Categories > Games > Final Fantasy X-2 > Necrosis Infinitum
Because of You
1 reviewRikku goes to scout the new set of islands Cid's discovered, but stumbles upon a greater secret that threatens the future of Spira.
1Exciting
Author's Notes: I'm venturing into the world of chaptered fiction here. I normally really suck at it because I'm unable to deliver the twist or the punch at the end of the story that I enjoy writing so much. Anyway! I've been urged by a few people to /try/, and I'd be a crappy writer to not attempt to expand my "writing horizons" as it were. Concrit welcome. And yes, I know, the title sounds more Harry Potter than FFX-2. But that's life. Lyrics from Kelly Clarkson's song, "Walk Away".
Chapter 1: Because of You
The water shivered with the noise of the party that raged on the shores of New Home. The sky and sand were lit up as what seemed like the entire population poured onto the beach to celebrate the official opening of the city.
Tidus was already smashed on Al Bhed Potions (an alcoholic drink that bore little resemblance to the potions that healed--except for an acrid aftertaste), and was dancing on a table, wearing Yuna's songstress dressphere and singing at the top of his lungs.
"You've got your mother and your brother, every other undercover, telling you what to say. You think I'm stupid, but the truth is that it's cupid, baby, loving you is makin' me this way!" He yelped out, slightly off the beat of the music. Rikku felt badly for poor Yunie who was trying to convince her boyfriend to get the hell off the table before she called Ifrit down on him. He was too plastered to see the empty threat for what it was, but still didn't acquiesce. Rikku heartlessly abandoned her cousin for greener (and less obnoxiously filled with the sound of Tidus's singing) pastures. She walked up to the bar and ordered a screwdriver from the machina bartender and waited. A hand slipped into the back pocket of her short denim skirt and fingers curled against her muscle, digging into the flesh beneath the fabric possessively.
"Hey Cid's girl," an alcohol-laden voice purred into her ear before she could slap the offending jerk who was appropriating a portion of her butt for himself. She narrowed her eyes and turned on the charismatic Machine Faction leader, grabbing his hand and removing it delicately from her scantily clad rear.
"Gippal, what a displeasure," she said, trying to keep her voice as cool as Mt. Gagazet. /Paine would be so proud/, she thought absently. She turned back to the bar to where her screwdriver had been placed on the counter, ignoring the man behind her.
"Awwww, Princess, not happy to see me?" He spun her around easily, smiling indulgently as if she were five again and throwing a cute tantrum. "I'm happy to see you, y'know..." he slurred. His muscled arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her against him. His inebriated state made him clumsy; she was bumped against him hard, causing him to stumble and spill his drink down the front of her shirt.
"Gippal!" She yipped, and leaped back. Cold! Cold, cold! Her shirt was soaked, the white tank top turning pink where his strawberry drink was spreading across the fabric. /Gippal drinks strawberry daiquiris? How girly/, the distant part of her brain commented.
"Oh... dammit," he cursed. "Sorry, kid, here." Before she could blink he'd pulled his tight black shirt off and was handing it to her. She fumbled for it, and glaring at him, slipped her own tank off, pulling his clean, warm shirt on. He stood before her shirtless, looking mournfully into his now-empty glass. "I'm really sorry," he apologized to the glass. /Totally plastered/, she thought, and sighed.
"I'll try and return this later. Anyway... yeah, bye now." She turned to leave but he grabbed her arm, catching her wrist in his hand.
"Hey... hey... that's my best shirt... y'know, the hot shirt, the one that makes all the ladies come t' Gippal. You're not jus'... uh, just, gonna wander off an' steal it." He glared at her, comically irate. "The ladies are mine, y' see... not yours. You... cannot... have them. Yeah." He nodded sagely, seeming pleased with his rambling tirade. Rikku felt her eyebrow twitch in irritation. Auron was probably smiling down her, pleased with her accurate rendition of his facial movements. Except... it used to be that she'd been on the receiving end of a twitchy eyebrow and a slight disapproving scowl.
"So... what, then? You want it back?" She moved to pull it off but he stopped her, with an exuberant shake of his head.
"Nuh! No!" He looked around suspiciously at the other men, his movements exaggerated by the alcohol that he'd enjoyed that evening. "They might stare at your chest. Not good... 'cause... I'd have t' kill them. Al Bhed honour and all that. I owe your old man. No. You can stay with me. The shirt... even on you, kid, will bring the ladies to Gippal. Yeah it will," he concluded. "Good idea, Gippy," he muttered to himself.
"Yeah, um, here's the thing... no?" She twisted her arm out of his grip and darted off through the crowd, his drunk self and annoyed grunt of surprise lost behind her in the moving group of people. It'll bring the ladies to Gippal? Jerk. She stopped behind the bar and leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath and letting the music wash over her.
"Rikku?" Yuna had apparently gotten Tidus down off the table, but not out of her dressphere. He trailed behind her, a placid expression on his face, looking truly strange in her flounced skirt and bra top. Rikku shook her head, to clear the strange image of him dressed as a black mage that had wandered into her mind, and focused on what her cousin was saying to her. "What happened to your shirt?"
"Gippal happened," Rikku said by way of an explanation, pulling the top off. She slipped out a short dagger from the top of her boot and started to cut at the fabric of his beloved "brings the ladies to Gippal" t-shirt, slicing the bottom of it off. Yuna watched her quietly as she slit holes up the back of it, pulling out beaded cord from her hair and lacing it up. She pulled it back on, adjusting it so it fell to her ribs, baring her midriff to the cool night air. Yuna picked up the lacing for her, and tightened it, taking the shirt in so it wasn't so baggy.
"Want me to beat him up with my summoner's staff?" Yuna asked, her voice half teasing, half serious. Rikku rolled her eyes and smiled despite the foul mood her run-in with the Machine Faction leader had put her in.
"Nah, s'okay. How do I look?" She turned and struck a pose, bouncing on her toes slightly.
"Wooooo... niiice." Tidus was staring idly at her belly-button, then scrunching up his eyes hard. "Like a sister... dammit... bad, wrong thoughts." Yuna giggled.
"You look, um, good I guess? Except for all the threads hanging down." Trust Yunie to give an honest answer.
"Better than nothing," Rikku shrugged, trying to relieve the tension in her shoulders, "I'm gonna go dance. I'll see you guys later." Tidus waved slowly as she melted back into the crowd.
"Gippal's a fool, Tidus," Yuna sighed, wrapping an arm around her stumbling beloved.
"Tidus is a fool," he groaned, rubbing his head as she helped him back to their rooms at New Home.
Chapter 1: Because of You
The water shivered with the noise of the party that raged on the shores of New Home. The sky and sand were lit up as what seemed like the entire population poured onto the beach to celebrate the official opening of the city.
Tidus was already smashed on Al Bhed Potions (an alcoholic drink that bore little resemblance to the potions that healed--except for an acrid aftertaste), and was dancing on a table, wearing Yuna's songstress dressphere and singing at the top of his lungs.
"You've got your mother and your brother, every other undercover, telling you what to say. You think I'm stupid, but the truth is that it's cupid, baby, loving you is makin' me this way!" He yelped out, slightly off the beat of the music. Rikku felt badly for poor Yunie who was trying to convince her boyfriend to get the hell off the table before she called Ifrit down on him. He was too plastered to see the empty threat for what it was, but still didn't acquiesce. Rikku heartlessly abandoned her cousin for greener (and less obnoxiously filled with the sound of Tidus's singing) pastures. She walked up to the bar and ordered a screwdriver from the machina bartender and waited. A hand slipped into the back pocket of her short denim skirt and fingers curled against her muscle, digging into the flesh beneath the fabric possessively.
"Hey Cid's girl," an alcohol-laden voice purred into her ear before she could slap the offending jerk who was appropriating a portion of her butt for himself. She narrowed her eyes and turned on the charismatic Machine Faction leader, grabbing his hand and removing it delicately from her scantily clad rear.
"Gippal, what a displeasure," she said, trying to keep her voice as cool as Mt. Gagazet. /Paine would be so proud/, she thought absently. She turned back to the bar to where her screwdriver had been placed on the counter, ignoring the man behind her.
"Awwww, Princess, not happy to see me?" He spun her around easily, smiling indulgently as if she were five again and throwing a cute tantrum. "I'm happy to see you, y'know..." he slurred. His muscled arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her against him. His inebriated state made him clumsy; she was bumped against him hard, causing him to stumble and spill his drink down the front of her shirt.
"Gippal!" She yipped, and leaped back. Cold! Cold, cold! Her shirt was soaked, the white tank top turning pink where his strawberry drink was spreading across the fabric. /Gippal drinks strawberry daiquiris? How girly/, the distant part of her brain commented.
"Oh... dammit," he cursed. "Sorry, kid, here." Before she could blink he'd pulled his tight black shirt off and was handing it to her. She fumbled for it, and glaring at him, slipped her own tank off, pulling his clean, warm shirt on. He stood before her shirtless, looking mournfully into his now-empty glass. "I'm really sorry," he apologized to the glass. /Totally plastered/, she thought, and sighed.
"I'll try and return this later. Anyway... yeah, bye now." She turned to leave but he grabbed her arm, catching her wrist in his hand.
"Hey... hey... that's my best shirt... y'know, the hot shirt, the one that makes all the ladies come t' Gippal. You're not jus'... uh, just, gonna wander off an' steal it." He glared at her, comically irate. "The ladies are mine, y' see... not yours. You... cannot... have them. Yeah." He nodded sagely, seeming pleased with his rambling tirade. Rikku felt her eyebrow twitch in irritation. Auron was probably smiling down her, pleased with her accurate rendition of his facial movements. Except... it used to be that she'd been on the receiving end of a twitchy eyebrow and a slight disapproving scowl.
"So... what, then? You want it back?" She moved to pull it off but he stopped her, with an exuberant shake of his head.
"Nuh! No!" He looked around suspiciously at the other men, his movements exaggerated by the alcohol that he'd enjoyed that evening. "They might stare at your chest. Not good... 'cause... I'd have t' kill them. Al Bhed honour and all that. I owe your old man. No. You can stay with me. The shirt... even on you, kid, will bring the ladies to Gippal. Yeah it will," he concluded. "Good idea, Gippy," he muttered to himself.
"Yeah, um, here's the thing... no?" She twisted her arm out of his grip and darted off through the crowd, his drunk self and annoyed grunt of surprise lost behind her in the moving group of people. It'll bring the ladies to Gippal? Jerk. She stopped behind the bar and leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath and letting the music wash over her.
"Rikku?" Yuna had apparently gotten Tidus down off the table, but not out of her dressphere. He trailed behind her, a placid expression on his face, looking truly strange in her flounced skirt and bra top. Rikku shook her head, to clear the strange image of him dressed as a black mage that had wandered into her mind, and focused on what her cousin was saying to her. "What happened to your shirt?"
"Gippal happened," Rikku said by way of an explanation, pulling the top off. She slipped out a short dagger from the top of her boot and started to cut at the fabric of his beloved "brings the ladies to Gippal" t-shirt, slicing the bottom of it off. Yuna watched her quietly as she slit holes up the back of it, pulling out beaded cord from her hair and lacing it up. She pulled it back on, adjusting it so it fell to her ribs, baring her midriff to the cool night air. Yuna picked up the lacing for her, and tightened it, taking the shirt in so it wasn't so baggy.
"Want me to beat him up with my summoner's staff?" Yuna asked, her voice half teasing, half serious. Rikku rolled her eyes and smiled despite the foul mood her run-in with the Machine Faction leader had put her in.
"Nah, s'okay. How do I look?" She turned and struck a pose, bouncing on her toes slightly.
"Wooooo... niiice." Tidus was staring idly at her belly-button, then scrunching up his eyes hard. "Like a sister... dammit... bad, wrong thoughts." Yuna giggled.
"You look, um, good I guess? Except for all the threads hanging down." Trust Yunie to give an honest answer.
"Better than nothing," Rikku shrugged, trying to relieve the tension in her shoulders, "I'm gonna go dance. I'll see you guys later." Tidus waved slowly as she melted back into the crowd.
"Gippal's a fool, Tidus," Yuna sighed, wrapping an arm around her stumbling beloved.
"Tidus is a fool," he groaned, rubbing his head as she helped him back to their rooms at New Home.
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