So, question? How does everyone handle the M Rated stuff? I mean... There's just a couple things, and if any kids are reading do I REALLY expect them to just not read a couple paragraphs? Or even a separate chapter? No. So do I make the whole story M? What even is M? Or R? Guess I should research.
Sorry it's been a while, thanks for sticking with me =) this is fun.
Rated T. Spoilers. AU. Yuna x Seymour (Lulu x Wakka? Rikku x Auron? Sorry Kimahri.) ummmmm I always forget one...
You can't really drop out, as no one is really kicked out or quits the program technically, but you can just stop going and basically forfeit. And apparently Hiran has done that. I mean it's not necessarily tragic, or bad, not like Barthus… but it is still sad, I suppose. There are only five of us left now. It's only the beginning of the second week.
Speaking of which…
Seymour 'informs' me that tonight, I'll be staying at the inn with Rikku and Lulu. A sort of 'slumber party' in celebration of the first week's ending. (Him trying to dance around the word was funny… overnight festivities… girlfriend celebration… he really was raised in the higher ups.)
So when it came time to retreat for the night, I went to the inn where Rikku and Lulu are staying, and we ordered out for dinner.
They also delivered wine.
Lulu seemed quite comfortable with the additional delivery, gently nursing a glass or two with dinner. Rikku, on the other hand…
"Alcohol!? Yuna, they let us have alcohol in Bevelle! We're underage! Woohoo!" And then she took a sip… and was physically repulsed. "Yeulch! Why do people like this stuff? What is this? Bevelle Sauvignon? What in Spira?" But after half a glass, she wasn't complaining about it anymore.
It was rather shocking to the tongue, but still delicious, and effective. Within the hour, we were chattering like adolescents. Well, mostly listening.
"The shopping here is so amazing! You just can't see everything, you just can't!"
"Rikku… how much of our reserve have you spent…"
"And the food! They have almost every region's cooking here, Besaid, Gagazet, they even have some stuff that's close to what we make back Home! Not exactly, of course, but pretty close! Man, I can almost picture being home in some of those restaurants!" Lulu gave up on getting an answer and conceded to shaking her head, looking in her lap. "Aw, come on, Lu," Lulu shot her a look that could kill when she called her that, "I mean, uh, Lulu; tell me you haven't enjoyed some of Besaid's classic stir fry!"
She blushed a little. "Yes, of course, but I wouldn't call it classic…"
"Man, I'm gonna gain 50 pounds while we're here! Ok, maybe 50 is a lot… hey, wanna place bets on it? Doesn't that sound like fun?" She releases a big breath and puts the back of her hand to her head. "Huh, so this is what it feels like."
"Seems like she's slowing down," Lulu says to me.
"So let's talk boys!" She pipes right back up. Lulu puts a lacy sleeve to her head, shaking it, and the whole thing makes me giggle.
"How about we place bets on how many glasses of wine it takes for her to be normal speed," Lulu whispers to me.
"Hey, no secrets! Tell us ALL what kind of crazy escapades you've been up to, Lulu!" She blushes, for real this time.
"What? What are you talking about?" She rasps, regaining herself quickly.
Rikku doesn't know about Chappu, right? I hope this doesn't go badly…
"Come on, you can't tell me that Wakka looks at you like he does for no reason!"
"That idiot? You really think I could-" Rikku's burst of laughter drowned out anything else Lulu might have said, and I couldn't help but laugh quite a bit myself.
"Ok, ok, but is there anyone else you've thought about? What about Auron?" Rikku bit her lip a little, is she finally embarrassed of being so forward?
"Well, he's certainly mature, intelligent, and he is handsome…"
"Ahhh? So what do you think?"
Lulu looked in her lap a moment, "I don't know if…" she trails off. Maybe, it's too much for her…
I butt in with "Hey, he's basically my uncle, I don't want to think about that!" We all giggled at that, giggled and then laughed out loud and then practically guffawed… well, Rikku guffawed. She stayed pretty animated but we could tell the wine was affecting her little by little. That girl is perpetually hasted, I think!
We talked and played some games and talked more, and surprisingly Lulu was the first to go to sleep. Rikku joked about drawing on her or some other pranks, but we decided it best not to wake up in a fira fury…
And just when I was starting to think Rikku had reverted to a 10 year old…
"Hey Yunie, you remember those summers we spent together?"
Of course I do… before… before everything, my parents would visit Home every summer, and some other times throughout the year… until… my mother died on a trip there, when I was 4… my father tried to keep up with visiting here and there, but it didn't work out…
"Yes, of course, but I didn't know if you did…" Rikku is a year and a half younger than I am, so she was mostly a toddler when I was there.
"Yeah, I remember."
"You were the one who told me to seek Cid out if I ever needed help… You said, 'he's the leader and the boss and a super hero!'" I say, trying to mimic her child-like voice. We both laughed, a little. "But I never did meet him."
"Yeah, he was always out doin stuff, meetings and building and fixin stuff. He wasn't too good at raisin kids." Her Al Bhed accent is starting to come out. "Hey, do you remember the last time you were there?"
I think… I was 5, or maybe 6. My father had pretty much decided to become a Summoner right after my mother died, but didn't start training for a couple years because I was still so little. I could tell it was on his mind, though. I told him, once, to go get it, go get Sin, go get it for hurting mom… and I try so hard not to regret saying that to him, but when I miss him really badly, sometimes I do…
"I think I do," I answer her, after getting lost in my own thoughts.
"We were all playing at the beach, remember?"
"Yes, I remember that." I do… not much else, but I do. I remember her yellow swimsuit and I think I had a blue one, and her older brother was there, but he was 'too cool' to swim. Rikku scooted closer to me and lay her head on my shoulder.
"We were swimming, and then a fiend was there," and it all started coming back to me.
"I was there when that happened?!"
"Yeah, Yunie. Brother," doesn't she mean 'my brother?' "he hit me with a thunder spell. You guys pulled me out of the water and I was out… but you, you said you saw your dad do healing spells before, and you had never done any, but you knew what he looked like when he did it and… Brother," (my brother?) "told you how to focus when doing magic and you focused really hard and you cast Cure on me…" It all came back to me, and I don't know why I didn't remember until now… "We all agreed not to say anything so none of us would get in trouble… But Yunie… I always thought that you saved my life that day." She couldn't say it when we were all in the Thunder Plains because that would've revealed my half Al-Bhed lineage. Wow, that was really sweet of her.
"I'm sure you would've been ok, I was just a kid…"
She sat up and looked at me then. "No, I think you saved my life, so Yunie… when I found out you were gonna be a Summoner, I wanted… no, I want to return the favor. Maybe I can't change your mind about doing the pilgrimage, but I'll do everything I can, and I'll always be here for you if you ever do wanna quit, I won't judge you, you can come to Home if you want…" She started looking down, and tears started to pool in her eyes…
"Rikku," I put my hands on her shoulders, "thank you. I love you too." And we hugged and a few tears left my eyes but I can't let her know that or it'll be a huge sobbing session… so we hug for a few minutes, and talk about our summers a little more until she completely passes out, almost falling to the floor, but I catch her and put her head in my lap.
For a little while, I stroke her golden hair. She looks almost just like the toddler I remember when she's sleeping, she's still got a little baby fat in her cheeks. She cares for me so much, and her heart is so big… thinking about the pain this is all gonna cause her almost makes me want to give it up… but I can't.
I remember then, why I forgot about that day. Soon after all of that, we went home to Bevelle, and that was the day we all met Jecht.