff face all of two inches from his head. Therefore we made it back to Tobli the little duck creature in record time, which he was glad for.
"Spectacular! Here you are, as promised!" He cried ecstatically, placing a sphere in my hand. I racked my brains for the aforementioned promise but eventually only trawled up a blank.
"Thank you very much! Our friends should be coming with the rest of… the band…" I said nervously. However, all anxiety quickly fled in the presence of Gippal's childlike smile. He flicked out his communicator with glee.
"Bring my baby to the Moonflow and make sure all of the guys get a free day so that they buy a ticket to Tobli's show, cos me and Cid's Girl are gonna blow you all away!" He said excitedly.
"The Princess? How did you con her into this?" Came the crackled question from the communicator.
"Emotional blackmail…" I muttered, making Gippal laugh.
"Anything else sir?" The communicator asked politely.
"A bass guitar and a pair of the tightest leather trousers imaginable for your boss." I said saccharinely, whilst sticking my tongue out at Gippal.
"And a PVC mini-dress for the lady." Gippal finished smoothly, sticking his own tongue out in return, making me laugh. The connection flickered out in a wash of static and Gippal turned to me, a look of askance in his expression.
"Bass guitar?" He asked simply. I shrugged in reply.
"Well, father did want to cultivate me into a refined young woman, so I was forced to play classical bass." I muttered darkly.
"You mean double bass? Those things are huge!" Gippal exclaimed in awe.
"Not quite that big, I had a 'cello." I answered simply, remembering how quickly my arm muscles developed lugging the bloody thing around. Gippal nodded in understanding and was about to ask another question when Yunie appeared in my field of vision. I waved her over and she gave me look when she noticed Gippal's state of undress, almost as if to confirm if I'D noticed. Then she quirked an eyebrow which I translated to mean: You will tell me everything later.
"Tobli, this is Yuna, Yuna, Tobli. Tobli is my new boss seeing as Gippal roped me into playing at this show of his and Yuna is my cousin… and the High Summoner." I said pleasantly, hiding a smile behind my hand as Tobli's jaw dropped, something that happened a lot at introductions with my cousin.
"You wouldn't be tempted to do another concert Lady Yuna?" He fairly begged, making me growl in rage. As a kid Yunie had never been able to hit a note as well as I could. Gippal saw my bout of jealousy and pulled my mouth into a painful grin.
"Run Yuna, while you still can." Paine wisecracked as I tried to fend Gippal off. Yunie politely declined and gestured proudly to three musicians that she'd managed to round up and recruit. Gippal wrenched his hands away when I managed to bite him, but got his revenge by pinching me hard on the arm. I squeaked in pain and glared nastily at my assailant, who took off running as I brandished one of my pistols. I had a good laugh when one of his own men almost ran him down on a small scooter however, so I forgave Gippal, it was just his own messed up way of cheering me up anyway.
"This is really not a clever way to win the trust of your esteemed leader…" Gippal muttered whilst brushing imaginary dirt from his ass, seeing as he'd landed pretty hard on his posterior after jumping out the way of the speeding vehicle.
"I'm really sorry to interrupt." Yuna started uncertainly after containing her laughter, "but Brother's decided that we're giving the sphere back, and I wanted us all to be there to come to… an appropriate decision." She said reluctantly. I winced as I remembered the contents and shot a repentant glance to Tobli.
"I'll be back, you can count on it, I just need to handle this first." I promised, a decision that was hastened when I saw the PVC mini-dress. Even dead I'd be too embarrassed to be seen in it. Gippal decided to come too though, having witnessed my abhorrence of the dress, if it could be called that, as a security measure, meaning he knew I was going to run for it the first chance I got.