Nggggggg… idk if I should be writing this chapter right now. Lol
Kinda got a bit of writer's block goin' on.
Dangit.
-Lovely Catastrophe
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Chapter Ten: Altercations and Solidarity
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The girls had been walking for about an hour at the most, having just left Wonderland behind and hot on the trail of the Imagi. Kairi was enjoying the peace and quiet for the most part, but she knew that it wouldn't last long…
"I'm tired of walking!" Rikku shrieked out of the blue, her lips turning into a pout. "Can't we stop and rest?"
The Princess looked back at her, a lazy grin gracing her features.
"We haven't even been walking for more than an hour yet… besides…" She shifted Auron's sword on her shoulder, making it a bit more comfortable. "You don't have that much to carry."
Rikku whimpered, turning to Paine first for support. The warrior girl frowned, dragging her own heavy sword behind her.
"She's right, you know. You ought to toughen up a little bit."
The little Al Bhed began to whine again, clinging to her cousin's arm.
"Yuniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie… they're so mean to me… I'm tough, right? I just want a little break…"
The Summoner giggled, patting Rikku's head.
"Just hang on a little longer, alright? We're bound to end up somewhere in no time."
The blonde sighed, letting go of Yuna and falling back into step beside Paine. It wasn't her fault she was the youngest of the group and therefore tired of walking much easier. Sure, she wasn't carrying a big heavy weapon, but that didn't mean she didn't get worn out.
"Man… I wish we had some chocobos or somethin'… That'd make stuff a lot easier."
"Chocobo…?" Kairi mused, her attention focused back on Rikku again, "What's a Chocobo?"
"It's kinda like a big yellow bird, sorta… only… they're tall enough to carry a person and they can run really fast. And they're really friendly too. You just have to catch'em." The Al Bhed replied, still looking distressed from being turned down for a break.
"Where do you find them?"
"In Spira. Only… well—" The thief didn't seem like she was able to find the right words to use.
"Only… we don't remember that much about Spira… only that it existed, and that we used to be a part of it." Paine interrupted, cutting Rikku off. The warrior shot Kairi a dark glance with her crimson eyes, and the Princess sensed she was entering hostile territory by bringing up the touchy subject, and she decided not to press either of them much further.
She turned her gaze to Yuna, who was walking quietly beside her, wearing the thoughtful look that she got whenever things began to get tense or confusing. The girl was always the epitome of calmness, and Kairi didn't get how she stayed that way.
"Paine… don't be so hard on Rikku. Or Kairi either. It's not her fault she knows so little about us. And it's not a bad thing that Rikku wants to tell her…" Yuna's eyes never moved from the ground in front of her.
"Are you afraid of our past…?" The Summoner finally turned to look at Paine with these words, an indignant look on her face now.
The group stopped walking. Paine was unnerved by Yuna's gaze, but she didn't back down. Her fighting spirit wouldn't allow her to do that.
"Of course not!" The warrior replied angrily. "I just don't think it's a good idea to bring up topics of conversation that we ourselves aren't even sure of. We don't even know if we really did die, Yuna. We don't know if we were born fairies or not. All we know is that for some reason, those thoughts were planted in our heads. What if they're false? What if Spira is a lie? What if chocobos and all the other snippets of fantasy that we seem to have 'remembered' are lies?"
"That's not true, Paine!" Yuna snapped, slight tears forming in her eyes. "Everything's real and you know it! Stop being such a cynic and start believing for once!"
She would not allow the world she had dreamed of for so long be torn apart like that. They had a home… they just couldn't find it. And even though they didn't remember what it was like, that didn't mean it didn't exist… did it?
"Well, maybe you should stop being so gullible and believing in everything that everyone tells you! Wake up to the real world, Yuna. It's not fluffy ponies and sparkles all the time!"
The Summoner bit her lip, and she felt one of the warm tears trail its way down her cheek. Paine had been cold before, but never outright mean… not like this. The warrior opened her mouth to speak again, to deliver more biting words, and Yuna braced herself.
That was, until a resounding slap broke the silence.
Kairi had stepped forward, unable to watch Paine verbally attack Yuna for much longer, and had smacked the warrior across the cheek. Hard. And now there was a look of shock on Paine's face that neither Yuna nor Rikku had ever seen before.
Paine wasn't the kind to get shocked about anything.
The Princess didn't seem remorseful about what she had done in the slightest, however, and she began to speak.
"Go cool off, Paine. Now. Rikku, go with her. Make sure she calms down, alright?"
Kairi wasn't angry, but more or less trying to fix the situation. The slap had been a means of shutting Paine up. That didn't make Rikku any less intimidated, and she squeaked when the Princess addressed her, unable to move. Paine still seemed in a bit of shock, and she seemed to be trying to figure out which emotion to feel: anger or humility.
"I said, go. Now." Kairi repeated, more authority in her voice. She shifted Auron's sword again, as a sign that she meant business.
Rikku tugged at Paine's sleeve and led her off a ways, towards the shade of a few of the translucent trees, where they would be out of sight.
The Princess turned back to face Yuna, who was sniffling uncontrollably. Kairi wished she knew some comforting words to say, or what to do… The sight of Yuna's tears just made her want to cry herself.
What should I do…? She's so sad… and I… how do I make her feel better?
She did the only thing she could think of. Kairi approached Yuna warily, pulling the other girl into an embrace. The Princess was startled when the Summoner clung to her tightly, crying into her shoulder.
Paine really upset her… I can understand why… it's got to be hard having what you believe in looked down on by one of your best friends… and then to be insulted…
"It really does exist…" Yuna's voice was muffled by Kairi's shoulder. "I swear it does… I'm going to find Spira someday…"
Kairi ran her fingers through the younger girl's russet colored hair, and kissed Yuna's forehead tenderly before replying.
"I know you will. Cuz I'm gonna help you find it."
Her voice seemed to calm Yuna a bit, and she felt the Summoner's breathing ease back into a normal pattern. Suddenly, Yuna pulled away from Kairi, obviously embarrassed that her face was covered in tears and she was in such a state.
Yuna tried to wipe the moisture from her eyes, but Kairi stopped her, grabbing her wrist gently. The Summoner froze, transfixed as the Princess grazed her cheek with her soft thumb, removing the tears that had stained her lovely face.
Kairi was smiling at her, and she stepped towards the Summoner, fully intending to plant a kiss on Yuna's lips. And Yuna would have probably gone along with it the entire way, if she hadn't remembered that Rikku and Paine were not very far off as the Princess' lips made contact with her own.
"W-w-wait… Rikku and Paine…" She mumbled faintly into Kairi's mouth nervously.
This is taking a lot of self-control… oh Yevon…"What about them…" Kairi replied in a low voice, one that Yuna found quite irresistible and was making it harder for her to protest. That, and the fact that she wasn't exactly opposed to the Princess's arms snaking their way around her waist, drawing her close.
If Yuna hadn't been so polite, she probably would have been thinking 'screw Paine and Rikku, let them find out'. But, unfortunately, she WAS that polite.
"They might see…" Yuna whispered, face flushed with pink. Kairi was smirking playfully at her.
"Then let them."
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"Dr. P?"
A scowl. No response.
"Paine…? Please don't be mad… What you said to Yunie was kinda hurtful…"
Still nothing.
"Why… why did you say those things, Paine?"
The warrior snorted, pushing herself up off of the tree she had been leaning on. She crossed her arms, looking rather surly and inapproachable.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Don't be like that. Try me. Explain it to where I can understand."
Paine glanced at Rikku warily, before sighing and giving in.
"To be quite honest… I don't really know… I was scared I guess." She held up a hand at this point, for it seemed that Rikku was keen on interrupting. "Yeah, I do get scared sometimes too. But I can't really figure out why…"
The warrior had a contemplative look on her face.
"When we were back there… in the castle… When we were stuck behind that shield… I had this really weird feeling pass over me. It happened when that cat-girl thing looked at me. Her eyes… they were so… intense… and when I got caught in her stare, I felt as if nothing would ever go right again… So much despair washed over me all at once…"
Rikku's eyes swirled with understanding, as if what had happened had just dawned on her.
"So… when Yunie started talking about Spira… and our pasts… You got the same feeling again?"
"Yeah."
"Aww… Poor Dr. P. You could use a snuggly!"
"A wha-" The younger girl then proceeded to glomp the warrior, and Paine figured out quickly what a 'snuggly' was. And that she disliked it intensely. But as long as it was Rikku doing it… well… she figured it would be all right.
For a little while…
And then…
Paine's tolerance of the situation began to deteriorate.
"Rikku… not that I mind you squeezing the life out of me, but could you please let go? I'm losing air pretty fast."
"Right-o, Dr. P."
"Stop that."
With that, the two began to bicker playfully with each other, and they started off back towards Yuna and Kairi.
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What had started out as a kiss had turned into a playful game of tag, seeing as Kairi had made the mistake of finding out that Yuna was ticklish, and the Summoner, wanting revenge, decided to chase her around the fields.
Although Yuna was a bit swifter than Kairi, the Princess had longer legs, and was able to lope out of the younger girl's reach every time she got close. Not that either of them were really trying all that hard to win the game.
They were giggling their heads off, and when Yuna got close enough to grab hold of Kairi once again, she found herself tumbling to the ground on top of the other girl as they both lost their balance. The girls laughed for a bit, both too lazy to move. Besides, they enjoyed the presence of one another too much.
Yuna nuzzled into Kairi's shoulder, sighing contentedly.
"Kairi…?"
The Princess opened her sapphire eyes, a dreamy smile on her face.
"Yeah?"
"When you said that you would help me look for Spira… did you mean it?"
Kairi propped herself up on her elbows to get a better look at the girl who was resting partially in her lap.
"Yeah. I did. Finding this place means a lot to you, I can tell."
"After we find it… can we visit your home too?"
The Princess blinked at her questioningly.
"Sure… but why?"
"Well…" Yuna began, relaxing her body against Kairi's. "I wanna meet some of the people there. Like Sora, and Riku… and your other friends that you've mentioned."
Kairi smiled, gently tracing her fingers down Yuna's back.
"Okay. When we're done with everything, after we've found Spira too, I'll take you back home."
"Yuniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie! Kairiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Rikku's high-pitched voice ruined the tender moment, and Kairi had to keep herself from giggling as she watched Yuna roll her eyes.
The Princess started to get up, but found it kind of hard to do with Yuna stubbornly clinging to her body.
"I don't want to get up…" She murmured lazily. "You're comfortable."
Kairi smirked. "Hey now… a second ago you weren't too keen on them finding out about us…"
"Knowing Paine, they probably already know."
"Damn right."
The warrior was looming over them, an all-knowing smirk on her face. Her arms were crossed as usual, but she wasn't angry in the slightest.
"I don't know what gave it away, the puppy-dog glances or your constant need to be within three feet of each other at all times."
Kairi pouted, prying a reluctant Yuna from her body. The Princess stood up and brushed herself off, then helped the Summoner to her feet as well.
"We aren't that clingy…"
All was well again, and the previous quarrel seemed to have been forgotten. Paine didn't look as though she wanted to bring anything up, and Kairi and Yuna didn't much want to, either.
Some things were best left forgotten anyways.
Rikku was running towards them now, oblivious to all that had transpired.
"Aw, Paine, you found them first. Not faiiiiiiir." She whined, jumping up and down at the warrior's side.
"It wasn't a competition, Rikku…"
The Al Bhed blew her a raspberry, which Paine conveniently ignored. Kairi lifted Auron's sword back onto her shoulder.
"Time to go again? I think we've had a long enough break…"
And with a few more words and Rikku's complaint about how she hadn't known they were taking a break, the group set off again.
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"You two are the most incompetent fools I have ever created…""Yes sir…"
"Do NOT fail me again! The consequences of that would be extremely dire, let me assure you. Now… I have a new task for you to accomplish… Tamper with the Princess' heart as much as you can. Find whatever it takes to break her spirit as you are conquering my lands. I don't care if you cannot defeat her physically…
"But if her mind is ripped apart, her body will soon follow. Do you understand?""Yes sir!"
"Good. Now get out of my sight."
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Rawr, this is basically a filler chapter. Cutesy buttons.
More fighting in the next one, I promise. :)