A/N: Fairly new to the FFX/X2 game world, so I apologize if I get anything wrong. Feel free to correct me.
Gawhhh screw homework for now;I need to write LOL. This story will be chaptered. This time, I really, really want to finish a chaptered fic. I'm not sure if I want to upload in mini-bits (which would mean more updates) or huge chunks (would mean one update per month-ish). Anyway, I hope you'll all like this so far ) Might get confusing with the beginning flashback.
Djose Days
Ch. 1: Better Back
She gently closes the door of her former room before turning around to face me, forcing out a weak smile that she only forced whenever I told her I had other… things to do. And so this time there's a bit of understanding in her smile, just like all the rest, because she knows there's some truth to it now.
The air is thick around us, and the temple quiet. With a shaky hand, she runs her fingers through her caramel-coloured highlights before setting them back down on the handle of her packed bag. Her mouth is quivering, holding back a flood of emotions that she knows will spill uncontrollably if she dares utter a word. And emotion is the last thing she wants me to see from her.
I frown awkwardly. I always hate these moments. Firing them was one thing, the goodbye part was what really sucked, because then they know you're really serious. And then they realize that you and them weren't really ever serious. And that you just aren't the kind of guy that gets involved and committed and really serious. And that you're just a faction leader that needs some form of entertainment once in a while. And entertainers are never really taken seriously.
She bites her lip inwardly, turning to look me in the eye and nodding subtly. "It was nice working with you," she says in an unusually soft voice.
I nod back clumsily. She was always my favourite. And now she was my last one left.
Her eyes shift uneasily, and she suddenly places her palm against my chest, momentarily silent as she carefully chooses her words. "I would stay, you know… You know that… But I have to – you know I gotta – I just can't…"
I clasp my hand over hers and shush her with a small laugh. "Yeah, I know," I say quietly. "I can't keep you here."
"And I can't stay here."
And then we're silent again as the same question that's been eluding us for days now finally returns, waiting for an answer that neither of us can give. It would've never worked between us anyway.
She swings her bag over her shoulder, letting the question go astray again. "I have a long journey ahead." She ties her caramel-coloured hair into a loose bun, pulling the hood of her sweater over her head as she looks past me and at the open doors of the temple that were revealing the overcast skies outside. "And it might rain soon."
I step aside so she can walk past, and stare at her retreating figure as her footsteps echo rhythmically throughout the empty temple. Then she suddenly stops, and turns and balls her fists to keep her defensive barrier up. "I-I can't visit you, you know that?"
I know.
"And it's not because I don't want to it's just… Well, you understand."
I understand.
"It's just… better. Right?" She pauses. "…B-Better," she whispers again. And then she turns around and continues her shaky walk out. Hood over her head, bag on her small shoulders. Walking out with her last paycheque, her last forced smile, and a piece of me that no one else has been able to take away.
Selyna. It's for the better, babygirl.
- - - - -
Gippal
A throbbing pain streams throughout my arm as I twist my hand out of the mouth of the raging machine before clobbering it to death with my wrench. I kick it senselessly even after that, shaking my reddened arm with grumbling curses. There's no possible way I can fix the piece of junk without the fourth shipment. No fucking way. And I need to. I need to get something fixed. And something sold. And something paid because there's a conference next month. And I hate rumours.
The machine suddenly revives itself, getting up on its two rusty legs and wobbling psychopathically around the temple floor like a headless fiend. It stumbles into a column a few seconds later and collapses after a fountain of electric sparks erupts from its back, followed by a faint whirring as its motor dies down once again.
The temple is silent; vacant, hollow, and empty. And I try to remember the last time there were actually people – hired people – that crowded the now bare rooms.
My ears perk at the sound of footsteps amidst the raindrops outside, and I turn to look out at the open temple doors for a sign of life. A small figure stands confused on the cobblestone steps, bag in hand. I immediately drop my tools on the ground, pulling off my grease-stained goggles and walk towards the door. I hear the distant buzzing of the reviving machine behind me.
"Is anyone here?" asks the person.
I raise my hand as I step out of the shadows of the temple and into the dim blue light. "Gippal," I say, looking at the man. A badge featuring Rin's standard postal delivery service logo is sewed on the man's shirt. I smile, crossing my arms across my chest and leaning on the frame of the door. "You have something for me?"
The man hands the stack of bills to me, biting his lip in sympathy. He doesn't say anymore, and simply leaves into the rain, boarding his company hover and driving to his next destination.
I feel my deranged machine poke at my leg from behind, its motor spinning with an unusual hum. Kicking it aside, I slump down and sit on the temple steps with a heavy sigh. Rain soaks through my pants and trails down my forehead into my mouth. I flip through the envelopes.
Tye.
I stare at the innocent white envelope, knowing exactly what was in it. How much was he offering now? Eighty, ninety thousand? I can buy a house in Luca with that kind of money, or like, four-thousand tents in Bikanel. Get myself a new set of tools and a new set of wheels for my airship. A new hover. Maybe even a pool. A big pool. One of those figure-eight pools. With a fish.
Or stay here.
I hear the machine crawling back to me, its steps, more disorientated than Cid's Girl when she's had a little too much to drink. I flip through the rest of the envelopes.
Tye.
Rin.
Tye.
BIG SALE AT OAKA'S!
Tye.
Tye.
BIGGER SALE AT RIN'S!
Blitzball Game of the Year!
Tye.
Blank
I flip the envelope around, checking the back for any return address. Only my name and the temple's address are written in flawless purple cursive on the front of the otherwise blank envelope. I smirk, almost seeing her face traced out by the dark purple ink. It's been a while.
The machine falls backwards on itself and croaks.
I stand up, walking back inside as I tear the edge of the envelope and shake the letter out. I unfold it as I make my way up the stairs and toward my room. Inside, the letter is blank.
But the paper feels smooth and thick between my fingers. She used expensive paper this time - she's doing well and making money. There's a smudge on the edge, making the printed abstract designs on the paper blur in a mixture of blues and oranges. Teardrops – she misses me. I tilt the paper, narrowing my eye to look closely at its surface reflection. There are long scratch marks across it - she's not ready to talk to me yet.
I open the door to my room, turning on the lights and taking out the envelope, checking the stamp. Luca Stadium. I pause, my eye mindlessly staring outside at the rainy weather. Behind me, the wandering machine crashes into the door.
I put the letter back inside the envelope before opening my bottom drawer. I throw the envelope in, along with the other dozen blank letters safely lying inside. I close the drawer, pick up the dead machine and throw it over my shoulder as I walk down the empty temple steps.
I've always wanted a pool.
- - - - -
Rikku
A cool breeze from the window nips at my shoulder, and I shiver slightly as my mind begins to regain consciousness of my surroundings. My legs feel warm and cozy underneath the thick comforter, my cold shoulder impulsively dipping underneath it as well. A stifled yawn creeps up from the back of my throat and rolls out of my mouth smoothly, and I moan as my head sinks into the squishy pillow.
And then I suddenly freeze. There's someone's foot in my face.
Turning my wide-awake head to the side, I realize it belongs to a man I don't know. A snoring, younger man with one arm over the side of the bed and another draped over another man beside him. Both in the bed. With me.
And then I suddenly feel quite bare.
And I remember, with a groan I remember the party. And I remember the dancing. And the booze. And the dirty old man who wouldn't leave me alone. And the hot, handsome hunk who I could never catch alone. And the loud, blasting music, and the "Rikku, tyrd ayo tehi zecg yod yr li!" and the "Ayo piddih cumdir dy nul, Mum." And of course the, "U'l yct iryokn dy legi la yzr tisumuyrm!" And that's about it.
My hands run over my thigh, and I realize something's missing. But it's only my skirt – which is better than losing everything, but not as good as having everything. Rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes and letting out a nasty breath of stale beer, I gently slide out of the bed and trot over the multiple people lying strewn across the floor, asleep. Unfortunately, I spot my thief skirt stuck in between a couple, quite tightly wedged in. With a nervous yank, I manage to pull it out, slip it on, and run out of the room, only tripping over a couple of tables and chairs once or twice.
The rest of the foreign apartment is a mess. Empty red plastic cups littered all over the ground. Clothes hanging off places they shouldn't be. Every piece of furniture twisted and rearranged in the strangest way.
Checking my hair in the mirror, I make my way to the door, struggle to find my boots, and leave the apartment quietly before someone wakes up and reminds me how exactly I lost my skirt last night.
The hallway is quiet, and I see a bright stream of light around the corner. With a skip in my step, I scamper through and out the glass doors, suddenly dizzy and blinded by the sunlight. And surprised to find myself – oh, yeah. In Luca.
My mouth still tastes nasty and dry. I reach into my back pocket, checking to see how much money I have on me.
One.
Hmm. Let's check that again.
One. Not one thousand. Not one hundred. But one. One single gil coin. Crap. Some great runaway plan that was. Pops would die of laughter if I told him I had marched out all smug and arrogant and bratty, with only one gil in my pocket. But he doesn't have to know. I just won't tell him. I can live with just one.
After rinsing the bad taste off my tongue from the (free) water fountain, my stomach begins to growl in anger. For a moment, I contemplate walking off to Mi'ihen Highroad, catching myself a fiend or two and roasting it over a daytime campfire. But a hamburger sounds so much better.
There's a local restaurant nearby so I walk in, take a seat next to the shyest looking male waiter by the counter, and bat my eyelashes excessively, making constant remarks about his strong, buff arms as I place my order. He tells me it's on him.
I spend the rest of the day hiking along Mi'ihen Highroad, finding myself about 70 gil… like, dropped on the ground… By the evening I've arrived at one of Rin's inns, and the manager there promises to pay me 80 gil an hour if I stand by the door and convince late night travelllers with my oh so charming ways to stay. He eventually offers me a bed… in his room… But I decline, telling him my 300 pound boyfriend wouldn't like that. He fires me soon after.
With 190 gil in my pocket, I take off on the road again. There's nobody I want to see in Luca. And I defintely won't be able to travel far on foot anywhere else. With my traditional companions having long separated and leading their own lives, there's only so few familiar faces I see nowadays.
I find a cracked sphere buried behind a rock as I walk, and I place it my belt pocket safely. When it begins to rain, I find shelter in a small cave. It's a bit scary, so I sit by the edge, so near that the raindrops splatter all over me. But I need the shower anyway, I pretty much stink.
The wind gnaws at my skin, and I rub my limbs roughly, trying to recreate the warmth of the thick comforter. But I give up a while later, and simply resort to pulling my legs close to my chest to retain as much body heat as possible.
Maybe I should visit Gippal tomorrow. Trick him into thinking there's somehting wrong with one of his 'machines', and make him pay me to fix it for him. Haven't talked to the guy in quite a while. It'd be nice to see a familiar face.
I flinch as a crash of thunder makes the cliff wobble, and for a moment I think the cave is going to collapse on me. But it holds until morning, when I wake and find myself staring into a pair of gorgeous auburn eyes.
- - - - -
Gippal
I wipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand before crouching down underneath the airship and screwing in the final bolt. My head hits a metal pipe as I pull out, and I stumble backwards, tripping over the little psychotic machine and falling on the ground with a thud. It bounces back in reply, as if laughing at me.
For nearly 24 hours now, it has been spontaneously reviving itself more times than Seymour. And there's nothing I can do about it because I can't throw it away; it is still fixable, with the fourth shipment of new parts. If Tye actually gives me those parts.
It suddenly whirrs, and then dies again. And I ignore it, getting up and tossing my screwdriver into the metal toolbox as I make my way towards the entrance of the temple once more. And still, it's quiet.
My excavation crew hasn't arrived yet from the Moonflow. And I don't know what to think. Either they're still searching, or couldn't find anything and are on their way back. Anything. And that means more cup-of-noodles for tonight.
My eye lands on the pile of unopened envelopes by the door, Tye's fingerprints all over them. The machine revives from behind me, and slips across the grease stained floor when it tries to walk. I sit down, forcing myself to open one of the letters. I skim through it for the number.
Eighty-five thousand.
I tear the paper in half, crumpling it up and throwing it outside. The machine jabs me from behind for littering.
I tear open another envelope, and this time it's seventy-eight thousand. Then, eighty-two thousand, then ninety-one thousand. I don't rip the ninety-one thousand offer.
The machine convulses again, wobbling pass me and down the cobblestone steps before rolling over, clunking down, and landing in the sand, motionless. It makes me laugh a bit.
I stuff the letter into my pocket, walking down the steps and picking the machine up. It revives at my touch, scurrying away before crashing, yet again, into a large rock. I watch it in amusement as it tries to restart its system again. I decide to name it Nooj.
- - - - -
Rikku
He slides his slippery fingers all around my waist, pulling me closer and closer toward him. In his grip, I feel slimy. And sticky. And really uncomfortable. I tell him he should let go now – that my 300 pound boyfriend lives here in Djose and has a very, very bad temper. But Auburn Boy doesn't care, saying he was a former Crusader, and can fight off anything. I tell him my father is Cid, leader of the Al Bhed. But Auburn Boy doesn't care, saying fathers always had a tendency to like him. So I tell him I like girls, and he quickly leaves me alone.
Djose's town is quite small, but it's a lot less lonely than Mushroom Rock Road. I buy myself a large ice-cream sundae with sprinkles and tropical bananas from Kilika, eating it all in four fantastically fun minutes! With only 90 gil left in my pocket, I spend it all on chocolate shaped chocobo from a nearby candy shop.
As I try to figure out a way to Djose Temple from the town, a large crowd outside a store catches my attention. Upon closer observation, I realize that it's just a sale of some sort, and am about to pass it up when a funny looking piece of machine reveals itself from behind the crowd. A sale on machina parts! How brilliant and rare is that!
So now the chocobo tastes bitter in my mouth, and I frown, knowing I can't afford a single thing even if it is at a ridiculously low price. I should've brought some money with me when I left New Home. Dammit. Or like, had a smaller sized ice cream bowl…
I peek at the merchandise anyway, and it just kills me to see the residents of Djose clamber through the prices, stickers pasted all over saying "75 off" and "Buy 1 get one FREE!" I groan, glancing around the area for any sign of the manager.
I think I spot him inside, standing by the counter and giving orders to the cashier. Smoothing down my hair and subtly pushing down my skirt, I slowly walk through the door, letting out a soft, disappointed moan as I stare at the shelves of machina commodities. I get his attention immediately.
"Excuse me, y-you're L-Lady Rikku?"
"Yes, I am she." I look over at him with a pout, and then let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, good sir, I was just admiring all the lovely products in your fine store here. And I'm just absolutely appalled with myself for forgetting my wallet at home." I lean against the counter, watching as his eyes shift downward. "Do you think I can get the items I need today, and pay you back some other time?" I tilt my head to the side cutely. "I promise…"
He nods clumsily; asking me what exactly was I looking for. And that I could have anything I wanted, absolutely free of charge – considering I was a former two-time world-hero after all. I race outside excitedly, squeezing through the customers, and glancing at all the boxes with eager eyes. Impatiently, I grab the biggest box of merchandise – a box labelled with the number "4" – and bring it back inside to show the manager.
"Thank you so much, Sir," I tell him sweetly. "I'll never forget your kindness."
He laughs whole-heartedly, his cheeks turning pink with glee. "Just call me Tye," he says.
"Okie dokie!' I say, waving him goodbye before leaving the store. Outside, I run into a nice old lady who shows me the path to follow to get to Djose Temple. I carry the box with me up the hill, thinking of a reasonable price to sell it to my old-time pal.
- - - - -
Gippal
I wake up in the middle of the afternoon upon hearing the soft humming of the Faction's airship. My mind is so exhausted, and my arms and legs requiring a much needed rest. Sleep is so tempting, but there's no time for it now.
With a groan, I pull myself out of bed, stepping over dead Nooj, and scratching my bare chest absent-mindedly as I focus my ears intently on the sound of my worker's voices entering the temple.
I open my bedroom door and step out to lean on the banister, waiting with a sickening feeling of anxiety. False hope sitting in my stomach, taunting me in Tye's voice and making me think that this is the one. That this is the discovery that's gonna pull us out of debt. But the handful of workers enter the dimly lit temple in silence, and empty handed. Each one more depressed than the next. And I don't even need to tell them, because they all know that for at least one of them, this'll be their last night here.
Cursing under my breath, I throw on a T-shirt and get back down to work.
- - - - -
Rikku
Not all old women are wise, y'know.
I give one final grunt as I lift the heavy box over the small cliff and shove it aside so I can climb on. Once stabilized and standing tall, I pick out the leaves and branches stuck in my hair and toss them on the ground. I finally see the temple after what feels like walking in circles a dozen times; at least, I'm pretty sure it is. It's a lot… more dead looking than I remember it to be. But I move towards it anyway, groggily pushing the box along the rough dirt path as I go.
The large entrance doors are wide open, revealing a deep dark hollow blackness that extends all the way inside the temple. I raise my eyebrow curiously, wondering why Gippal didn't turn on the lights in the place – and where's all the crackling lightning anyway?
Picking up the box tiredly, I climb the steps and walk into the temple freely. At first I think it must be some holiday or something, because there's no one at all in the large, vacant room. But I can't think of any – unless it's Gippal's birthday or something and he's being his conceited self and had demanded that people deserved a holiday on his special day.
A loud slam of the door from the left side of the room startles me, and I drop the box suddenly on the ground. I look in the direction of the door, but can't make out a distinguishable figure.
"Who's there?" the figure asks, and I'm instantly at ease.
I cock my head to the side, impulsively brushing down my tangled hair. "Gippal?" I say, a little too much joy in my voice than I had planned.
He hesitates for a moment before stepping out of the shadows and greeting me with a smug grin. "Haha, hey Cid's Girl." His words a bit slurred and smooth and just how I remember it. "Long time no see, Kid. Wha'cha doing here?"
I open my mouth to speak, but his face is suddenly frozen solid and his eye fixed on the ground at my feet.
His voice is serious. "What's that?"
I look down at the box. "Oh – Well, I was just going to ask you if you -"
He kneels down, looking inside it, inspecting all the parts. "Where'd you get it from?"
"Well, you see, I was in Luca -"
"Luca?"
"Yes, Luca. And then this big fiend began to attack this boy with nasty auburn eyes -"
"Fiend?"
"Big fiend."
"Big?"
"Huge. Anyway -"
"You killed it?"
"Totally did. And the boy -"
"Thanked you."
"Yes, with this box of machina parts!" I giggle softly, shaking my head in disbelief. "Isn't that just the strangest thing? And since I don't really have any use for it and you're the 'Machine Faction' and all, I'm willing to let you buy it off me for a reasonable price!"
He stares at me, arms crossed and leaning against one of the temple's columns. He studies the look on my face, and then the container labelled 'Four' on the ground. His mouth slightly parted, and his eyebrows slightly narrowed. And he goes, "Ah, huh…" before reaching down, taking the box of machina, and then walking away.
- - - - -
Gippal
I'm suddenly slammed quite harshly into the wall – more than I deserve, I believe – and the box falls out of my hands with a loud clank to the ground. My mind is numb for a while as I shake the collision out of my system, blinking several times to refocus my thoughts. In the meanwhile, she has already given me a whirlwind of foul words and phrases in our native tongue. I wince slightly as I turn to look at her, eyes narrowed and finger shaking at me as if she were my mother. It takes a couple of seconds for her words to actually register in my head.
"…know stealing is a bad thing to do!" she shouts.
I raise my eyebrow at her.
She withdraws her pointed finger in realization, giving me a final scowl before bending down and picking up the box, ready to march out of the temple in her typical 'Miss-Thing' fashion. "At least, being a former guardian, I gave something back in return," she mumbles.
I scoff. "Like what? Gonorrhoea?"
She snaps back around, eyes igniting with rage and disgust. Her body is shaking noticeably, but she tries to control it, wanting her stare to break me down first before her fists. "You're a bastard," she simply says, turning back around and heading toward the doors. The box tightly held in her arms and her head sunken low like a wilted flower.
I don't watch her. Turning around, I head back to my office desk, her footsteps echoing behind me in the hollowness of the room. I still can't get past the fact that Tye actually gave my shipment away. I was his best customer for nearly five years, and Cid's Girl just strolls by once upon a fiend and gets it. That's just fucked up. But I don't worry about it too much. I know she'll be back.
- - - - -
It's midnight. And she's not back.
I lean against the door of the temple, letting out a loud groan as my leg lazily falls off the top step and rolls onto the next. The grease marks from my boots ooze cleanly off slowly, making the puddle beneath them black enough to hide in.
There's a light drizzle outside, and I start to wonder if she's somewhere safe. I can't help it; it's natural instinct to care whether or not the person with your goods is with them safely. I'm just surprised she didn't return after our little dispute.
I didn't mean to upset her, stupid kid. But it's not like it wasn't anything she's never heard before. What is she – like 23 now? And she's still her spastic, spoiled and skimpy seductive self. And it wasn't like what I said wasn't true. It would've been next to impossible for her to steal that entire box. And she doesn't have the kind of money to buy it. That dick gave it to her for a reason.
In the temple, Nooj tumbles down the stairwell.
And the Rikku I knew wouldn't have provided that reason. She would've stuck out her tongue, call the guy a few childish names, and then march out with dangerous determination to build her own whatchamacallit. But I haven't seen nor spoken to her in a while now, and it's quite clear that she has grown alternative ways of convincing fat old men.
I play with her slim figure in my mind for a bit – natural male instinct; her name has become synonymous with her body, and she knows, so s'all good. But it's quickly veiled by a curtain of shiny, smooth, silky, sweet-smelling caramel-coloured hair, and I suddenly want my pool again.
I get up and walk back inside. Nooj revives as I pass. She'll be back tomorrow.
Except that she isn't. And I think that she'll be back by the end of the week but she isn't. And I end up sitting on the front steps again a week later, midnight and rain, watching in surprise as my crew finally brings back something interesting. Hair damp and sticky, skin pale and blue, clothes tattered and dirty. And I take her from their arms, immediately inspecting her body for any signs of mistreatment – like she was a valuable machine find, and deserved to be handled with care.
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Any updates will be on Mondays.