Hello again! Thx for the review! Now on with the story!
When Ares woke up, he was still lying in the corner near the checkpoint and the sun was just creeping up over the buildings. As soon as the streets were lighted, Bastok would burst with life and be all hustle and bustle enough for anyone. Ares stood and rubbed his eyes, then looked down at his tiny companion.
Riki lay with his eyes closed tight and his body sprawled out across the floor like a rag doll. Ares couldn't help but laugh and then, carrying the still sleeping Tarutaru slung over his shoulder, began to walk through the barren street, heading nowhere in particular. He just wanted to leave the gate. He was still confused about that strange thing that had followed he and Riki all the way from San d'Oria to Bastok and still keeping pace with them. It was not normal for a bounty hunter of any sort Ares knew to be so resilient. He shrugged the thought away apathetically.
Just as Ares made it to the auction house, the people of Bastok began to flood into the streets. Ares sat on the stairs and placed the little Taru on his shoulder down beside him, out of the way of the Bastokans and allowed him to sleep for a little while longer. He dare not stay too long though, for he had a strange feeling that something both good and bad was going to happen. Which would overweight which, he could not decide. Whether the bad overweighs the good or the good overweighs the bad, he did not know, but greatly hoped for the latter of the two.
Finally, after another half-hour or so, Riki awoke. The two then immediately set out for the residential area to rent a mog house. When they arrived there, Ares walked by the residential area guard and headed straight for his mog house, Riki following close behind. Ares entered his room and dropped down on the bed. Riki curled up on the little pillow that Ares threw to him, since it was about as long as him. The two rested for a little while longer, then got back up and left the room, giving all of their items and things, except their weapons, to the moogle. But just before they walked out the door, the moogle called to Ares. "Master, kupo! You have received mail!"
Ares turned around and took the mail from the moogle's outstretched paw. He opened it and read the message. It was only one line. It read: Meet me at the west gate in five minutes. There was no signature. Ares folded up the letter, thanked his moogle for giving it to him, and then left promptly. He was very cautious as he walked down the road toward the west gate. He was worried that the strange armored creature that had followed him was the one that sent the message, but he could not be sure. Besides, he doubted that even a heartless beast would have the sense not to kill a man in the middle of an extremely busy street. But he was still cautious, and the presence of his pint-sized friend gave him no reassurance.
"So, what was the letter about?" asked Riki. He was still rather tired and his eyelids dropped low, giving him limited vision, but enough to see what was going on around him.
Suddenly, a fist came out of nowhere and slammed Ares right in the nose. Ares stumbled back, cursing loudly. "What the vuck?!" he exclaimed, holding his hand to his nose, which was bleeding profusely. Everyone on the road turned their heads to see the scene.
Ares looked up to see a young woman, no older than he, standing before him, glaring at him. She had long black hair that reached down to the middle of her back and wore a vest and pants, a long bow strapped to her back.
"Kiana?!" Ares staggered back as the girl prowled forward, her hands on her hips. "Where have you been?!" the young woman shouted, calling the attention of even the storeowners, who came out to see what all the commotion was about. "I've been waiting here for almost a year now and you haven't sent a single message! I was so worried! I thought you might have died! I thought you actually cared about me! I guess the fact that we've been friends ever since we were born doesn't matter to you!"
"Kiana! Keep it down!" Ares said, glancing nervously at all the people watching.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she shouted, then turned away, sobbing.
Ares groaned. He hated seeing girls cry. It just bothered him a lot, and this was even worse seeing as the girl who was crying was his long time friend. He stepped forward, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder and squeezing lightly. "Kiana! Please stop crying!" The girl continued to sob. Ares came around to stand in front of her and lifted her head to see her face. She looked away when he did; closing her eyes to try and hold back more tears. Ares, thinking quickly, decided to try changing the subject.
"Hey! I got an idea! Let's go and adventure together! Doesn't that sound fun?" he asked.
Kiana looked over at him, her eyes puffy and red. She seemed doubtful at first, but then began to smile. "OK. I guess so."
Ares smiled and patted her back. "Good to hear it. But how about we get something to eat first? I'm starved!"
"Me too!" Riki exclaimed, popping up suddenly at their feet. He smiled and waved to Kiana, his tall blue hat falling over his eyes.
Kiana laughed and kneeled down, patting the Tarutaru's little head. "Hi, Riki! How are you? Have you been keeping Ares out of trouble?" she asked.
Riki nodded and Ares snorted, crossing his arms. "Yea, right! Just yesterday I saved him from a bunch of Elvaan dealers back in San d'Oria. I've been the one keeping him out of trouble!"
Kiana stood and turned to Ares angrily. "Look, I'm mad enough as it is! Now don't go making this any worse by lying to me! Riki would never do anything as low as make a bet with a bunch of bad guys!" she said, aging her finger in front of Ares' face. Then she turned and walked away, pulling Riki along with her.
Ares sighed deeply and followed, promising himself that he'd kill the little Taru as soon as he got the chance.