Chapter 3: Enter the Men

I don't own FFX-2, though I wish I did! I would be filthy, stinking RICH!

Hey! Thanks for the reviews! This one is going to be good. Or at least I hope it will be good. It will be kind of long though. I can't seem to shorten it, and I want to bring Gippal into the act. Alrighty, here we go again...

Having tea in the kitchen of the Sun Rose was always informative. Elizza seemed to know a lot about what was going on in Luca and with its residents. For example, the café owner's daughter was secretly dating the keeper of the Luca GoersThis needed to remain secret because the café owner didn't approve of Blitzball or the players. The two were in love, but her father stood in the way of any potential future together. So the keeper always dressed up as a masked Al Bhed whenever he went on a date with his girlfriend. (For some reason, the father considered an Al Bhed worthy of his daughter.) Where did the idea for this scheme come from? Elizza. She was the one every young couple went to for advise; not just about romance, but about general things too (Names were never mentioned in conversation, and there are several cafes now, so it was safe to give out some tidbits.) People knew this, and did not bother her to ask for gossip.

Elizza told Rikku what little she did because Rikku had no use for gossip. She did not know or care who was dating whom. She was there to have fun. And eat sticky-buns fresh from the oven. Elizza was privy to many secrets, and yet she only had the best intentions for giving advice. She wanted people to be happy and content. Thus the reason the Sun Rose was such a welcoming place. Especially the kitchen. It was always open to midnight snacks, so long as it was the pantry that was raided, not the refrigerator.

"So, have you spoken to that young man you told me about? The one from Home?" Elizza asked after the second cup of tea.

"Yea, but he didn't seem too interested. He just treated me like when we were little. The big oaf." Rikku said with a semi-angry huff at the end.

"I'm sure he will come around, dear."

"In a shoopuf's eye. He's as arrogant as ever." She replied as her head came to rest on her hands. "Besides, he only likes air-headed bimbos with big boobs."

Elizza chuckled. "He can't be all that bad if you are interested in him. You are a wonderful judge of character. Maybe he doesn't know how he feels about you yet. Boys do tend to mature slowly." She said with a smile.

"I wish you were right."

"It's not like you to be so pessimistic, Rikku."

"I know. But he never even notices that I'm a girl. All I am to him is someone to annoy. And I don't have big boobs." Rikku sighed. "I'm not much fun tonight, huh?"

"No one can be happy every second of the day, dear." Elizza said as she got up to get more sticky-buns. After setting the plate of treats next to Rikku she gave her a smile. "Raas will be home soon. Why don't you help me make dinner?"

"Yeah! I haven't cooked anything in a long time. Nothing like Al Bhed spices to rev up a meal!" Rikku gobbled up the remaining sticky-bun on her plate and hopped out of her seat. "When will Raas be back? I haven't seen him in ages."

"He'll be home in an hour or two. Let's clean up and get that towel off of your hair. It will leave a dent in it if you leave it too long."

"I keep forgetting that." Rikku mumbled as she removed towel. "Hey! That gunk really works! My hair's all soft!"

"Would you think less of me if I said 'I told you so?" Elizza asked over her shoulder.

Rikku giggled. "Nope."

Dinner was prepared with not a moment to spare. The minute it was ready, Raas came through the kitchen door and sat down heavily in one of the chairs. He perked up when he saw Rikku. "Rikku! How you been, girl?"

"Pretty good. You look like you've had a tough day, though."

"Right you are, girl. The boats from Bikanel haven't arrived, and the boss-man is pissed off about it." Raas said with a heavy sigh. Everything Raas did was heavy. He was not fat, but he was very muscular with a heavy build and small stature. It never ceased to irritate him that he had to look up at everyone, even his wife. "You should have seen him, Elizza. He was pacing the docks like a caged behemoth!"

"He wasn't rude to you, was he darling?" Elizza asked with concern.

"Nah. He's a good man. Knows better than that. I think he wasn't planning on staying in Luca for very long. Now he's stuck here for at least a week. Maybe two. Doesn't sit well with him I guess." He stopped and sniffed the air. "Mmmmm. Smells like Home! You do some cooking, Rikku?"

"Yup yup! I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

"If it tastes half as good as it smells, it'll be great."

With that, dinner was served and eaten with gusto. Raas and Rikku ate the same amount of food, which was amazing considering their difference in size. After dinner, Rikku was in such a good mood, she offered to do the dishes. The offer was politely declined, and she was sent off to bed with a small plate of her favorite cookies. Rikku was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, completely forgetting about the delicious cookies on her night stand.

The next morning...

Rikku woke to the sun shining in through her window and onto her pillow, which consequently woke her up much too early for her liking. The sun would not go away, and Rikku was too lazy to close the curtains, so she got out of bed. Oh! I still have cookies! She thought as the morning stretching was completed. Grabbing a hand full of said cookies, Rikku went into the bathroom to turn on the shower. The breakfast of champions! Nothing like cookies first thing in the morning. Once the cookies were a mere memory, she hopped in and out of the shower quickly. She wanted to get to the Blitz stadium and make use of the workout facilities. A real shower would wait until later.

Dressed in a modest tank top and loose, comfortable pants, Rikku made her way to the stadium. She hummed to herself and danced a few step every so often. As soon as she was in the gym facility, a wide smile crept onto her face. It was one thing to fight fiends all the time, but a good workout was another. She fought fiends all the time. It was great for keeping in shape, but did not do much for enjoyment unless one was sadistic enough to enjoy killing.

It was empty, and she was delighted. No one to bother me for a while. Good! She headed off to a corner set aside for stretching to limber up. After a full two days of doing nothing physically challenging, she would need to stretch. Then it was off to the race track for Rikku. She ran at a swift but steady pace, increasing her speed every two laps. By the time she was finished running, several people had trickled in. Most were men, but a few women were there too. Rikku jogged toward another corner, this one containing various pieces of sparing equipment. The oversized punching bag hanging from the ceiling caught her attention and she walked over to it.

Some of the men had migrated over to Rikku's corner, and grinned and chortled to each other about the pretty, but lightly built young woman who was going to try out the heavy weight bag.

"Careful there, sweet-cakes! You might break a nail on that thing!" One of them called to her. Rikku just smiled sweetly at him, and launched herself at the punching bag. She attacked it as though it were a fiend, dodging and darting in and around the swinging object with amazing speed. Every male that was watching dropped their jaws. 'How can a little thing like that treat that bag like a toy?' they wonder aloud and to themselves. Some shook their heads and got started training, but some stayed to watch Rikku.

She knew they were watching, and pulled out some of her more difficult moves. Not that she was showing off or anything. One has to practice to stay sharp. Soon, though, she forgot all about her audience. Her heart was pounding, and sweat covered her entire body. Rikku didn't slow down at all. Until a certain voice called out from the crowd.

"Well, if it isn't Cid's girl!" Rikku barely spared a glance at the speaker, though her heart began thumping against her ribs. It was Gippal. She didn't have to look at him to know that he was standing there with a cocky grin on his face. And looking hot as hell and knowing it too. She thought with a bit of distaste. That surprised her, considering she had spent many years trying to get his attention. At first it was just for friendship, but it had never gone any farther than that. They were great friends, but that was the problem. They were not kids anymore. Rikku did not want to be treated like a kid; and that was how Gippal treated her, like she was still ten years old.

"What do you want, Gippal?" She asked between kicks.

"Gee, someone got off the wrong side of the bed! What's eating you?"

"Nothing, punch now go away."

"Noooo, I think I'll stay a bit. You're putting on quite a show, Cid's girl. Since when have you been an exhibitionist?" He asked with that cocky grin again. This time Rikku was able to see it.

"It's not my fault, kick, kick they like to punch watch!"

This got some laughs from the guys watching her, and resulted in a puzzled frown from Gippal. Rikku never talked that way to him. It was always teases and banter, not 'go-away-you-bother-me'. She didn't think he knew what to make of it. This made her smile. Rikku, one, Gippal, zilch!

"You sure are fun to watch, sweet-cakes! You gunna come here often?" Said a man from the group. It was the one who said she would break a nail. Rikku decided not to answer. She tried ignoring Gippal, but it was not easy. He knew she was a very competent fighter. They had trained together years ago. He was watching her move, like he was judging her moves.

"What are you punch looking at, Gippal? Or did you wake up punch, spin, backhand on the wrong side kick, duck of an empty bed, and only have me to kick, kick, punch look at?" That brought out a chorus of 'ouch' from the group, which now included some women.

She saw Gippal move out of the corner of her eye, and found him holding the punching bag, stopping its momentum. He had an odd look on his face, half angry, half disbelief; but that cocky grin was back a moment later. "You sure are feisty today. And what would you know about waking up in an occupied bed?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said irritably. "Now let go of the bag!"

"No."

"Suit yourself!" Rikku flew at the bag Gippal was holding with a high kick that just happened to connect with both the bag and Gippal's head. Grazed his head, actually. He stared at her for a moment in shock, and then launched himself at Rikku for an attack. She had been expecting this, and dodged neatly out of the way. It was the way they had always spared together. "I'm not in the mood for games, Gippal!"

"Yeah, well you started it. All I did was come to say hello." He made a quick lunge for her wrist and caught it, pulling her arm behind her back and her back against his chest. "You're the one in the bad mood." He said into her ear. It sent a chill down her spine, and she was angry at herself for it. I'm mad at him, for crying out loud! So she stamped down hard on the insole of Gippal's foot, causing his grip to loosen. Rikku took advantage of this and escaped his grasp, but not before getting another hit on him in the stomach. It had not been a light hit, either.

"I told you, I'm not in the mood for games! Why don't you go find one of your floozies to play with?" She snapped.

"Because none of them move like you, Cid's girl." He retorted.

"Well, I'm not moving with or for you, so beat it!" Anger was foreign to Rikku, but when it came, it came big time. "I'm sure you'll have more fun wrestling with them in bed than getting beaten up by me."

"You really think you can beat me?" he said, a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Yeah, but it would be an empty win. Nothing to gain from it."

"Oh really. Fine. You win and I'll buy you dinner. I win; you have to dance for me."

"I told you, I'm not-" she was cut off by a swift punch to the ribs and a headlock. That's it. Now I'm pissed! Rikku grabbed the arm around her neck and with a mighty heave, threw Gippal to the ground in front of her. A second later she aimed a kick at his ribs, but missed as he rolled to the right.

"That's more like it!" The two fought on, each never gaining more than a moment of superiority. Gippal would get her into a hold, and Rikku always got out of it. The fight was attracting attention, and a running commentary was going from the audience. Some were even taking bets on who would win.

"Fifty gil they kiss and make up at the end." Said one of the women. The bet was taken by her companion. Meanwhile, Gippal was starting to get an advantage. He had been fresh into the fight while Rikku was already tired out. She knew he was trying to get a specific hold on her, one she had never been able to break. Try as she might, he kept getting closer and closer to achieving his goal. He made a rolling dive over to her, trying to get her to fall, but all he got a hold of was her shirt. It began pulling her down until she wriggled out of it.

A barrage of whistles from the crowd made her look away from Gippal in surprise. It was all the advantage he needed. One moment she was standing there, the next she was face down on the mat, Gippal's knees pressing into the backs of her own, pinning them to the floor. Her right arm was twisted behind her painfully and her left shoulder was under his left hand. All his weight was on her. She couldn't wiggle her way out of this one. She was panting, and covered in sweat.

"What's the matter, can't shakey-shake your way out of this one?" Gippal said from a safe distance behind her head. A head butt would have been a great way to get out of the hold, but he knew that too. Suddenly, she got an idea. It was devious. It was something she would never have done in the past. It might just work. One of the men was counting down the hold time.

"One! Two, Thre-"

Rikku growled and lifted herself off of the floor. It was only a few inches, but it was all she needed. Gippal's left hand had fallen to the floor to support him, leaving her room to maneuver. She gave another growl and twisted her entire body over to the right, breaking Gippal's hold and causing him to fall on top of her. His face was stunned, and just stared at her. Rikku broke out a thousand watt smile, then reached up and pulled his head with her left arm and locked him in a very intense kiss.

The Rikku he knew would never have done such a thing. She would rather loose than resort to a tactic such as this. Desperate times call for desperate measures. After a moment he actually responded to the kiss, deepening it of his own accord. It was his downfall. Rikku used the last of her strength to flip Gippal onto his back and pounce on top of him. He stared at her again, not believing what just happened, when she kissed him again. She had him in a hold and he knew it; but for some reason or another he didn't try to break it. Instead his hands slid around her bare waist, pressing her closer to him.

Several men emitted a soft moan, wishing they were Gippal. The count began again.

"One, two, three, four," the man said, "four-and-one-third, four-and -one-half, four-and-three-quarters!" He was trying to give Gippal a way out. Too bad he did not take it. "Five!"

Rikku slowly pulled away, wanting to linger, but not quite daring to. She still had a thing for him, after all. Looking into his one good eye, she said in a low voice: "I think you owe me dinner."

"I think I do too." was Gippal's awed response.

Ok, what did you think? It's longer than I wanted, but who can stem the tide of genius? jk. Anywho, let me know if you like it or not. (I hope you like it. I mean, I worked hard all night on this.) And in a sad turn of events, I ran out of cookies! This is so sad! Oh well. Byes!