Disclaimer: Watashi wa oonaa arimasen. Hmm…I think that makes sense… Watashi wa tadashii kakimasu ka…? Hopefully ONE of those is right…cough Either way, I don't own FFIX… T-T
(By the way, I'm trying to teach myself a wee bit of Japanese…can you guys tell:P)
Vivi's soft snores were muffled by the rim of his giant mage hat. His hands were folded over his chest, rising and falling gently as the breathed. He lay on top of the many blankets just as he did as a child. A book, some ancient magic tome, lay forgotten on the floor beside his bed. He was a picture of contentment…until Mugo came crashing in through his open window.
"Maaasteeeer Viiiiviiiiiii, kupoooo!!" the poor mog cried, head spinning from the collision. It stood, brushing itself off and moving aside the objects immediately in its way, then hurried to Vivi's side. "Master Vivi! Wake up, kupopo!" It tugged on Vivi's massive sleeve.
"Errnnnghhuumm…?" Vivi yawned, stretching and rubbing his eyes wearily. He turned his head and saw a red ball floating next to his head. A moogle?
"Master Vivi!" it cried excitedly, jumping and causing the red "ball" in question to bounce. "I have terrible news for you!"
Vivi sat up, alarmed. "Terrible?"
The mog nodded. "Terribly important, kupo!"
"What is it?" Terribly important news from a moogle couldn't be good. Vivi chewed his lip thoughtfully. It had to be about the village. They normally did alright when he left…
"Raiders, kupopo!" it squeaked, making Vivi wince. "Thieves attacked the village! Many are injured, kupo! Some are d-d-dead! Kupokupoooo!!" It started crying. Moogles hated to give bad news.
Vivi took a deep breath. He would have to return; there was no way around it. He would have to return to see Eiko later…
The mage stood, and announced, "I'll return right away. Please inform the king and queen that I had to leave on urgent business. I'm sure they'll understand."
Mugo nodded, relieved that Master Vivi was taking action right away. It hobbled off to do what Vivi had bid it to, leaving the mage alone. Vivi sighed. He had hoped to get a longer vacation that this, buuuut…
Shaking his head, Vivi grabbed what little he had brought and made his way to the airship terminal to hitch a ride.
"Whaaaat? He left me?" Eiko pouted from her spot next to her parents. She had been speaking with them on this silly matter of marriage when the mog interrupted. Why did Vivi always have to be so…difficult?! He came to visit her, and he should stay with her! Now what was she supposed to do for fun? "What was so important that he had to go back? I'll bet some girl showed up or…uhm…something!" Oh it had better not be a girl. If Vivi had some girl hidden away… Heck, if he had a girl….!
"Kupo…it is very sad!" the moogle cried, honestly distressed. "A couple nights ago raiders attacked the mage village, kupo!"
"Oh my!" the queen exclaimed. The king echoed her, adding, "How horrible!"
"What?"
Every pair of eyes turned to Eiko. She looked…well, dangerous was the only word to describe it. The moogle took a step back, afraid for its life, and repeated what it had said.
Who would dare attack the mage village? They're so peaceful!! Slowly, an idea started to form in Eiko's mind…then it blossomed into a plot…then into a fully designed plan, ready to be acted upon. She turned to her parents.
"Mother…papa..." she began. "It's such a horrible thing…all those poor, innocent, peaceful mages. Why, they wouldn't hurt any living thing even if it were a monster ransacking their village!" The king and queen agreed. They too felt a large amount of affection for the mages. "If there were only some way to help them…"
"We would, of course, leap at the chance to aid our friends," the king concluded. "What, pray tell, are you getting at, my dear?"
"Weeell…" Eiko began. "Perhaps we could send some guards there to surprise the raiders so that the next time they attack, the village would be ready for them. They could dress like commoners to avoid suspicion. I mean, people travel there all the time, right?"
"That's not a bad idea," the queen cried, overjoyed at the thought of saving the mages. "And while they're there, they can help to rebuild anything that might need it! The mages are powerful with their magic, but they aren't very good with physical labor, remember dear?"
"Hmm." The king tugged on a strand of hair thoughtfully. "I don't see any reason why not. We can spare a few guards. Perhaps I'll send a carpenter as well to help with the rebuilding."
"Oh, dear! That's a wonderful idea!" the queen exclaimed. They embraced happily.
"Well then," Eiko said, walking towards the door, "I'll just tell the maid to pack up my bags, and I'll be ready."
The royal couple froze and turned towards their adopted daughter. "What?!"
"I'll be okay! I really want to see Vivi, and…well, who knows the way to the village better than me, huh?"
"Out of the question!" the king sputtered. He would not put his daughter in danger like that.
"Oh, come on! If I survived saving the world and facing Kuja twice, I hardly think that a few raiders are going to manage to hurt me. Besides," she reasoned, "Vivi will protect me. And we'll have all those guards. And I'll dress like a commoner so that no one will suspect anything!" She ran into her parents' arms. "Pleeeeeaaase," she begged prettily, eyes tearing slightly as she gazed at them.
The pair exchanged a look. In the end, Eiko won as she always did. The couple could deny their daughter nothing. And besides, Vivi would protect her…right?
The mages were relieved to see their leader. The raiders had launched a warning attack again in the early morning, and everyone was exhausted from the flurry of activity that had taken place. By the time Vivi arrived, the only building left relatively unharmed was the inn. It had been turned into a hospital of sorts where the few mages who could heal took care of those who could not.
Vivi stood in the middle of the village, surveying the damage done. His yellow eyes had narrowed dangerously as he shook in silent anger. Damn it, he hated it when cruel, heartless criminals attacked the gentle, childlike mages. They did not have it in them to hate their enemies, but Vivi did. His righteous rage caused the air to crackle around him furiously. It would take weeks to rebuild! Why did people have to be so hateful to each other? Why couldn't humans live in peace like the mages did?
He sighed, expelling his anger and hate in one breath. He had to learn from his elders. The mages were kind and forgiving; he should be too. He turned and began to issue orders for the reconstruction of the village.
When the band of travelers arrived hours later, they found the village in a flurry of activity. The leader of the troupe, a giant of a man with flaming red hair and piercing eyes, stopped a mage to ask where their leader could be found. The mage pointed and went on with its chore. Everyone was working to restore the village to what it had been; mage and traveler worked side by side in an effort to bring it to a livable state.
When they found him, Vivi was with three men, attempting to lift a large beam that had fallen and crushed the doorway of one of the huts. The large man smirked at the sight of them, and strode confidently up to the mage.
"Need help?" he asked as he reached for the wood.
"I-if you could," Vivi grunted, pushing against the unyielding girder. He didn't even stop to look at the newcomer.
Suddenly the beam was lifted from his hands. Vivi jumped back in surprise. The giant chuckled, hoisting the large timber as if it were nothing more than a stick. He threw it into the forest and turned back to the shocked mage, blowing at a strand of red hair as he did.
"Amarante!!" Vivi cried, unable to mask his surprise and delight. His friend's eyes softened, the only sign of affection he allowed himself.
"You should leave the physical labor to me," he chided.
"I will now," Vivi joked. He beamed at his friend, a smile that the rogue could not see, but felt nonetheless. "So what brought you here?"
Although his expression did not visibly change, the warmth that had been in Amarante's face left it. He gestured towards the group he had arrived with.
"Someone ran into me and thought that I should come with her."
Someone? Her?
Vivi's heart stopped. "Eiko?" he whispered, hoping against hope that his companion would deny it.
No such luck.
"Viviiiii!!" came a cry from behind him. Vivi tensed and turned slowly, still praying that he wouldn't find the princess there.
He blinked in surprise. Before him stood Eiko…but not as she had appeared when he had seen her the day before. She had exchanged her royal dress for a more casual outfit: bright yellow pants that molded to her form nicely and billowed out at the bottom where shiny black boots poked out, a tight, pink shirt with bell sleeves and a neckline so wide that it slipped off of one shoulder, and a purple cape to top it off with. Her hair was different as well; Eiko had cut it for the journey, choosing to return to her original bob cut. It was all very cute and very very…sexy.
"Wha-how-who…?" Vivi stuttered. Eiko grinned at him and winked.
"I thought that you could use some help! Mother and papa let me come!"
"B-but-! It's dangerous, Eiko! You could get hurt!"
Eiko's nose crinkled adorably. "Yeah, but you'll protect me, won't you, Vivi?"
How was he supposed to reply to that? He couldn't deny the fact that he liked her and would love to be the one to protect her, but…
"I'd rather you went back home," he muttered.
That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Eiko's eyes widened until they were as big as saucers. "Y-you don't want to see me, Vivi?" she cried, eyes watering. Vivi winced. Of course he wanted to see her; he wanted nothing more than to spend time with her! But there were people relying on him and he couldn't be with her all the time. What was he supposed to do with her when he was busy rebuilding the village? He let out a frustrated sigh.
"I just want to know that you're safe, Eiko. If anything happened to you…"
Eiko brightened. "Don't worry, Vivi! I'll be okay! I promise! Just let me stay a little while, please?" Her hands dug into the folds of his heavy robe as she pleaded. Vivi looked from her face to her hands then back. He shook his head in defeat, and Eiko cheered.
"Yaaay!! Don't worry, Vivi! Everything'll be fine; you'll see!" She hugged him tightly, purple hair clouding his vision and tickling his nose. She even smelled different: less like an overpowering rose garden and more like a fruit orchard on a nice summer day.
"I call the big bed!" she yelled as she ran towards the inn.
Vivi exhaled and turned to find Amarante watching him. The larger man shook his head. "If you want her, you're going to have to let her know how you feel."
"I-I don't know what you mean!" Vivi stammered. He was grateful for the enormous hat and high collar that shielded his face…because it felt like it had gone nine shades of red.
Ahahaha!! Eiko's so funny.
Let me know if I'm making her too spoiled. I'm trying to keep everyone as close to their characters as possible while still getting my storyline out. Vivi's the hardest…I'm trying to make him a polite, quiet person because he was such a shy, scared little kid. I'm making Eiko spoiled because…well, she acted just a wee bit spoiled in the game, and I'm sure that about ten years as a princess didn't help. Because you guy just know that Cid and his wife spoiled the crap out of her. Heheh. :P
Oh! And that "okaypeekay" thing is actually something I do. It started as a joke because I was chatting with some friends online and one of us had some trouble typing "okay." It ended up being "okpk," and now it's a habit of mine to shout out "OKPK!!" Heehee!
Remember to review! Reviews make the world go round! (My world spins very slowly…) -.-;