5: An Evening At Braska's
Without Braska's immediate presence to cloud her judgment, Rikku took the opportunity to sit back and consider her options. She planted her chin in her palm, furrowing her brows in thought. I could really get to like these guys… but I can't interfere with their Pilgrimage. Absolutely positively no, Rikku! Just go along with it until you can talk to Bahamut, that's all.
"I really hope I won't be able to stick around after the first temple," she mumbled to herself under her breath. "Still…" She had to admit it felt nice to finally get to know her own uncle as something more than a legend told through the stone statues in the temples. I shouldn't feel so guilty about sticking around here. It's the perfect opportunity to sort of make up for what the Al Bhed did to him, right? Rikku's head shot out of her hand and a huge smile broke across her face.
"Yeah, that's it!" she exclaimed out loud. "Rikku's big chance to clear the family name!" Cheered by her new sense of purpose, she dug through her pouch and drew out one of the spheres she had recorded on earlier. "This mission isn't going down without a record," she said confidently, fiddling with the controls.
Braska emerged from the room just then, stopping in surprise when he saw her with the sphere in hand. He'd removed his formal helmet and lengthy outer robe, revealing long brown hair was bound in a neat braid that hung nearly halfway down his back. He was balancing a bundle of folded linens and pillows in his arms, and carefully set them down on the couch before turning to regard her with an amused grin.
"Well, this is interesting," he noted with humor. "Is there a reason you're making a recording of me, besides to prove that men are capable of doing domestic work? Should I be worried? I wouldn't want the destruction of the male reputation to be added to my list of transgressions."
"Of course there's a reason!" Rikku replied gleefully, leaping out of her chair and dancing in place. "If you're gonna defeat Sin, then we should get every minute of this trip down for the record! You're making history you know!" She paused and thought about how many spheres it would actually take to accomplish that mission. "Well, maybe not every minute," she amended. "Now smile and say shoopuf!"
The door burst open as she held the sphere up, and a very disgruntled-looking Auron stomped in. He came up short, his surprised glance landing directly in the sphere, and then recovered with a shake of his head and gave Rikku an exasperated glare. "I thought I told you to stop playing with those things."
"Aww man, you really need to lighten up!" Jecht called out, strolling in behind Auron. He clapped the other man on the back as he passed by; Yuna was following him, her eyes sparkling with adoration.
"That was fun!" she cried, running in front of Auron and tugging at his red coat. Auron grimaced and looked away while Jecht snickered.
"Is there something I should know about?" Braska asked.
"I saw the…" Yuna's face screwed up in thought. "Sublimely… Mag… Magnificant…"
"Magnificent," Jecht offered helpfully.
"The Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III," Yuna pronounced carefully. "Sir Jecht used it on Sir Auron!"
Braska smiled at his daughter uncertainly, while Rikku covered her mouth and began to snort. Auron simply clenched his teeth and unhooked his sword, slamming it into the corner of the room with more force than necessary.
"That must have hurt," Rikku managed to say, grinning at Auron.
"… and then Sir Auron showed us how to do a Shooting Star!" Yuna continued happily. The memory of the day was one she was going to treasure for years to come, to Jecht's obvious pleasure and Auron's more subtle chagrin.
Braska's other eyebrow joined its companion as he looked at Auron. "I suppose we shall need to buy a new blitzball tomorrow?" he asked, though the grin twitching at his lips softened his hard tone.
"Sorry," Auron ground out, slumping himself next to his sword.
"I ain't," Jecht replied, clasping his hands behind his head with a smug smile.
"Do it again, Sir Jecht!" Yuna said eagerly, clapping her hands together.
"Oh no, I think that's enough excitement for one day, young lady," Braska cut in hastily before Auron could insert a scathing retort to Jecht. "Time for you to go to bed."
"No!" Yuna cried in protest, shaking her head and balling her fists together under her chin. "I don't want go. The day isn't over yet!"
"C'mon, kid," Jecht said with an encouraging smile, standing over her. "You should listen to your old man. Whadda ya say I tuck you in? Will you go peacefully then?"
The pout left Yuna's face reluctantly, but she gave Jecht a slow nod. "Okay," she said, reaching out and grabbing Jecht's hand. "I guess I can show you Mr. Moogle instead," she murmured as she pulled him towards her room.
Rikku giggled and turned the sphere back towards Braska, who was looking after the two with a tender expression. "I think you might have finally found a rival for Yuna's affections, Auron," Braska noted, his lips quirking.
"Hnn," Auron said, the severe expression on his face softening. Then the smirk returned. "Children always prefer the company of one another over adults."
Braska chuckled, then turned towards Rikku and nodded. "Yes… this is a wonderful idea, Rikkma," he told her. "Since you seem to be familiar with spheres already, would you mind if I put you in charge of making the recordings? We can buy a few more for our supplies tomorrow before we visit the temple."
"For real?" Rikku asked, her smile growing wider. "Yeah!" she cheered when Braska nodded at her, holding her sphere up in the air and hopping from one foot to the other. "You can count on me!"
"This is not a good idea!" Auron cut in, scowling at both of them. "My lord, making sphere recordings is a waste of both time and money! We should be concentrating on things that are more important."
Braska gave Auron a level look. "What could be more important than Yuna?" he asked. That silenced the other man effectively, though it also brought Rikku plummeting out of her happy-dance and back into reality with a crash.
"Beautiful girl you got, Braska!" Jecht's loud emergence from Yuna's room broke through the sombre atmosphere; he was wearing a goofy grin on his face which dropped into a scowl when he noticed the tension in the room. "Whoa, somebody die while I wasn't lookin'?" he asked, scratching his head.
Braska smiled and shook his head at Jecht. "Not yet."
"That isn't funny," Rikku said lowly, collapsing back into her chair and fiddling with the sphere in her hands.
"Sheesh, you all need to stop hangin' around Auron so much," Jecht complained, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. "Ahh… free at last! You got somethin' to eat around here?" he added, wandering towards the kitchen.
"Braska," Auron said, nodding his head towards Jecht. "He still doesn't understand the nature of our task."
"What's to understand?" Jecht asked cluelessly. "We go to Zanarkand, me 'n Auron keep you from getting pounded by whatever we meet along the way, and Blondie over there cheers us on from the sidelines. Right?"
"What!" Rikku said, depression once again vanishing in a cloud of irritation at Jecht's overbearing male ego. "Listen here, you big lug -"
Braska cleared his throat and faced the other man. "Now, Jecht…" he began diplomatically, cutting Rikku off. "I am a Summoner, and you are my Guardian. As such, I am in your hands until we reach Zanarkand."
"Right, right," Jecht said with boredom, ignoring Braska. "So, what's a Summer-ner, anyway?"
The grinding of Auron's teeth was audible even over Braska's helpless sigh. Rikku barely managed to shut down the sphere before the wild gasps of laughter came bubbling from her throat. He's more clueless than Tidus! Like father like son, I guess. Tidus is just like Jecht! And Braska is just like Yuna… and Auron is Auron and Rikkma is Rikku! I wonder if Kimahri, Wakka or Lulu are feeling left out. Rikku dropped her head into her arms at the table and laughed louder, even after the others stopped talking and stared at her.
"We set her off again," Jecht mumbled, and Rikku took a few deep, calming breaths to silence herself. She hiccupped and brushed away the tears that were streaming down her face. Braska murmured a quiet reply that she didn't quite hear, and then Auron grunted loudly in disagreement.
"We know nothing about her," she heard him say. "She shouldn't have been made a Guardian."
" 'ey, she knows I'm from Zanarkand," Jecht answered him irritably. "That's good enough for me."
"And why shouldn't it be?" Auron responded. "You can't possibly have come from Zanarkand. It's obvious that you two are working together, the only mystery is what you hope to accomplish with your little deception."
"That ain't true!" Jecht said, his voice rising. "I didn't even know that chick's name until an hour ago!"
"But you said she knew yours," Auron replied, his voice cool.
"All the fans know my name," Jecht replied confidently.
Auron only shook his head in disbelief. "Do you even listen to yourself?"
Rikku slammed her hands on the table and stood up, annoyance bubbling over her features. "Hey! Stop talking about me like I can't hear you!" She glared at them. "And for the last time, I'm not one of your fans, Jecht! Honestly, I don't even like Blitzball that much!" Well, that was a bit of a stretch, considering that she was a major part of the Gullwing blitzing team. But Jecht didn't need to know that.
Jecht crossed his arms and redirected his glare from Auron to Rikku. "What the hell's your problem, anyway?" he growled. "Here I am, stickin' out my own neck for you and this is the thanks I get?"
Rikku planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "You wanna know what my problem is? My problem is you!" Because you're being nice. And Yunie likes you. And you're sticking up for me even though you don't know who I am. And I KILLED YOU DAMN IT! "I don't need your help!" she said shrilly.
Jecht's face registered surprise at her unexpected outburst before it dropped into a cold scowl; it looked almost foreign on his usually relaxed features. "Crazy little ingrate," he spat out, crossing his arms. "I get the message! Fight your own damn battles from now on, kid."
"I'm not a child!" Rikku replied instantly.
"You sure act like a cry baby sometimes," Jecht growled at her. "Shit, I swear you whine even more than my own kid!"
"Maybe Tidus wouldn't cry so much if you hadn't left him behind in Zanarkand!" Rikku yelled back.
Jecht froze, his face growing ashen underneath the dark tan of his skin. "It wasn't my choice to leave my boy!"
Oops, Rikku thought, cringing. He towered over her, his expression thunderous and his eyes dark with fury. Rikku had never really seen Jecht angry before; now he was, angrier even than Auron, and his wrath was directed completely towards her.
A hand descended on Jecht's shoulder and carefully pulled him away from her; Braska stepped between them and gave the Blitzball player an understanding smile.
"When I saw you with Yuna, I thought you might have a child of your own," he said, his soothing voice cutting through the tension as though he wasn't even aware it was there. "You're very good with children."
A guilty look crossed over Jecht's face, and he turned away from Braska. "Yeah, well… not all of 'em," he muttered under his breath.
There was a raw, aching pain in his tone and Rikku realized how much Jecht actually missed his home and his family. With his gruff, easy-going exterior, it was hard to imagine he could take anything seriously. She'd underestimated him. I… guess he really does care about Tidus.
Braska gave Jecht another pat on the shoulder and released him before facing Auron. "I think this proves that they are not involved in some grand scheme together," he pointed out.
"Or that they're good actors," Auron replied.
Jecht's anger receded at Auron's words and looked over his shoulder at Rikku. "You ain't from Zanarkand too, are you?" he asked her.
"Huh?" Rikku said weakly, still trying to recover from her near-death experience. "No way!" she added. "I already told you, I know all about it from spheres."
"Spheres, huh…" Jecht's eyes narrowed. Sweat beaded on Rikku's forehead as he gave her an unusually calculating glance. Tiny alarm klaxons began to sound in her mind as she realized her mistake. Tidus! I called his son Tidus! She held her breath, her fingers and toes going numb with the fear that he would somehow expose her deception and get her booted from Braska's party before their journey even began, before she had the chance to ply the Fayth for answers to her own questions.
"Whatever," Jecht finally said, turning his back on her. Somehow Rikku knew he wasn't going to drop his suspicions quite that easily, but she was thankful that he seemed content to let them remain just that in front of the other two men.
"It has been a long day for all of us," Braska said. "I think it would be best to continue this discussion tomorrow morning." He picked up a pillow and a blanket and pushed them into Rikku's arms. "You can sleep in Yuna's room tonight, Rikkma. I'm sure she won't mind the company."
"Thanks," Rikku muttered with a blush, beating a hasty retreat from the room. Once again, she was grateful for Braska's timely intervention; it seemed he spent most of his time playing the peacemaker between their explosive group dynamics. There was always bound to be tension between herself and Auron even if he wouldn't have been acting like a complete Yevonite; her continuing attraction to him despite his dour nature seemed to ensure that. But she had been surprised by how much she was affected by Jecht's disapproval. I don't even know the guy that well! So… why do I feel so bad about hurting his feelings like that? With a sigh, she realized she knew perfectly well why she was feeling guilty. Because he didn't deserve that last dig. "Guess it's going to be Rikku's Big Apology Day tomorrow," she muttered to herself, entering Yuna's bedroom.
Rikku shut the door behind herself quietly, letting her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. The moon was shining brightly outside, and the silvery light that spilled through the curtains illuminated the room with an ethereal glow. Yuna was already fast asleep, cradled by pillows and moonlight. She looked angelic, her pale skin shining white against the stark darkness of the night; if it hadn't been for the ratty stuffed moogle that was securely tucked underneath her chin, Rikku might have mistaken her cousin for a Fayth.
"Yunie," Rikku whispered, creeping to the young girl's bedside and studying her peaceful face. "You're gonna grow up to do some really great things, you know, greater than you ever dreamed about." Sighing, she leaned over and brushed a stray lock of hair away from Yuna's forehead, and the little girl turned and mumbled softly. "Sorry," Rikku murmured, biting her lip and blinking away another unexpected tear. Gotta stop doing that, Rikku. The guys are ready to haul you off to the nuthouse as it is already! "Just think of the now," she told herself, tiptoeing away from Yuna's bed and carefully spreading her own blanket over the floor.
After removing her boots and unhooking her twin daggers, stashed securely away from Yuna's curious reach, Rikku settled herself on the blanket and began to sort through her remaining equipment. "Those priests took my best stuff," she muttered under her breath in disgust. In a way, she was thankful that she had brought only her daggers and Conflagration grid with her on her initial trip to the Farplane; she was sure the temple would have been more than eager to keep a tight grip on her more powerful garment grids had she equipped them.
Much more upsetting to her was the loss of her bracelets, though. She had spent hours tooling them together; the protections she'd woven into the small bangles had been miles better than anything she ever managed to work into her old targes. Their technicians are probably trying to figure out how I made those right now. Great, way to give Yevon a helping hand there, Rikku! "Well, not like it matters anyway. I guess I can always make something new. No, not just something new, I'll make something better. So there!"
The sparse contents of her pockets were all too quickly laid out across the blanket, and Rikku let out another heavy sigh. There were the two spheres she had recently recorded, a key chain she'd stolen from Paine's vest, one of Yuna's colorful, hand-woven cloth-and-bead hair ties and a few pieces of lint. Not even a single potion remained from her former supplies. Looks like I'm starting from scratch again. Well, not entirely…
Brightening, she extracted the three remaining dresspheres from her belt and inspected them carefully. They seemed to have survived the trip no worse for the wear, emitting their usual faint blue glow. Rikku couldn't stop the relieved smile from stretching across her face as she picked up one and gave it a small kiss. Then she studied the other two spheres and her mouth dropped open into a disappointed pout. "Crap, I overwrote my Luck sphere! And I really liked that one too!" She held her breath and fell silent as Yuna mumbled and turned in her bed, then leaned forward and resumed her inspection much more quietly.
Lenne's sphere is okay, at least… and my Alchemist sphere is still good too. Shoot… if only I had more hair! "Samurai, Songstress and Alchemist," Rikku whispered to herself. It wasn't exactly the ideal setup she would have chosen to have a face-off with Sin; in fact, it wasn't even an ideal setup for her normal sphere-hunting forays. "Better than nothing, I guess."
And it was; it was a whole lot better than nothing; the power available through Shinra's grid technology was a step beyond anything Yuna's party had managed to gather or learn on their own during the course of their Pilgrimage. That wasn't to say that garment grids were a magical cure-all that could turn any rube into a powerful warrior, no matter what impression Leblanc might have given. Like almost anything that had to do with sphere technology, they worked by tapping into a person's memories and emotions. Without the strong will necessary to harness full control of the spheres, the grids were simply useless trinkets, amusing but unreliable show-costumes. In that sense, summoning the hidden powers out of a dressphere was slightly similar to summoning an aeon, albeit on a much smaller scale. With the exception of the Songstress dressphere, the costumes usually didn't talk back or exert their own personalities when called out. It was also no wonder that Yuna had been the most skilled at using them in their entire group.
Rikku picked up the first sphere and examined it closely, wondering how grid technology might have affected the journeys of the countless other Summoners before Yuna.
Ultimately not very much, she realized; grids only boosted the capabilities of an individual, and it took more than just one person to beat the terrible power that was Sin. She smiled at the Alchemist sphere and carefully tucked it back into her grid. Like the Thief sphere, it was something Rikku had created herself. She had poured her most precious memories into it - thoughts of Home, of the friends and relatives she had lost there, even of her brother Keyakku; she treasured the result it had produced. It was a living, breathing reminder of her people, one she wore as easily as a second skin, and neither Yuna nor Paine had objected when she opted to keep it for herself.
The Songstress sphere, on the other hand, had belonged without question to Yuna. Or, more accurately, it had belonged to Lenne, and Yuna had inherited its power. After Tidus returned, Yuna willingly gave it up, wanting to leave behind all traces of the hardship and suffering of her previous adventures and create a fresh beginning for herself in Besaid. Paine had threatened Yuna with bodily harm at the mere thought of being offered the outlandish sphere, and so it had happily landed in Rikku's possession. Now, as Rikku stole a glance over her shoulder at the younger, sleeping Yuna, she was glad to have it; it might not have been her memories that powered the sphere, but it was one of the only definite connections to her cousin that she had left with her. She slotted it into the grid and moved on to the last remaining sphere.
The Samurai sphere. The one she had also created by herself, to everyone's surprise. Rikku was no warrior; discretion wasn't only the better part of valor in Rikku's world, but often the preferred first choice. And yet the sphere she had crafted was contrary to every belief she thought she held true. It had created a costume built on honor and strength, filled with memories of whispered promises and binding vows. It was a painful outfit for her to wear, but one she treasured above all others. The few times she had let her teammates try it out, they had complained that it felt too "heavy" to be of any practical use. For Rikku, it was a burden she carried willingly; she knew that the heaviness came from her sorrow, for things that never were and could never be.
Until now, Rikku reminded herself, thinking of the younger Auron, living and breathing and separated from her only by one thin wall in Braska's tiny apartment. The sphere flickered and glowed in her palm, and Rikku knew it was changing; she knew because her memories of Auron were changing with it. She carefully placed it into the grid, smiling to herself. It was still a painful dressphere; that would never go away, for suffering was what had made them into the people that they were. But she also knew it would not be quite so heavy to wear anymore, not as long as this Auron stood and breathed next to her.
"If I can even wear when he's around," Rikku mumbled. He'll take one look at me and know something's up for sure… She shook her head and pushed it aside as a problem to be dealt with for later. "Maybe with all the brawn in this party I won't need to use it at all," she comforted herself, toying with the grid. Even without the dresspheres, the grid would in theory keep her feeling at least mildly useful; it wasn't everyone who could manage to throw around a Flare spell after all. Rikku had tried her best to learn it on her own from Lulu, but after several failed attempts and more than a few painful accidents, both had given up on the cause as hopeless.
Rikku trailed over the gate that would activate the Flare magic with her fingertip and wondered where Lulu was now; it was strange, trying to imagine the sophisticated black mage as a girl even younger than herself. She wondered if Lulu was already journeying with Father Zuke, or even Lady Ginnem - if they might meet on the road to Zanarkand, and what she could say to her mentor and secret idol if they crossed paths. "I could use some of your cool right now, Lulu," Rikku mumbled to herself, tracing over the runic patterns on the stone plate apprehensively.
A chill shook Rikku as she fingered the grid, and gathering her courage together, she snapped it off. It fell into her hands, and her breath left her in a loud whoosh. The supplemental magic boost seeped out of her body, leaving her feeling tired and deflated.
Then she frowned and held the grid up for inspection in the moonlight. "That didn't feel any different than normal," she mused. What happened earlier, anyway? Why did it hurt so much? It felt like I was being eaten from the inside out! Eaten… like my magic was being eaten! Panic struck Rikku, and she hastily put away the grid and held her hands in front of her, whispering a few desperate phrases. To her relief, a tiny flicker of flame danced to life in her cupped palms; proof that she could still cast her minor spells even without the grid. She whispered a few more words and tried to strengthen the flame; it grew slightly brighter, but after a few moments Rikku allowed it to flicker and die out. Nope… I still can't even cast a Firaga, I know it. She sagged over, mollified; limited as her own magic was, Rikku prided herself on the little she had.
"Well, if it didn't drain me, and it didn't boost me, what the heck happened?" she mumbled, eying the grid. Then, taking a deep breath, she picked it up and strapped it back on around her waist. A thrum of energy, the tingly feeling that ticked all the way through her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes; it was the usual response she had to equipping any magic grid. Nothing was out of the ordinary; no hint of the strange, phantom pain that had wracked her body the first time even registered. Rikku was relieved that it seemed to be working properly again, though she was still uneasy about her initial reaction to the grid. She snuck another glance at Yuna and decided to keep the plate equipped around her waist; there was no telling if anyone else would have a similar reaction to hers if they wore it, and Rikku didn't want to inadvertently risk causing her cousin unnecessary pain.
Except for the fact that I'm guiding her own father to his death. It's just the little things, right?
Rikku flopped back against the blankets and turned her head to watch Yuna with troubled eyes. Sleep, as tired as she was, didn't come to her for a long time.
edited 7/16: changed Yuna's dialogue, fixed a few minor errors