Me: Two updates in less than a week? Inconceivable!! (Whoever catches the reference wins this shiny piece of foiiillllll…) Plus the fact that this is the longest chapter yet, 6000 plus words! Wo-ow…
Me: I was actually inspired by Alyss, who reviewed uber-quickly. Plus the fact that I'm home sick right now typing this helped to speed the process. Heh.
Me: I shall not take this opportunity to respond to a few questions/comments made by Baran3 that I meant to respond to in the last chapter. First off, the reason that Jemma couldn't hurt the Sinscale back in chapter 2 was because she is kind of weak. Wakka on the other hand, while also using blunt attacks, has played blitzball for many years, eventually making him able to throw the ball really, really fast, both on land and in the water, making a hit from his blitzball quite forceful and painful. At least that was my reasoning.
Me: Seondly, I'm afraid to say that the beat-down she preformed on the Sinscale was not her Overdrive (though I did think about it for awhile). You'll get to see her overdrive in the next chapter hopefully. Yup!
Me: Lastly, Jemma was panicked and lacks the mental capacity to realize that she could have used the rocks around her as a distraction. So she just ran around like a chicken with her head cut off. Yeah, she's smart…
(An indignant "Hey!" can be heard from within the chapter)
Me: Hee…I put in something after this chapter that had been deleted when I made all those changes to the first three chapters. This is for you Fantasy Girl7!
Me: Oh! Almost forgot! A little fun fact to keep you entertained for a little while. All of the characters mentioned in this chapter were really in the game, go check it out. They didn't have any names though, so I gave them some. Roshan means 'Shining Light', Belindo means 'Dragon', and Kenta is just a name I pulled out of thin air! (grins)
Me: Now…Please keep your hand and feet inside the chapter at all times. Enjoy the ride!
Chapter 5: Bad puns and even worse references
'I feel warm…' was the thought that popped into my mind as I slowly became aware of myself again. I was confused, disoriented, and extremely hungry.
'Need…food…' My stomach growled loudly at the thought. Yup, Tidus was a VERY bad influence. My stomach grumbled as I blearily opened my eyes.
Sitting up from the make-shift sleeping bag I was on, which was really just a bunch of blankets, I looked at my surroundings. It looked like I was in a sort of cabin setting. There were some wooden boxes around me and more blankets hanging from the ceiling. A couple of shelves on the wall held some odd looking bottles and other objects. No one else was there with me, so the room was rather quiet…
'How did I get here?' I thought back to everything that had happen over the past…however long it had been. 'Lesse…I was walking to school with Gwenie…then that kid showed up in the middle of the street and I tried to grab him but…' Furrowing my brows, I found that I couldn't remember anything for awhile after that.
'That's weird…' I thought. 'Well, easy come, easy go…' I lied back down and placed my arms underneath my head. 'Now what came after that…Oh, yeah!' I smiled. 'I was at Zanarkand and I tripped over Tidy! Got sucked into Sin, went to Baaj, almost got eaten several times…'
I frowned suddenly, thinking of my imprisonment, escape, and feelings of hopelessness… 'But what in Spira happened after that?!' I just couldn't figure it out. I seemed to recall floating in the water…but that could just have been a dream…
"Oh! You're awake!"
I bolted up right as soon as I heard the voice coming from the doorway in front of me. There was a girl standing there in the brightest outfit I had ever seen on a person, barring cartoon characters. Her brunette hair was covered up by a purple bandana, which was really the most normal part of her outfit. Dressed in vertically stripped sunshine yellow and purple slacks and matching colored tops, I had to keep from staring at her with my eyes bugged out.
'My eyes!!! My beautiful blue eyes!!!' I screamed in my head. The girl smiled at me and closed the door behind her.
"We weren't sure if you were going to wake up before we docked." She came over and sat down on one of the crates next to me. "My name's Roshan. Pleased to meet you." She smiled at me and held out her hand.
I looked at her hand and slowly grasped it. She seemed like an okay person…not like a cannibal…not that I've met any cannibals, but I think you'd be able to tell if someone was one or not easily enough…or so I hoped.
Shaking her hand, I replied, "My name's Jemma…where are we?"
"We're on board the S.S. Liki! Right now we're in the cabin area, but once you feel up to it, you're free to explore the deck area."
I looked at her as she explained. The S.S. Liki? I was on board the S.S. Liki?! How did that happen?
I must have looked confused, because she then explained, "We found you a few minutes after we set sail. You were just floating in the ocean when Kenta spotted you. You passed out once we brought you on board."
'Oh…' I still had no idea how I ended up anywhere NEAR civilization, even if I was still in the water, but I was very thankful that I did. Something was nagging me at the back of my head, like I had forgotten something. Before I could try and think on it though, Roshan's voice brought me out of my musings.
"Soo…" she started. "What happened? Why were you out in the middle of the ocean?"
Honesty is the best policy soo… "I really don't have any idea." It wasn't a total lie. I still told her the truth. I had no idea why I wasn't still at Baaj temple, really.
Her face turned grim. "Were you…attacked by Sin?"
An alarm went off in my head. To buy myself some time, I turned my head down and stared at my lap pretending to think. I had to respond fast with something believable. Not being creative enough myself, I decided to stick with the good ol' 'Sin's toxin' bit that seems to work so well around here.
"I…I can't remember…" Time for the show! I looked up, trying to make my face look lost and forlorn, which really isn't as hard as one may think. "I was with my friend and then there was this big explosion and…I don't know what happened next." Again, not a total lie. I just hoped that she'd buy my lame acting.
She gasped, looking sympathetic at my 'plight'. "You poor thing! It must've been Sin…Don't worry, I'm sure that if you look to Yevon for guidance, the toxin's will release their grip on you." She rested a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
I felt like a big jerk. 'Stupid conscience…' I muttered in my head.
"Is there anything I can get for you?" She really was a very caring person, I noted. Before I could answer, my stomach let out this loud, strangled half moan/half growl. Silence prevailed in the room of a few seconds. My face was completely pink, ears and all, by the time that Roshan began to laugh, trying very hard not to.
"So you're hungry, huh?" I looked down again, extremely embarrassed. "Don't worry about it. I'll go to the kitchens and see if I can find you something to eat." And with that she stood and walked out the door.
Alone in the room once more, I decided to get up and stretch my legs. Pushing off the blankets, I stood up, nearly losing my balance. Holding myself steady with the wall, I regained my composure. 'If I didn't know any better, I would say the floor is moving…Oh wait…I'm on a boat…Oooohhhh…'
Feeling a little more than stupid, I walked around a little, viewing my surroundings closer. I quickly noted that my shoes had been lost somewhere, though the loss was not too great as they could barley be called 'shoes' after the whole Baaj incident, and the rest of my clothes were still slightly damp. 'It must have been at least a little while since I was pulled out of the water.' Feeling slightly woozy with hunger, 'Fooooo-ooooood…', I made my was back to 'my' sleeping area. Before I sat down again, I spotted something in my peripheral vision.
It was a light brown suitcase that I knew all too well. It was the thing that gave you potions if you kicked it. A devilish grin crept onto my face. If I could take the potions in the game, why couldn't I do the same here? Before I could get up again though, my conscience pulled me back.
'Hey! What do you think you're doing?'
'Grabbing some potions. What'd you want!?' I was annoyed at my inner voice of reason. There was free stuff over there…
'You can't just do that!'
'Why not?!'
My inner voice huffed. 'That's stealing! It's wrong!'
'But…in the game you could get up to twenty potions! For free!! Who turns down free stuff?'
'But they're not yours! For all you know, it could belong to one of the people who saved your sorry butt.'
Ooo, didn't think about that. What if someone came in and was all like, 'Where are my potions?' And what if they needed those potions to cure their ailing child?!
'You'd feel even crappier than you do now.'
'Shut up…' I mentally flicked away my conscious, having already lost the battle. I plopped down onto my rear end and waited for Roshan to return.
I didn't have to wait long before she knocked on the door. Coming in with a tray of some delicious smelling stuff, she gave me a smile.
"Alright, I found you some food in the kitchen. It's not much, but at least it's something." She handed over the tray to me while I stared at it like I was going to unhinge my jaw and eat it whole. "There's also a potion on there for your scratches." I had completely forgotten about the scratches I had gotten from digging. No wonder she looked at me with such pity, I must look horrible! Like a drown rat that got on the wrong end of a cat's claws. Hmm…Ah well.
After quickly downing the potion, which healed my cuts very quickly, I started to dig into the food with the fork provided, which resembled noodles in meat and vegetable sauce and some bread. Roshan just smiled at my enthusiasm, probably just happy to help. Before I could forget, I looked up at her and said, "Thank you!" Or at least tried to. It came out more like, "Fang goo!" She giggled behind her hand and nodded, sitting down on the crate once more.
I finished all the food in, at the most, one and a half minutes, definitely a record. I rested my back against the wall and patted my belly. 'That was good…'
Another giggle. "Feeling better?
I nodded at Roshan and I handed her my tray, which was clean as a whistle by the way, which makes no sense because sometimes whistles are not very clean at all…Anyway…moving on.
Roshan stood up with the tray in hand. "I'm glad you like it. By the way, I noticed that your clothes were a little…battered." She was so not insulting that it was almost saintly. "So, I put some extra clothes for you over there." She pointed to a spot in the room on the other end which was surrounded by curtains. "They might be a little big…but it's better than wearing something wet, right?"
I nodded. 'Most definitely…You spoil me, Roshan...' "Thank you so much. You've taken such good care of me…"
She smiled and waved her hand. "Don't mention it. Yevon teaches us to help our fellow Spirian in times of hardship." A pang went through my heart, courtesy of my conscious. "I'm gonna go back to work, okay? Come visit me down in the Power Room when you get the chance. See you later!"
After she shut the door, I rose to go and check out the clothes that she left. I now felt like a horrible person for telling her half truths after she was so kind to me.
'That's it!' I thought. 'I'm gonna do something for her…But what?' Maybe I could learn some cool, bad-ass fighting moves and kick Sin's butt…The thought of Sin left me feeling slightly terrified. I wondered, if the events came to pass where I had to fight Sin, could I do it? A mental picture of Roshan flashed in my head. I would definitely have to try, and who knows? I could kick butt…maybe.
Shaking the thought out of my head for the moment, I picked up the clothes, slightly wary that they would also be as clashingly colorful as Roshan's outfit. There was a black tank top with a bright green, short-sleeved jacket to go over it. The jacket had some cool looking, dark green design on the back made up of swirls that seemed to form a circle.
'Sweet…' I thought as I shed my damp red shirt for these new tops. The jacket came to about halfway down my thigh before stopping. I the picked up the shorts she had left for me next. They were made out of a very light, dark orange material and felt nice to the touch. Slipping them on before re-clipping my belt o' magical things on, I tried to get a perspective on how they made me look. They fit okay and looked good enough, so I was satisfied. After finger combing my tangled mane, I picked up my jeans and red shirt, nearly tripping over some boots that were placed on the ground near the rest of the stuff. Roshan must have noticed my lack of shoes and placed them out for me. She was just too sweet! I slipped them on over my now-sorta-dry socks.
'Comfy…' I thought as I gently placed (threw) my other clothes near where I woke up. Now it was time to explore!
Opening the door slowly, I walked out into the hallway. Again, there wasn't anyone that I could see, so I walked out further. There were only a couple doors, the bigger of which, I saw, was being guarded by two guys who sorta glared/stared at me, as though I had done something wrong. Scooting away quickly, I decided that it was in my best interest to figure out where I was by going up on deck. After all, I still needed to find Tidy, and if the S.S. Liki was still running, that meant…
"Well, well, well. Look 'oo's up and about?" I had to restrain myself from screaming with surprise at the voice that came from behind me. Turning around I came face to face with a short-ish man with a very large green backpack. That's right. It was O'aka the XXIII.
I placed a hand to my throat. "Whoa! You scared me!"
"Sorry 'bout that." He replied, not looking very sorry at all. His face turned into one of pity. "Attacked by Sin, eh? Horrible. Absolutely horrible." He eyes looked a little distant. "Time's are hard, they are…"
I nodded at him as I tried to discreetly make my way towards the stairs. O'aka was just not really the person you wanted to talk to, game or no. He did get better as time went on in the game and he did have some good qualities, but I wasn't sure I wanted to converse with him right now…
He suddenly turned towards me, causing me to freeze in my tracks. "It can't be good for a young girl such as yourself to be wanderin' 'round without some sort of protection. How about a nice, O'aka weapon to protect yeself with?"
I pondered on his offer. If I were to get into a fight of some sort, it WOULD be good to have a weapon on hand, instead of having to search for one nearby… 'That's what got me into this mess in the first place.'
Having made up my mind, I said, "What have you got in mind?"
I could've sworn that he grew several inches and his smile reached his ears. "Have a look over here, miss!" He placed his hand onto my back and pushed me over to the corner near the stairs. There were a bunch of larger objects laid out on the floor or against the wall.
'I had no idea that he had a base setup here…' Funny what you find out once you actually live the game.
He removed his hand and did a sweeping motion towards his 'merchandise'. "O'aka the XXIII at your service. There'll be no better merchandise anywhere in Spira." Somehow I highly doubted that. Glancing over the weapons anyway, even though I'm sure they were not as good as he said, I spotted a pair of daggers encased in simple sheaths.
'I could totally use daggers…' "How much for those?"
He looked over to where I was pointing at. "Oh those! Miss, you have a fine eye, you do!" I rolled my eyes. "These daggers are made out of some of the strongest metals in Spira, sure to cut down any fiend in your path."
"How much?" I repeated, slightly annoyed by all of the 'salesman' vibes I was getting.
O'aka paused for just a brief moment, looking thoughtful. "Usually, this type of fine weapon would go for 2,500 gil, but considering your tragic circumstances, I'll only charge ye 1,800!" He smiled brightly at me while my jaw dropped. 1,800 gil?!
I quickly shook my head at him. "But that's so expensive!"
He looked disappointed. "Ye can't afford it?"
"No!"
He thought again for while. "Well…" he started, peering suspiciously at me. "How much do ye have?"
I opened the gil compartment in my belt and counted the coins silently. "…Mmm…What will 200 gil and some pocket lint get me?"
He froze as if surprised by my lack of money, his face gradually turning into a deep frown. Finally, he ground out, "200 gil?! I'll be having no business with ye. Off with ye! I only have time to deal with customers with money." And with that he shooed me with his hand.
I was utterly indignant. Turning in a huff, I ran up the stairs and away from that two-bit thief of a merchant.
"How rude…" I muttered out loud. If he didn't want to be nice to me, then I wouldn't be nice to him either…
"Hello there." I turned my head towards the voice I assumed was addressing me.
'People simply must stop sneaking up on me…It's liable to give me a heart attack.'
The man standing by the side of the ship was wearing beige pants that were cut off at the ankle and a green vest-like thingy with binoculars around his neck. He waved me over, so I walked over to him.
He gave me a smile. "I'm glad to see that you're feeling better. My name's Kenta." He bowed at me slightly, still smiling.
His smile was apparently contagious, because I immediately began to smile as well. "My name's Jemma. You were the one that pulled me out of the water."
He nodded, still smiling. "Yup, that was me."
We were just having ourselves a regular 'smilefest' over here. "Thank you for saving me." Uncertain about how exactly you go about thanking someone in Spira for saving your life, I also bowed slightly.
"It was no problem at all. I was glad that I could help you out after…well, Sin's attack. Praise be to Yevon that you're okay…" He preformed the prayer at the end of his sentence.
Roshan must've been telling people what I told her. 'Good, now I won't have to repeat myself.'
The smile actually dropped from his face as he looked at me, concerned. "I heard Sin's Toxin got to you…Is there anything that you remember…?" He trailed off uncertainly.
I pretended to think really hard. "I…I remember my friend was with me. His name's Tidus. He's got spiky, blond hair and is…" I put my hand up a few inches over my head. "…this tall. Oh, he also a really good blitzer."
I turned towards Kenta with a 'worried' look on my face. If I played my cards right, I could probably stay on this ship all the way to Luca…for free. Before she could start in on my immorality, I mentally duck taped my consciences mouth shut. "You don't think that…" I trailed off, eyes glistening.
Kenta's eyes widened. "No, no! I'm sure you'll find him. You came out of the attack fine, so your friend probably made it out okay too! He's probably…" He looked deep in thought for a moment. "…You said he was a blitzer, right?"
Score! He played right into my hands. "Yeah."
"Then he'll probably show up in Luca for the tournament!"
I widened my eyes. "Luca?"
"Yeah!" Kenta nodded his head. "Tell you what: I'll make sure that you get to Luca, okay? Then you could probably find him there!" Kenta looked proud at his idea.
"Really? You'd do that for me?" 'Thank you Kenta! You've just assured my voyage on this trip…for now anyway.'
"Of course!" His bright smile lit up his face. Such a smiley man… "I'll go and set it up with Capitan Belindo right now." Before he rushed off, he paused and turned back to me. Taking his binoculars from his head, he handed them to me. "How about you go and get a look at Besaid. It's very pretty to witness from far away. We'll be docking in about twenty minutes or so."
I looked at the binoculars in my hands and then back up at him. "Thank you…"
He, surprise, smiled. "Don't worry about it." And he turned and walked into the room where the captain and the steering mechanism were.
I smiled as I climbed up the stairs to the upper deck. It was going to take me forever to get rid of this grin that Kenta infected me with. Not that it was something bad, but after awhile, my jaw was going to start hurting…
Getting as close as I could to the front of the ship, I placed the binoculars to my eyes.
There it was. Besaid Island. All of the colors were so dramatic. White sands, lush, green foliage, crystal clear, blue waters…It was breath taking. I would love to have been trapped in a place like this! But no, I got the stormy, cold temple…
'Stupid, lucky Tidus…'
While I pictured myself having fun on the beach, I saw that there were some people on said beach. I knew why they were there…Lowering the binoculars, I found that I could see adequately enough to get by just by squinting my eyes. We couldn't have been more than ten minutes away from docking, I decided to kneel down and watch the goings on through the railing, as to not be seen before I wanted to be. He he he…
Soon enough, Kenta and some other crew member threw out the ropes to people waiting at the dock so the boat could be tied up. They then proceeded to lower a large plank of wood across, to connect the dock with the ship. Nothing really exciting happened, like a random shark attack or what not, sadly enough, but I couldn't stop watching the people waiting on the beach. Some of them looked like they had been crying, while others looked like they were trying to hold in their tears.
'Yuna is so loved here…' I felt sympathetic towards the people of Besaid. They probably didn't want Yuna to go, but Yuna can be pretty stubborn when it comes to matters such as this. I sighed. 'Silly girl…brave, but silly…'
All of the sudden, I heard several people shout out things like: "Lady Yuna!" "My lady!" Looking over towards the rocky cliffs, I finally saw them.
I spotted Tidus first, as he was the one I've been looking for during the last who knows how long. He looked slightly confused yet laid-back at the same time, brushing some of his blond hair out of his eyes. Same ol' Tidy.
I saw Wakka next, how could you not with his big, red hair? He looked a lot taller than I thought he would, more muscular too. But he had on a big smile on his face, so he reminded me of a big teddy bear. I smiled at the mental picture of 'Teddy Bear Wakka'. I simply must stop hanging around with such smiley people! If I don't, how shall I angst?!
Anyway, after Wakka came Lulu, all dressed in black. I was feeling hot in my shorts and t-shirt, I couldn't imagine how hot she must be in that long, black dress, which, by the way, is partially made up of leather belts. I took a quick peek into the binoculars. She didn't seem to be sweating…But then again, she could just be using a spell to keep her cool. Meh.
A gargantuan blue creature pulled me away from my musings on Lulu and how she stays so cool. It was Kimahri!
'YAY!!' I truly love each and every character in Final Fantasy 10, but Kimahri was by far my favorite Ronso! He's just cool…Another thought popped into my head. How did he stay so cool?! I mean, he's covered in dark blue fur…yet he never seems to sweat. Do these people just not have sweat glands?! I must figure out how all of these people stay cool, other wise it shall drive me up the wall…which would be cool.
They had nearly all reached the docks when I saw Yuna. She was walking along, smiling gently at all of the people who had come to say goodbye to her. With her shoulder length brown hair, pale skin, and mismatched eyes, she looked like just a slip of a girl. Yet I knew that beneath that, there was an unstoppable bulldozer of determination and love.
'Boy…that sounded corny even to me…' I contemplated trading out my new clothes for a green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers, when the group of summoner and guardians, plus one almost-guardian, made their way onto the boat. Peering downward at them, I saw Yuna turn to face the crowd. They were all waving at her and the kids were crying their little eyes out. She smiled and preformed Yevon's prayer for them.
"Goodbye." She said softly, but strongly. The board was raised back up and the ropes were thrown back onto the ship. Slowly, the ship began to move away from the dock. Some of the younger children tried to keep up with it, but were stopped as soon as the dock ended. It was heart-wrenching to watch, but everyone held up their strong front…
The realization finally hit me. After all this time, it finally hit me. Yuna, Tidus, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri were just below my feet. I was going to come face to face with Yuna, Tidus, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri. I was going to meet Yuna, Tidus, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri
I wanted to both faint and scream out loud at the same time.
'Relax Jemma…' I needed to play it cool. Otherwise, I would scare them away. Or make myself look like a total fool.
I let out a fangirl squeal in my head. This was just so exciting!
Watching the group from my perch, I saw that they were gathered by the stairs going below deck. They had a few small bag with the.
'Aha! I knew they had to have at least SOME luggage!' While I celebrated my minor discovery, the group dispersed. Yuna and Kimahri went down stairs to store the luggage…somewhere, while Lulu went to go and talk to the captain about…something. Wakka, on the other hand, went to go coach the Aurochs so that they would be ready for Luca.
And then there was Tidus, sweet Tidus. He looked like he really didn't know what to do so he went to stand underneath the top deck in the shade while he watched the Aurochs…practice. I was in no position to judge though as they were, 'cept probably Keepa, in better shape than I was.
I lied down onto the deck and contemplated how I should reveal to Tidus that I was, in fact, on the same boat that he was. Just going up to him, while shocking him slightly, wouldn't really be much fun at all. Jumping down in front of him seemed dangerous to my health, so I tossed out that idea as well.
'What to do, what to do…' I shut my eyes in an effort to will the answer to come to me. Wiggling my foot, I waited for a few more moments before I sighed in frustration.
A shadow passed over my face. "You all right?" I heard Kenta call above me. Opening my eyes, I saw him standing there. And yes, he was smiling. A confused smile but still a smile.
I sighed again. "Yeah…I'm just thinkin'…"
"Oh, okay." A typical male response.
I lifted the binoculars he had lent to me and held them up to him. "Thanks again for letting me use 'em. You were right…Besaid was really pretty." A slight understatement, but who was going to call me on it?
He took the seeing device from my hand and gave a grateful "Thanks" before he went back to work. Alone with my thoughts once more, I shut my eyes. It was only mere moments before another shadow passed over my face. I made a mental note to make the stairs squeak somehow so I would know when someone was coming up them.
'Now who is it?' I thought crankily, still unable to come up with a cool way in which to say hello to Tidus.
"Yes?" I said aloud, keeping my eyes closed. I now understood why animals enjoyed sunbathing…
"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize there was someone up here already." My eyes snapped open. That Jamaican accented voice could only belong to one person.
'Oh my friggin' gourd, it's Wakka.' I stared at him for a few seconds wondering if he were real or not. Shaking my head, I sat up and replied, "That's alright…" 'Quick, Jemma! Think of something cool to say!' "What brings you up here?"
I mentally smacked myself. 'Stupid, stupid! Not horrid, but stupid!!'
Wakka smiled and held up the blitzball that he was holding. "Gonna throw the ball from up here so my team can work on their catching." He spun the ball on his middle finger, not unlike a basketball player would.
I blinked once. "Good idea…"
He nodded, placing the ball under his arm once more. "That's what I thought. You wouldn't mind if I did, ya?"
I shook my head eagerly. "No, no! Go right ahead."
"Thanks!" He grinned at me and I could feel my 'Squee-Meter' go up at least fifteen points. He turned away from me and walked over to the edge of the balcony. "Alright, boys! Get ready!" A second later he chucked the ball down towards the deck below. I could hear the Aurochs scrambling down below.
"Alright!" Wakka called out. "Toss it back up here and we'll try again!"
It seemed odd to me in retrospect that Wakka was standing not seven feet from me, practicing with the Aurochs, and I was just sitting their, gawking. Forcibly pushing my jaw up, I had a choice to make: Stay up here with Wakka in awkwardness (for me at least) or flee to below deck.
'Choices, choices…' It really wasn't that hard of a choice. I stood up and walked over towards the stairs. "Good luck practicing!" I called out at I left. He said a quick "Thanks, ya!" and turned back to practice. I don't like awkward moments…
When I reached the bottom of the staircase I glanced around quickly with wide eyes, hoping Tidus wasn't anywhere near. He seemed to have joined the Aurochs in their practice, having nothing better to do at the moment. Taking my chance, I slunk over towards the other staircase and rushed down it.
Still in super stealth mode, I rushed to a wall and placed my back against it. The only people below deck at the moment were Luzzu and Gatta, but they weren't paying any attention to me. Thankfully, I couldn't see O'aka anywhere, but it didn't mean he wasn't nearby. I slid along the wall, quite tempted to start humming my own theme music, until I reached to door to the cabin area. Peeling myself off the wall, I made to open the door when, by a miracle (the kind of which could only be described by the phrase 'bad timing'), the door flew open by itself. Well, it would have FULLY opened except my darn face was in the way.
The door slammed into my face with such a force that I had to take a few steps backwards. "OW!" I cried, clutching my nose. "My node!" I lifted my hand slightly away from my face and saw some blood on it. Ew…
"Oh! I am so sorry!" I saw a hand appear holding a handkerchief. "Please, use this."
"Danks…" I mumbled, taking the handkerchief and holding it against my nose. I looked up to see who it was that gave me a bloody nose.
It was Yuna. Of course.
She looked so concerned that I couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Don'd worry aboud id. You didn'd mean do." I slightly grimiced as I touched a particular tender spot on my nose. "You're stronger dan you look."
Her cheeks flushed slightly, turning a light pink shade. "I am so very sorry." she then proceeded to bow several times.
I didn't feel nearly as awkward being near Yuna as I had been being near Wakka. Perhaps it was because she gave off the comforting aura of a summoner or maybe because she didn't totally sneak up on me…
'Or maybe it was because her way of 'breaking the ice' was to 'break my nose'…' I laugh in my head. The whole situation was slightly painful but freakin' hilarious, to me at least.
I felt kinda bad by just teasing her, so I caught her attention, wiped my hand on the 'kerchief and held it out to her to shake. "By dame's Jebba." It didn't even sound like my name when I said it, so I was pretty sure that she wouldn't know who I was on the off chance that Tidy told her my name.
She looked slightly confused, probably because I was speaking in a 'broken nose' dialect, but shook my hand anyway. "My name is Yuna."
I smiled at her. "Dice do meed you, Yuna!"
She smiled back. "Here, let me help you. It's the least I can do."
I assumed that she was talking about using a curative spell on me, so I nodded. Yuna nodded at me and said, "I'll be right back. I just have to get my staff…" She walked back into the cabin area. I made sure to step away from the door, just to avoid a repeat of the previous few minute's events. That's when I noticed that I wasn't alone. Kimahri was standing next to the wall, just behind where Yuna had been. How I could have missed Kimahri, I shall never know.
I looked over towards him and smiled. "Hi! I'b Jebba!"
He just continued to stare off into the distance.
Undeterred in my efforts to make conversation, as I feared my boldness would leave me once my nose was fixed, I asked him, "Whad's your nab?"
He spared me a brief glance before returning to his inner thoughts. Before I could think of something else to ask him, Yuna came out of the door, slower this time, with the Rod of Wisdom.
'Yay!' Tidus did find the hidden treasure in the Cloister of Trails! Good for him! Otherwise Yuna would be stuck with a crappy weapon for awhile.
Yuna held out her staff. "Okay…Hold still for a second."
I felt a tingly sensation go all over my nose as it began to glow slightly. It was all over within a few seconds. Feeling my nose with my fingers, I found that it felt all better!
"Wow!" I said, "That's impressive! Thanks!"
She flushed slightly again. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I am sorry for hitting you."
That sentence was just plain funny, as long as you know who Yuna is.
I shook my head. "No, don't worry. It wasn't just your fault. I shouldn't have been standing so close to the door, anyway…" I definitely wasn't going to tell her WHY I was…she would think I was nuts!
She looked down slightly. "O-okay…" She made me feel like I had just kicked a puppy.
"Hey…cheer up! Don't let something like this get you down!" I smiled a big, cheesy grin.
She giggled at me and cheered right up. "You're right."
I looked over the handkerchief she had given me. "Sorry I got your handkerchief all bloody…"
"No, that's okay. I have others." Wow. Suddenly I feel like I'm in the presence of a lady…crazy, no?
"I was just about to head out onto the deck, would you care to join me?" she enquired.
Hmm…As I was probably not going to come up with another way to 'appear' to Tidus, I figured 'Why not?'
"Sure." I nodded and smiled at her. Climbing the steps, I tried to make small talk with Yuna. I tried talking about the ship, the weather, Besaid Island…It worked for a little while, Kimahri staying just behind us at all times. Finally we stopped once we got to the middle of the deck opposite the one the Aurochs were using for practice. Lulu was there leaning against one of the poles in the shade, watching us. I could feel her eyes on me, but I decided not to give into her questioning gaze ju-ust yet.
I opened my arms up and took in a deep breath. "I just love that sea breeze!" I turned towards Yuna with a small smile. "How about you?"
She nodded politely. "Yes, it is very refreshing."
Encouraged at her response, I could tell that we were going to get along just fine.
Lulu called out from where she stood, "Yuna?"
Yuna turned towards her 'big sister', being family totally suits them, and responded, "Oh, yes?"
"Who's are you talking to?" She asked, walking over towards us. I could tell that Lulu was slightly wary of me because I was a new face, so I didn't take offense that she didn't ask me directly…I was actually kind of glad because she was intimidating up close.
Yuna smiled. "Lulu, this is Jebba. Jebba, this is Lulu."
I was confused for a second about why she called me 'Jebba' before it hit me. "Oh, no..." I said, waving my hands in front of me. "My name's not Jebba, it's…"
"Jemma?!"
I turned around to see Tidus standing there with Wakka, looking pointedly confused at me.
I decided to play along. "Tidus?!"
Wakka looked down at Tidus. "Wait, this is the girl you were talking about?"
Tidus nodded. Yuna looked at me, also confused. "You two…know each other?"
I nodded in affirmation as Tidus said, "She was there with me when Sin attacked Zanarkand."
Lulu looked unconvinced as Wakka kept looking back and forth between Tidus and myself. Yuna had a contemplative look on her face and Kimahri was just looking at us.
"H-how did you get out of those ruins?"
Looks like I had some 'splaining to do. Things were getting interesting…
Me: (hits head multiple times on keyboard) Ugh, I should be taken outside and shot for all the bad puns and references I put in this chapter.
Jemma: Yes, you should.
Me: (glares at OC and whips out Auron's katana) You wanna run that by me again?
Jemma: o.o No ma'am.
Me: Good. (rests katana on shoulder) Now to bring Tidy back in here…(reaches out with awesome authoress powers and plops Tidy on floor)
Tidus: Hey! What was that for?
Me: I need you two to round up everyone so that they can be here in the next chapter.
Tidus: Why don't you just do it?
Jemma: Yeah…it's not like you're doing any HARD work over there.
Me:…(lifts katana over head and lets out warrior-author screech)
Tidus and Jemma: O.O (runs for cover)
Me: (gives chase) Get back here, you ungrateful little…(runs off screen)
Auron: (walks in)…Who took my katana?