Home of the Heart

By: Cold Rain

Rated: PG-13 for mild violence

NOTE TO READERS: Hi, Readers! I'm in this chappie! I'm Kim, the girl in the moogle costume. My friends Brianna (the girl dressed as a chocobo with a speech impediment) and Alicia (the girl in armor) are there, too! Extra spacing between paragraphs means scene/time transitions. Oh, and I don't own Final Fantasy IX, any of the characters, etc.

DISCLAIMER: If you didn't read the Note to Readers here it is again: I don't own the Final Fantasy IX, any of the characters, etc. I just own the fanfic.

CHAPTER 4: A Party to Remember

-Vague Flashback-

Everyone except Kuja was in Queen Garnet's room. After hearing Zidane's side of the story they decided to give Kuja a chance. The next night, Garnet would host a costume party to celebrate Zidane's return; if Kuja behaves, he can stay in Alexandria.

-The Present (Party Time)-

It's finally time for the costume ball and everyone has on great outfits. Zidane, in a purple jester costume, runs around the ballroom looking at the amazing costumes. Kuja, however, is not amused. He's dressed up like Zidane usually is and he starts to think, (Why am I even at this party? I hate costumes...) His cold blue eyes scan the room with contempt until he notices Blank dressed up as a noble in red which really brings out the green in his eyes which are, for tonight, uncovered. Kuja looks amazed, (Hm, he looks good... And I never knew his eyes were green...) Zidane walks over to Kuja, who is now drooling in admiration, and follows his gaze.

"Oh, I get it..." Zidane smiles with mischief, "You think one of those girls are cute." You see, Kuja's eyes are still plastered to the exact spot where he initially saw Blank. There are now two girls standing in that area. The first girl is short, a brunette, and has blue eyes; she's wearing a moogle costume. The second girl is slightly taller, also a brunette, and has brown eyes; she's wearing a chocobo costume with a red vest. Zidane pats Kuja on the back, "Don't worry, I'll talk to them for you." Then he walks over to the girls.

Kuja then snaps back into reality and looks around, "What happened?"

"Hello, ladies!" Zidane waves at them.

"Hi," the blue-eyed girl smiles, "My name is Kim and this is m friend, Brianna."

"Farp!" Brianna smiles.

"Huh?" Zidane stares.

"I'm a chocobo with a speech impediment!" Brianna states, "Farp!"

"Um, OK..." Zidane looks toward Kuja, "You see that guy over there?" The girls lean over and look.

"Yep, I see him," Kim says.

"The one with the silver hair?" Brianna asks.

"Yeah, that's him. I think he likes one of you," Zidane says, "Either of you like him?"

"Well, I don't think-" Kim is cut off by the fact that Zidane is kneeling behind her and Brianna to look up their skirts, "Waahhh! Pervert!" WHAP! Zidane looks up at his attacker, Garnet, who is dressed up like Ruby.

"Owwie..." Zidane whimpers, "Dagger, I though you wuved me."

"I do love you," Garnet smiles, "If I didn't, I would've let them hit you."

"Yay! He's so cute!" a blue-eyed blonde in armor squeals, hugging Blank. She looks up at him, "My name's Alicia! What's yours?" Everyone stares at her in silence.

"Hi, Alicia!" Kim waves.

"Farp!" Brianna waves, too. The "Farp!" in this case either means "Hi!" or "You have a death wish!" because Kuja has been provoked into Trance. His hair fades from silver to bright red as the radiating light around him dies out. Alicia receives an icy blare from Kuja.

"Get away from him," Kuja glowers scornfully.

"Huh?" Blank gawks at the sight of the furious Genome while Alicia hides behind him, "Uh, what's going on?"

"I'll only say this one more time..." Kuja threatens, "Get away from him." Alicia is too scared to move; she has a deer-caught-in-the-headlights-of-a-car (if those actually existed) look on her face. Kuja smirks, "Time's up." He slowly walks over to Blank and Alicia.

"Hey," Blank stands in front of Kuja, "What's your problem? I didn't want to get hugged but it's not like she hurt me."

"Well I-"

"No, don't explain while I'm talking, Kuja. Don't start a fight, OK?"

"O-of course," Kuja backs off, reverting back to his normal state. The party cautiously resumes and a flustered Kuja walks onto the balcony for some alone time. He faces the cool night breeze and his eyes wander to the sky. They stop when he notices the two moons; one is red, the other is silver. He looks away in disgust; even the heavens mock him. He hears footsteps behind him and turns around to see a certain redhead looking at him.

"Hey, Kuja," Blank leans against the stone railing of the balcony, "Sorry if I embarrassed you in there."

"You didn't," Kuja states.

"Good," Blank smiles; he looks at Kuja's Zidane costume, "Heh, nice costume. What did Zidane say about it?"

"Actually, he recommended it."

"Oh."

"Hm, your costume looks good," Kuja diverts his face so no one (Blank) will see him blush.

"Thanks," Blank smiles proudly.

"In 3rd place is..." the announcer, uh, announces, "A tie between Brianna as a chocobo and Kim as a moogle." The girls walk over to the announcer and receive bronze medals.

"I have a speech impediment! Farp!" Brianna yells.

"Kupo!" Kim adds.

"In 2nd place... Blank as a noble!"

"Well, I've gotta go," Blank smiles.

"Hm," Kuja nods, waving as Blank walks to the announcer and receives the silver medal.

"And in 1st place is... Eiko as a killer doll!" Eiko receives the gold medal as Cid and Hilda, her new adoptive parents, cheer her on.

To Be Continued.

Chapter 4! Yay! Read & review, I'm begging you! No flames!