Bwahaha! Another chapter already!!! I prolly woulda finished this one faster... but my mom made cookies. And EVERYONE knows what happens when a mom makes cookies :D -ish the taste-tester-

now then, this chapter may be a bit of a shortie. Its important none-the-less though.

Also, I'm glad that people stuck with my story throughout that long wait, and also i'd like to thank a few new people for reading. Rock on all!

OoooOoooOoooO

Yoli breathed in deeply, absorbing the sweet smell of the warm carrot broth. Slowly exhaling, she stared down into her bowl longingly. As much as she wanted to sit and relax, enjoying the peace and quiet she wanted for so long, she couldn't. The events from ealier that day left a bitter, nauseating taste in her mouth.

Outside the tavern, the sky had already turned dark and starry with night. Even though the town of Selbina was situated right on the warm ocean front, a cool evening breeze would sweep over the area occasionally. Inside the building, the candles had already begun to flicker and dim, wax melted halfway. Only a few of the town's residents were currently in the tavern, and those who were kept to themselves, for the most part. The only real signs of life were the noises and smells coming from the kitchen.

It was a cacophony of 'Oh, no! The cookies are going to burny-wunry!' and 'Rehabu-Nehadu, you save those cookies right now, or I'll slice your ears offy-woffy with my katanas!' and then 'Um... ma'am? I think you're hurting him..." followed by the sound of a few pots clattering and something sizzling.

Yoli gave a faint smile, almost comforted by the noises. Then she placed her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. Aruru came marching out of the kitchen, a bit of flour on her left cheek, and some colorful sauce stains on her old cheif's apron. She marched, or rather bounced (as most tarutaru seemed to walk), over to Yoli's table and sat in the chair next to her. She examined the young mithra's sullen expression for a moment before speaking. "Sorry about all thatsy-watsy... Had to finish checking on my employee's and writing tomorrow's menu-wenu. We always try making something special for Lightsday. Ha! This time it'll be white stone soup-woupy. I do make a pretty wicked soup, if i darey-warey say so my self..." She sighed, lost in thought for a moment. "Good help can be soo hard to find... But enough about thattaru! I can see something's buggin' you. So, tell ole' Aruru what's the matter-watter."

Yoli groaned quietly, and muttered, "It's nothing... rrreally."

Aruru frowned and crossed her arms. "Hmph! Don't try to give me thattaru! I've hady-wady my days of adventuring when I was your agey-wagey, and I know a problem when I see one!"

Yoli lifted her head from her hands and looked at Aruru. "I..." She sighed and thought for a moment. "Can... you keep a secrrret?"

Aruru gave her a solemn look, before breaking out into a roguish grin. She lifted her head up proudly. "A secret is safe with me!"

Yoli nodded and began. She told Aruru about her training as a dark knight, how Isaac stole the legendary Chaosbringer and sold it. She mentioned their run-ins with Sunder, although she described him as 'A figurrre from my past. One I never thought I'd see again'. She described the initial shock, and briefly mentioned her break-down.

Aruru sat there quietly, her eyes focused intently on Yoli the entire time. She would occassionally interrupt to ask a question, or to demand more detail. Finally, Yoli came to the events of the morning. In the middle of her sentence, Aruru piped up. "I see! I understand exactly-wactly why you're upset!"

Yoli's ears perked up. "Well... I don't. It doesn't make any sense! The only thing I wanted was forrr Isaac to just... just leave! But... now that he rrreally is gone... I'm not any happier or betterrr off than I was before. Why is that?"

Aruru's lips curled to form a kind, all-knowing smile. "Girl, lemme give you a piecey-wiecey of advice," She didn't wait for a repsonse. "It's just a little something I learned while adventuring with a groupy-woupy of close friends... Sometimes, the best things in life are right under your nosey-wosey, and you never come to see that 'til they're gone."

"What do you mean? This entirrre quest- the missing sword... leaving Jeuno- was all because of him! All he's been is trrrouble!"

Aruru nodded. "And now thattaru he's gone, you miss him, don't you?"

Yoli's eyes shot up to face Aruru, and her tail twitched a little. "I... do."

"It might have been his faulty-wautly that this mess got started... But, would you really-weally deny him the chance to make things righttaru?" Aruru patted Yoli on the shoulder and began her march (or bounce) back to the kitchen. After a moment, she quickly added, "Love can be hardy-wardy to understand. You just gotta cross your fingers and go-go-go!" With that, the door to the kitchen swung closed and Aruru was gone.

"Love!?" Yoli almost jumped out of her seat, she was so surprised. "No, that's impossible! I'm a dark knight. Love isn't something I'm capable of... Is it? He's trouble! Nothing but one disaster after another! There's absolutely no way... I could be in love with him..." Yoli sat there, frowning, trying to make some sense of her thoughts.

She wasn't in love. There was no way. Love was a feeling she had abandoned long ago. All it did was cause pain.

But... wasn't she in pain right now?

"I've fallen way too deep into this... How did such a simple quest become something so complicated... And how did those few words ruin everything in one morning?"

OoooOoooOoooO

Without so much as a word to him, Yoli sped away on her chocobo. As soon as she was a good distance away from the crag, she slowed down nearly to a stop. How could this happen? Tears threatened to escape from her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away with her arm. What was wrong with her? Wasn't she stronger than this?

How... could those few words hurt so much?

Yoli bit her lip and clenched the reigns of her chocobo tightly. No. She wouldn't allow herself to give up so easily. She had more pride and self-assurance than that! And besides, she wanted to be alone from the beginning anyway... Didn't she?

Once again she rushed her chocobo. Within a few hours, Yoli felt a difference in the climate. Her surroundings had also changed. The air was warmer, and far more humid. A salty breeze blew by. The plants were much more tropical, and the ground was sandy. She had reached the beginning of the Valkurm Dunes.

A terrible feeling suddenly overcame her. It gripped every part of her and kept her from moving any farther. Her lungs felt tight, and her heart was racing. Fear. The fear of the unknown. Facing whatever lay ahead on her own, with no one to rely on but herself. Yoli supressed a whimper and forced herself to continue forward. She had to find Chaosbringer, no matter what obstacles she would have to face, with or without Isaac.

Within another hour, Yoli saw a wooden gate that marked the entrance to Selbina. "Maybe they have a place I can stay over night..." She wondered silently. Then she remembered something. That tarutaru she and Isaac had helped a few days earlier. "Aruru, was it? I hope she still remembers her offer..."

Yoli tied her chocobo to the gate and made her way into the small port town. Just as she entered the town, she saw a familiar figure with blue hair jumping up and down in front of an old man. They seemed to be in a heated arguement... over a clump of cabbage.

"What do ya mean its no goodie-woodie!? This cabbage is perfectly fine!"

"I mean its no good! Listen here, you! I told y'all I only feed my sheep the very best! And this isn't it! You'll have to go find a better one if you want money for it!"

"Why I oughtaru... I walked- yes, walked- all the way from Selbina to Bastok so I could pick up everyone's supplies. I went and picked each and every single-wingle item in those bags, including that cabbage! And if you don't likey-wikey it, you can march right on over there yourselfy-welfy! But I did my job and I want my money... Or else! Understand?"

The old man shrunk back from her and sighed. "Fine, fine. Here's your money. Take it!"

The small tarutaru lifted her chin and marched over to the tavern victoriously.

"Well... that was... odd," Yoli thought, raising an eyebrow. She then sighed and walked over to the door of the tavern. Suprisingly, there were very few people inside. Aruru was just walking behind the counter to the door leading to the kitchen. Yoli rushed her way passed the tables and over to the small woman.

"Arurrru! Wait! I need to talk to you!" She was shocked at how meek and shakey her voice sounded. Aruru must have noticed this because she paused and walked over to Yoli slowly, examining her.

"Hmm... Don't I know you from somewhere?" After a second of thought, the woman's eyes brightened. "Ah yes, you were the one who helpy-welpied me fend off those quadavs. What can I do for ya?"

Yoli wasn't quite sure how to answer. Pride forbade her from directly asking for help. It was in her training to be self-sufficient and calling in favors went against that. So, she just decided she would try to be social. "I'm... glad you rrremember me. Um..." She stopped. Calling in favors wasn't something she did often, and she couldn't think of a way to ask without soudning desperate.

Aruru took the hint. "You know, I remember-wember inviting you and your friend to stop by my tavern for free food," She paused, glancing outside the window. "And by the looks of it, a place to spendy-wendy the night. So, am I right?"

Yoli nodded. The mention of Isaac upset her, making her eyes grow glossy as tears threatened to flow. She blinked them back and answered. "Actually... It's only me. But, I think I'll take you up on yourrr offer."

Aruru raised her eyebrow at Yoli, noticing the change in her mood at the mention of that boy. "Good, good! Sittaru and relax for a while! I'll have my friendy-wendy, Rehabu, bring you out some of our famous carrot broth. Girl, you'll love it! Hmm... And after I'm done with my work, I'll come talk to ya. You seem to havey-wavey alot on your mind. Sound good?"

Yoli only nodded, and went to take a seat in the corner as Aruru entered the kitchen. A few moments later, a tarutaru carried a bowl of soup over to her. The tarutaru was male, and appeared to be the same age as Aruru. He wore a cheif's hat over a large head of brown hair, and a cheif's apron over what looked like some sort of red and black mage-wear. A shout from the kitchen brought Yoli away from her observations. "Hey Rehabu! Did you bringy-wingy her food yet? How long does it take? Hurry upy-wupy slacker!"

"She seems..." Yoli searched for a word that fit Aruru's description.

"Odd? Oh, she's really not that baddy-waddy! She and I have been friends since we were kids, adventuring together. She might come offy-woffy as a bit... bossy and loud... but once you get to know her, she's nicer than she seems!" What Rehabu said seemed true to Yoli. The blue-haired woman was loud and quite a bit bossy, but she appeared to have a good heart.

"Yeah... I guess you'rrre right."

Rehabu beamed. "Of course! You can't judgey-wudgey a person on how they act towards other people without understanding 'em! I learned that from her when we where traveling together-whether!" Yoli glanced down at the table. That advice seemed to fit her situation as well.

"Rehabu, don't make me come out therey-warey!"

Rehabu cringed. "Yes, ma'am!" He waved to Yoli and ran off to the kitchen as fast as his feet would allow for.

OoooOoooOoooO

Isaac watched her go. Then he glanced up towards the sky, which was turning a deep shade of pink with the sunset. "Dammit."

With that, he paid for his own mount and set off towards the marshlands. The pain in his chest only grew worse. It hurt to the point where he let out a small whimper. His eyes shined with tears, threatening to roll down his cheeks. He wiped his eyes off with the sleeve of his doublette and continued to search for the entrance to the swamplands. Twice, he had come to dead ends. The third time, he had finally made it.

At first, it was only one or two puddles, but as he went farther, the land grew softer and muddier. Puddles and small lakes filled the area. Dark clouds hung overhead, pouring down large droplets of water. The weather around him seemed to fit his mood perfectly.

Isaac let out a sigh and slowed his chocobo to a mere trot. His mind wandered back to the events of the day and the words both of them spoke to each other.

Trouble. Yoli was right. That's all he was, to anyone. His family, his friends, and now Yoli. No matter where he turned to, or what he tried, it always lead to some sort of disaster.

What was he doing wrong?

He remember the look on his father's face. The look he recieved when he told his father that he didn't want to be a knight. Angry words followed after. There wasn't any forgiveness.

"But why? I don't want to be a knight!"

"Because if you don't, you'll be a disgrace to our family. Every man from this family has aspired to become a knight, and to serve as a high-ranking Ducal Guard!"

"But Father! I-"

"Enough! You will become a knight, or you will no longer be a Chevalier!"

He left his family to become a thief. And all that brought anyone was more trouble. Because of his family name, he and his friends were always being hunted by the Ducal Guards. It only had made life harder for them.

And then what happened?

He stole the incarnation of evil and sold it through the blackmarket. Smooth. And not only that, but he left everything he knew on the word of some galka, to be thrown into some crazy quest with Yoli. "Why are the cute chics always the one's who get me in trouble?" He wondered wryly, remembering his first thoughts of Yoli.

Something wet ran down his cheek. At first Isaac thought it was the rain, but then realized it was his tears. He was crying. And for what?

Because it was his chance to make up for the trouble he caused, and he threw it away... Because, even if neither of them wanted to admit it, they cared about each other.

Twenty minutes later, Isaac brought his chocobo to a complete halt. "This is crazy... There's no way I'm just gonna let her do this on her own!"

With his mind made up, Isaac sped back towards the highlands as fast as he could.

OoooOoooOoooO

Isaac walked through the empty street that led into Selbina. The buildlings all had their outside torches lit, and the windows in most of the buildings were dark. Looking around, Isaac could only spot one likely place that Yoli might be.

"The tavern! Duh! Free food, and an inn... Where else would someone go this late?"

A chilling night breeze swept passed him as he made his way to the tavern. He stopped right in front of the door, and swallowed. How was he going to explain this to her? Would she forgive him? Would she even look at him after what he said to her?

To his horror, the handle of the door began to open just as he reached for it. He quickly stepped back to avoid bumping into-

"Yoli?"

His voice startled her and she nearly jumped back, knocking over a familiar blue-haired tarutaru. "Isaac!? What arrre you doing here?"

"I-" He was interrupted by Aruru.

"Well then, I guessy-wessy I'll be preparing two beds instead of one. Better be offy-woffy to find some clean linens!" She took one step then turned and faced Yoli. "Don't take too longy-wongy to talk! I don't want somebody walking around my house in the middle of the nighty-wighty! Oh, it's the small one over there, so you know!" And then she left, almost as fast as her feet would take her.

Isaac looked back to Yoli. She seemed tired, and a little ill, but he couldn't find any traces of anger left in her face. She also turned and looked up at him. "Why did you come back?"

Yoli had to keep herself from cringing. "That didn't come out right..."

"Ouch. Guess it coulda' been worse though... At least she didn't slap me." Isaac faltered at her question, but did his best to answer. "I...got lost... and well, I guess it brought me here. You mad?"

She shook her head. "No... I just..." She stopped and looked down. "Isaac... I'm sorry about what I said to you."

He let out a sigh of relief and looked over at the ocean, laughing ruefully. "Don't be. I mean, you were right. Heh, I am trouble." He glanced over his side at her. She was still looking towards the ground.

Isaac turned and faced her again. "Look, we were both kinda upset back there. I know... you didn't mean what you said to me. And... uh... I'm sorry about- Oof!"

Without any warning, Yoli dashed forward and hugged him. Isaac could feel her hanging onto him as tightly as she could. It was as if she were afraid he would simply disappear if she let go. Isaac's face softened and he returned her embrace lightly, afraid that if he held her any tighter, she would feel him shaking from relief. They stood there that way for what felt like an eternity, the rest of the world seemingly fading away for a time.

Finally, Yoli let him go, her cheeks burning a bright red. Isaac only grinned down at her. "So... arrre you ready to... um, head to Arurrru's house for the night?" It felt good... just to be able to let go of her worries for a short time.

Isaac tilted his head at her. It was a cute pose for him. "Suuure, I guess..." Then, as a joke, he added, "I wonder if she has any valuable silverware..."

"Isaac!"

"Hehe, I'm just kiddin'!" They began walking down the street towards Aruru's house. Isaac could see one room on the upper level dimly lit by a candle. "Soo, mind explainin' how we ended up staying in a crazy tarutaru's house?"

Yoli thought for a minute... Then a small smile formed upon her lips. "She's not crrrazy... She's just... Odd."

Isaac laughed at this. "Okay, if ya say so... So, any ideas on where we look for your evil sword of doom?"

They reached the door to Aruru's home, and quietly opened it, taking care not to awaken her.

"It's about timey-wimey!"

"Gah!" Isaac yelped, jumping back from the blue-haired woman in surprise. "Don't do that! You scared that shit outta me!"

Aruru only narrowed her eyes. She slowly walked up to him... and kicked him in the shin. "Oww! Sweet Altana, that hurt!"

Yoli stifled a laugh, and walked over to Aruru. "Sorry to keep you waiting..." Then, glancing over at Isaac, she added, "You certainly have a way... with men..."

Aruru laughed in response. "Girl, you gotta be toughy-woughy when you're as small as I am!" She then began walking them to their rooms. After leading them upstairs, she went off to bed.

Isaac was about to enter his room when he heard Yoli call him. "Isaac...?"

"Hmmm?" He leaned out of the doorway backwards, nearly falling over.

"I'm glad you came back."

OoooOoooOoooO

Well, that's all for today... Guess it's not as short as i expected O.o

I just can't seem to find a good way to close my chapters... they all seem so disappointing and flat. hmmm, guess i'll just have to work on that though. I figured i need more Yoli-Isaac bonding chapters... seeing as this is in the romance genre...duh...

toodles all, ill work on the next chapter when i get a chance!