Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy X - This is Our Story ❯ No Dull Moments ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

“I’m glad you got to meet my girlfriend, Shana.”
‘When he said that, it felt like the rug had been pulled out of my feet. I mean . . . It’s not like I had my hopes up, but, . . . I just thought . . . Well. No more make-believe, I guess.’
“Girlfriend?”
In the middle of the bustling metropolis of Luca, in the heart of the marketplace, Shana, Bilus, Kimari, and Hail were standing around the crystalline monument in front of the Crusader’s Headquarters. The wavy haired youth had just introduced his companions to his beau, Hail, a beautiful Crusader clad in blue.
The girl nodded her head, giggling. “Yup!” The summoner hated to admit it, but, he was finding this girl more and more irritating by the minute. It was wrong for him to just judge someone like that, wasn’t it? He didn’t care. Shana didn’t care if this girl was a saint of Yevon, he disliked her. He felt bad, feeling guilt rush through his body momentarily like a wave of malicious venom, but, the tugging on his heart subdued his morals.
“I see,” he replied dryly, lowering his gaze. Kimari glanced from gloomy Shana to the giddy Hail, shaking her head. She wanted to wrap her strong ebony arms around the shorter boy, but, the Ebon knew it would only make matters worse.
Bilus and Hail were discussing something, but, Shana couldn’t hear them anymore. He was too caught up in his own thoughts to listen. All he heard was a bothersome high-pitched babble and a full tenor that he couldn’t block out, no matter how hard he tried. Even in his squall of inner thoughts, he could still hear Bilus.
“Right, Shana?”
Shana was awoken out of his stupor, blinking rapidly as he tried to get back into the now. “Huh?” he asked, struggling to feign his usual quirkiness. Bilus’s face took on a slightly worried expression, which made the summoner feel worse because he couldn’t stop thinking of the boy. At the moment, he was comparing his bewildered look to a confused puppy, which made the growing dark cloud overhead even bigger.
Bilus took a step or two closer to the cleric, before he repeated himself. “I was telling Hail about the fighting tournament. Me and Aaroka are gonna win, right Shana?” he asked again, hoping the brunette heard him this time.
“Oh. Yeah,” Shana said, monotonously. He had to get away from them. His resentment of this Hail girl and these emotions he was feeling for his guardian was becoming too much for him. Shana took note that his lack of care over whether or not Bilus won caused the Crusader’s mood to dampen a bit. Now he really had to find some way to escape. When the summoner wasn’t pleased, he took it out on everybody. He suspected Briruru still remembered the time she had tried to cheer him up after he had been picked on by some village boys, and he had yelled at her.
Hail brought her hand to her luscious pink lips, laughing. “You won’t win in that getup, Billy boy,” she said, pointing at Bilus’s outfit. That was true. The Crusader might’ve been able to come out of battles with fiends and wild animals without any deep wounds, but, the tournament would have actual people to fight. Intelligent people who knew how to use their wits to disable and win. “If you wanna make it pass the first round, you might want to go over to HQ and get some armor,” Hail continued, already concocting something in her brown and blonde little head.
“Hmm, I guess so.” Bilus turned to Shana, becoming more worried and perplexed when he saw how the boy was standing like a spoiled child deprived of their favorite toy, with his arms crossed, and his lower lip sticking out in a pout. “Shana, you wanna come with me to get some armor?” he asked, trying to include Shana in on the fun.
The summoner shook his head, and turned away from the shorter man. “No,” he said curtly, thrusting his hands through his hair angrily. “Kimari and me are going to the café. You go get some armor. Go have a wonderful time,” the boy hissed, storming off in the direction of the little coffeehouse in a narrow alleyway of the market.
“Shana?” Bilus muttered, taken aback. He looked over to the amazon-like huntress, seeking an answer from her. “Kimari?” The woman narrowed her eyes before turning on her heel and stomping off after Shana, her long black braids swaying in the wind as she left.
Hail slowly moved toward her lover, hesitantly placing a hand on his arm, stroking it soothingly. She rested her head against his shoulder, nuzzling into it affectionately. “I don’t think your friends like me . . .” she mumbled into his sweater, sadly.
“. . . Hail . . .”

‘I didn’t mean to act so cold. I just felt so . . . so angry. I actually thought I might’ve had a chance, and yet, he has a girlfriend. And he not once mentioned her! Really . . . Oh well. I’ll just apologize later at the inn, and, well, move on, I guess . . . ‘
After Shana’s tantrum, he and Kimari had entered a little bistro in a nook of the market place called ‘Flan House’. It was pretty deserted, for some reason, so the duo had no problem getting a table. Their waitress had been nice enough, bouncing around with a spring in her step, but, her mood wasn’t infectious enough to hoist Shana out of his gloom.
Kimari had ordered a cup of herbal tea, and was attempting to prevent herself from slurping. Meanwhile, Shana was drinking his soda while staring out the window. His Ebon guardian’s noisy slurping was amusing him, though. He giggled, despite his dreary mood, which caught Kimari’s attention.
“Kimari not like him from beginning,” she said in the usual Ebon dialect. Shana appreciated the huntress’s attempt at lifting his sorrows, but, it really wasn’t helping. Kimari didn’t like most people, anyway. Ever since Briruru and he had found the woman on the beach eight years ago, she had been very world weary and distrusting of anyone other than Briruru and himself. She never bothered to say what had happened, aside that she was a warrior in the Ebon tribe from Mt. Gagazet.
Shana sighed heavily, laying his head down on the table. “Kimari . . . You shouldn’t say things like that. Just because he goes out with Hail is no reason to hate him. Ahem . . . or her,” the boy said. A little white lie never hurt anyone, but, he honestly didn’t hate Bilus. He was feeling a hodgepodge of emotions, but, hatred was not in the equation.
The towering girl leaned back in her cushy, red leather seat, smirking smugly. “You no can lie to Kimari,” she grunted, “Kimari know you like big books in temple.” Shana lifted his head and smiled a true, genuine smile. He didn’t know what he’d do without his pretty, not-so-little amazon.
“Thanks, Kimari.”
Before the girl could say anything, her long, elfish ears twitched. Her eyes grew wide, and she sniffed at the air like an animal catching scent of a threat. Towards the front of the café, there was some sort of commotion that Shana couldn’t see, but, it caused Kimari to bolt up out of her seat and look over.
“It is! It is Kimari, Damian!” someone shouted, in a . . . Ebon manner?
Shana shifted in his seat to peer around Kimari, and could see two figures approaching them. They were both Ebon, but, taller than Kimari. One of them wasn’t very in shape, looking rather chunky, but, the other one was very muscular. Kimari’s muscles flexed and bulged like a feline preparing to swipe back at an adversary.
The flabbier Ebon slapped the fitter one on the back, before snickering and pointing at Shana’s guardian. “Why not speak? Kimari no see Ofor eight years!” the rounder man said, resting his large, clawed hands on his waist-armor.
The other Ebon, this one with his dread-locked hair in a ponytail, shook his head. “Leave Kim be, O.” Kimari seemed to relax some at this, but, was sent back on the defensive once Ospoke.
“Kimari is weak Ebon,” O’darrioke taunted, not paying his fellow Ebon any mind. “Too weak to even look in O’darrioke and Damian’s faces!” The huntress’s eyes darkened, and she began to growl quietly in her throat like an animal. “Kimari forget her friends? We taught you much!” he continued, shoving the shorter Ebon lightly. Kimari’s growl became louder, and, just a little bit more menacing.
Shana got out of his seat, and moved behind Kimari to keep her calm. “Kim . . . don’t do anything you’ll regret . . .” the summoner soothed, stroking her back reassuringly. But, that was of no help. In a flash, the huntress was upon the fatter Ebon, launching into an uppercut. It connected square with his jaw, knocking him off of his feet and onto the floor.
“Kimari!” Shana gasped, astonished over the girl’s fury. Before she could respond, the other Ebon, Damian, narrowed his eyes and rose his hand into the air, before bringing it down hard. He backhanded Kimari with all his might, right across the face. She fell to the floor, landing in a crumpled heap.
One of the café workers noticed the disturbance, and, not wanting to lose any furniture or customers to the squabble, decided it best to kick the commotion-starters. “Hey!”the elderly looking woman shouted, “take it outside!” Two burly waiters, who looked more like bouncers than waiters, which only made their aprons all the funnier, escorted the two Ebon men out, while Shana helped Kimari up and led her outside.
When the cleric and his guardian arrived outside, Damian and O’darrioke were gone. Kimari was still dazed from the blow she had suffered just a few moments ago, and her steadily swelling and bruising cheek showed it. She rubbed it hazily, and subtly blinked back a few tears. Shana patted the girl’s back affectionately, before inquiring as to who those people were.
“Kim . . . Who were those guys? They can’t honestly be friends of your’s.”
Kimari sighed heavily, and shook her head, the feathers in her hair and her earrings swaying gracefully as she did. “Kimari will tell Shana everything . . . Someday. Not today.” The summoner wished the Ebon would open up to him, but, he had to respect her privacy. If she wanted to tell him about her past, she would. He couldn’t force her to do anything. The auburn haired boy nodded understandingly, not wanting to press the matter farther than she wanted.
“Shana!”
. . . Shana knew that voice. It must be . . .
“Kimari!”
Bilus!
Shana looked toward the direction the voice was coming, which was north of the sword-like monument. Sure enough, it was Bilus . . . but, he looked different. Really different. No longer was his face adorned with beautiful dark-brown curls; they were gone. His hair was much shorter now, not any less attractive, but, much shorter than what the summoner had grown accustomed to. He was wearing a new red tunic, as well as some shoulder guards, a plate of abdominal armor, and some interesting looking red chaps over his jeans. He had to hand it to Hail; she knew how to make the boy look damn good. Damn her.
“Bilus . . .” Shana gasped in awe over his new look, “you look, well, different!” Shana was out of his little mood for the moment, and was very giddy. Bilus blushed lightly, and took a moment to look himself over, from his new tunic down to his new black shoes and gloves.
“Do I do good work or what?” a very familiar voice said. Obviously, it must’ve been Hail. Shana didn’t even have a chance to survey the scene for the girl before she latched onto Bilus in a hug, all but springing into a piggyback ride. “He didn’t really like the chaps very much, but, like, I think they’re hawt!” she giggled, stepping back from her love to admire how he looked in the black and red garment.
Shana nodded in reply, smiling. They did look good. And they were very appropriate, too! The Yevonite symbol for light was at the bottom of both legs, which fit Bilus quite nicely.
. . . Damn her.
“So, how was the coffeehouse?” Bilus asked, fiddling with the sleeve of his new shirt.
The summoner glanced at Kimari out of the corner of his eye, before replying. “Uhm . . . Eventful.” Kimari shook her head. Shana saw what she was trying to hide, though. Her lips were twitching up in a smile, revealing her canines like she was a vampire. The Ebon rarely smiled, but, when she did, it was cute. Just like now.
Shana could tell the Crusader was curious by the look on his face, but, he was still a little miffed and didn’t think he’d let him in on what happened in the café. At least not right now.
“Okay . . . Well,” Bilus began, figuring he wasn’t going to get any information out of his two companions any time soon, “let’s head back to the stadium lobby and see if Ruru and Aar are still there.” Shana thought this idea was just lovely, since he really wanted to find his other two guardians and check into an inn. Kimari probably wanted to put something on her cheek, too.
Before Shana could voice his agreement, the object of his growing disliking was upon him. Hail tapped him on the shoulder, prompting the summoner to turn and face the Crusader girl. She was pretty, he had to give that to her. Hail was one of those girls with the cute heart-shaped face and big teddy-bear brown eyes. Damn her. “Hey Shana, I’d really like to meet your friends,” the girl said, sounding friendly enough. “And I really hope we hit it off, okay?” Dammit, she was sweet too. Well, Shana was thinner, so there. He had one thing on her.
Shana shoved away any possible catty remarks that were coming to mind, and conjured all of his kindness to sound just as nice as she was being. “Me too!” he cheered, winning a best-actor award in the process.

‘Well, all jaded-bitchiness aside, I made a real effort to talk to this girl. She’s really sweet, so I can see what Bilus saw in her. And, though it hurts to admit it, we got along really well. She was really interested in learning about my father, Luther, and thought it was really cool that my father was a Spiran legend. If I get this many props for being the son of Way’s guardians, I’d hate to know how his children feel!’
“Really? You’ll hafta show that to me later.”
“Thanks, Shana! I sooo will! I don’t mean to brag, but, like, you just haven’t seen magic till you see my sword magic! Hehe . . .”
The group had finally reached the stadium lobby again. Amelia, the tall receptionist from earlier, was still sitting at her little booth looking terribly bored, but, there were more people hanging out in the lobby now. Shana and Hail had started a discussion on magic half way into the walk back to the arena, and that was when the summoner learned the girl could imbue her rapier, Sisterhood, with magic. He decided that Briruru would really have to see this.
Bilus surveyed the area before folding his arms and going ‘hmm’ thoughtfully. “I don’t see Briruru or Aaroka anywhere . . .” the not-so-shaggy-haired guardian said. An idea came to him, which was obvious once his face lit up with his brilliance. “I’ll go ask that receptionist if she saw them leave! Hang on . . .”
As the Crusader waked over to the front-desk, Shana decided now was the perfect time to take a break. After looking around for a little bit, the cleric finally found an empty bench just prime for resting on. The boy sat down, smoothing out his robes so he could sit more comfortably. It didn’t take too long for him to be joined by Kimari and Hail. The latter sat down alongside him, while the former decided to keep guard a few feet away.
“Sooo . . .” Hail chimed, shuffling through topics in her mind to find a subject she and the summoner had yet to discuss. “Do you have any family left?”
Shana shook his head ‘no’, trying to figure out if his distant cousin counted as family. “Not really . . . I’ve got a cousin named Justoc who joined the Warrior Monks a few years ago, but, we never got along very well, so . . .”
Hail’s face contorted in shock, her eyes all but bugging out. “Justoc?” she gasped, “Justoc Greeder?” Shana nodded, becoming confused and afraid all at the same time. “Wow! Two famous people in one family, heehee!”
‘Justoc? Famous? That didn’t sound right. What could that bumpkin have done to get him famous, rape a Shoopuff in front of Maester Dupuy? Kill an entire squad of Warrior Monks in a little game of friendly fire?’
The female Crusader could tell Shana was still confused. “Didn’t you hear? When Maester Lotus died, the old Maester of the Monks, Maester Reeves, stepped down from his position. By some stroke of luck, Maester Justoc was elected into office.” Shana could’ve died right then and there. Yevon truly was out to get him. His cousin, the little boy who used to torture puppies and play ‘touchy-feely’ during tag, got elected as Maester? The end was nigh, for this had to be a sign of the Apocalypse. Yes, he could remember the verse clearly. ‘When the village idiot wears the big hat, rainbows shall erupt from Sin’s buttocks and obliterate the sun.’ Oh, what a way to go!
Shana finally regained his composer enough to form a sentence. Or so he hoped. “I think a little piece of me just died . . .” the summoner murmured, dazedly. The boy pushed a strand of auburn hair past his left ear, hoping it didn’t get caught in his earring, when he decided to change the subject. Learning one of his most resented kin was now a major leader of Spira was going to break his brain, and he thought he might need that to defeat Sin.
“What about you, Hail? Do you have any family?”
The girl nodded, leaning back some to bask in the warm afternoon sun. “Yes,” she chimed, “I have a grandmother that lives in Bevelle.” A shadow of sadness enveloped Hail’s once happy, pretty features briefly, and then faded to show her perky face once more. “But . . . I’m not so sure how much longer she’s gonna be with us . . .”
Shana looked over to the girl he had despised so very much not too long ago, and felt like giving her a hug, but, traces of venom still pumped in his heart. “I’m sorry,” he said, patting her hand reassuringly. He felt bad about his negative emotions holding him back from being kinder, but, when the girl smiled sweetly in his direction, he felt a bit better.
“Hey!” Bilus shouted, jogging towards Shana, Hail and Kimari. He must’ve gotten used to wearing light armor, if you could call a sweater that, because it seemed his new equipment was weighing him down some. Hopefully he would be used to the added weight by tomorrow. “The receptionist said that Briruru and Aaroka headed to an inn downtown called the ‘Prancing Aeon’. If we walk toward the sphere-theater, we should see it.”
Finally! Shana couldn’t wait to find his other guardians. Kimari and Bilus were great company, of course, but, the cleric was beginning to miss Aaroka’s antics and Briruru’s twisted sense of humor. “Yay! Okay, let’s hurry. I’m hungry, tired, and . . . that’s all the reasons we need!”

‘It didn’t take us long to find ‘The Prancing Aeon’. It was a lovely little establishment, placed at just the right spot on a hill to overlook the center square of Luca. And the guy at the front desk told us that there was gonna be some band called ‘Adamantoise Shells’ at the café not too far from the theater. Hopefully, no Ebon bullies would be at that café. The man at the front desk said they were some really cool rock band, or something. Bri would be all over that. Speaking of Bri . . .’
“OH MY YEVON!”
“Shana, what’s all the commotio– Whoa!”
Kimari and Hail’s reactions were the least surprised. Which was expected, actually, since Kimari was normally calm and distant anyway, and Hail had never met the mage before, anyway. Shana and Bilus were shocked, though. Very. You would’ve thought someone had told them Yevon wore panties and a tutu.
Their reason for being so floored was because of Briruru’s new appearance. When they had last seen her, her hair was as black as night, darker than the darkest shade moving across a wraith-filled ruin. It showed her love of the dark arts, and the blackness within her it created. It was an epitome of the broody and sinister moods she got into.
Of course it wasn’t her natural hair color.
Her hair was back to the shade it had been before she had taken up black magic. It was back to the sandy blonde it had been at one time, but, it was made even prettier by the royal purples staineing her bangs. She never ceased to amaze. The moment her friends thought they had her all figured out, she changed in some way or another.
“Well?” Briruru asked, her voice filled with pride. She did a boastful, confident little turn to show herself off. Which wasn’t really needed, actually, since it was only her hair color that had changed. The summoner and his Crusader guardian applauded, much like little fanboys, as she stopped twirling and came to a rest with her hands resting sexily on her hips.
That was when she finally noticed that Bilus, too, had changed. His hair was very short now, shorter than Briruru’s tomboyish hairdo, and his new tunic and armor was a major improvement over his temple-provided sweater. “Wow!” Briruru gasped, taking her turn at being stunned. She looked like she was about to flirt with the guardian, but, a warning growl from Shana prevented this.
“Who dressed you all up? Shana’s tastes aren’t no where near that good . . .” Briruru wondered aloud, looking the boy over top from bottom. An indignant ‘hey’ from Shana’s direction interrupted her eyes’ roaming over Bilus’s new outfit, and gave her the opportunity to notice the new face in the room.
Hail saw the mage’s gaze falling on her, and, wanting to make a good impression, smiled big and waved rapidly. “Hi! I’m Hail Jonsalyn!” she chirped happily. Shana wondered how one person could be so . . . Perky. He entertained the image of her having caffeine pumped into her veins, but, his conscious shouted ‘no’ and forced him to push the negative thoughts aside.
Briruru cocked her head enough that her bangs hung like a veil over her eyes, casting an disbelieving stare in Hail’s direction. The Crusader probably couldn’t see it under the purple strands of hair cascading over the mage’s pale brown eyes. She turned her questioning glare to Shana and Bilus, before finally demanding verbally incase the windows into her soul weren’t speaking for her well enough. “Who the hell is that?”
Shana jumped on the opportunity to answer. “This is Bilus’s girlfriend,” he piped in, waving his hands in Hail’s direction. “She’s a Crusader, too. And she can use magic,” he added, hoping that would tweak Briruru’s interest.
The sorceress looked over at the girl in question, before casting an inquiring look to her robed friend. Shana shook his head, dismissing any questions his ‘sister’ had at the moment. It was then that Aaroka entered the spacious lounge of the inn, wrapping an arm around Shana’s neck and pulling him into one of those hugs guys give each other when they try not to look too unmanly.
“Heeeey, who’s this?” the gunner asked, poking his chest out proudly. Usually, the man had on his old faded yellow jacket on, but, he must have left it up in his room, because there wasn’t anything covering up his well-defined arms and his wrinkly white t-shirt.
The cleric was about to take care of introductions once again, when Bilus broke in. “Hail, tell my friends about yourself. Me and Shana are gonna go hang out for a bit.” Hang out? No Hail? Just the two of them? Great! Shana was pleased as punch. “Oh, and tell them about the band tonight. We’ve got to go hear them!”
Hail was already beginning formalities, but, Shana wasn’t listening. It was all he could do to keep from dying of happiness, anyway. He quickly followed after Bilus as they left the lounge, waving at the guy at the front desk as they made their way out of ‘The Prancing Aeon’.
“So, what are we gonna do, Bilus?” Shana asked, trying to sound like he usually did. He hoped he was keeping up a good front.
“We’re going to find you something to wear. You’ll look kinda out of place in those robes, you know,” Bilus said, his face adorned with a very amused grin. That was one of the things Shana liked most about him! His smile was so great, if a little dorky. Wait, that was a shot at him, wasn’t it?
“You just want to see what’s underneath these robes, I bet!” Shana retorted, loading his ammunition carefully. They were playing a dangerous game now, and Shana had him in his sights. What was their game?
Flirting.
Or it seemed like flirting.
They had developed this competition a day or so after the pilgrimage began. They’d go back and forth forever on something, until a greater priority arose. So just because Hail entered the picture, why should that spoil their little play-fighting?
Bilus was prepared to counterattack. He took aim and fired. “I’ve already seen quite a bit of what’s under those robes, if you remember Kilika,” he shot back, grinning once again like the Cheshire Cat. All the blood in Shana’s body rushed to his face, or so it seemed. His cheeks were glowing almost as red as the triangular designs on his robes.
“Just shush and get me some clothes!”

‘Bilus took me to this little place close to the marketplace. It was called ‘Hot Gimmick’, or something. I forget. There was this really flamboyant guy working there, and he kinda scared me. He wore this eye-sore of a green shirt with yellow flowers on it, and he was little more than a dark blur as he darted about the shop trying to make Bilus try on outfits. Or lack there of . . .’
“Oh, Lordy, you’ve gotta try this on, honey!” the flame-y clerk lisped, zipping around Bilus like a little gay bee. Bilus was doing his best to play nicely, and not tell the bee to buzz off, but even Yevon had a patience limit. Shana was very much amused, however. He was listening to everything in the dressing-room, and had to keep a hand securely over his mouth to keep from laughing.
“T-that’s okay, I really like what I’ve got now,” Bilus stuttered, trying in vain to wave off the salesclerk and his scary outfit he had picked out. If Shana had been able to see what the man had picked out for the Crusader, he’d have been in stitches. It was more of a fetish outfit than it was everyday clothes, consisting of see-through pants and leather suspenders.
Actually, that wasn’t much better than the garments Bilus had picked out for Shana. His wear for their gang’s trip to the café tonight was a mesh shirt, loose black strap-on sleeves, and a pair of black camouflage-shorts. It was a very big contrast from his saintly robes.
It was more of a hassle than the summoner thought it would be to change clothes. The robes weren’t that difficult to take off, but, the mesh shirt was rather complicated to put on. After a few attempts, though, he managed to get the outfit together. The sleeves were a little big, so he had to tighten the pink ribbons keeping them in place, and the shirt was kind of tight around his shoulders, but, everything worked out.
“Bilus,” the cleric rang, wanting all eyes on him before he exited the safety of his dressing room. The Crusader managed to tear the salesperson off of him long enough to make a mad dash to the door, followed closely behind by the salesclerk in question. Slowly, the door creaked open, revealing the summoner and his new clothes with excruciating unhurriedness like a curtain revealing a much anticipated play.
The two men gawked at Shana, but, the salesclerk was staring a bit more lecherously than Bilus. Even though Shana wished it was the other way around. “Well?” he pressed, doing a quick turn on the ball of his foot as to show off the outfit in its entirety. He was feeling more and more self-conscious by the minute. He knew his damn stomach was too pudgy for a shirt like this!
“Oh, honey-baby-child, it looks fabulous!” the clerk lisped. If the man was any more flaming, you could see his fires from space. Shana resisted the urge to giggle, and shot an embarrassed smile to the man. There was still one more opinion he needed, however.
He was beginning to grow anxious. Maybe Bilus thought he looked bad? “Bilus?” he called, wishing more and more that he could crawl into a little hole and hide. Finally, the guardian took in a deep breath, and Shana’s egotistical welfare was in his calloused hands.
“You look great!”
Somewhere between the summoner sprouting wings and ascending into the great beyond, his guardian managed to pay for the getup and haul him out of the little shop. Shana couldn’t wait to go see the band perform, now! He had something nice to wear just for the night, besides his long church robes.
‘Hee! If Bri could see me now! I wish I could wear this thing everywhere . . . But I might get kicked out of the temples! Well, if Sadiea can have her tits hanging out of her robe, then why can’t I wear this . . . Hmm . . .’

‘That night, we went to the café. Kim didn’t really think it was her kind of gig, so, she stayed outside. Poor Kim. She must be so bored . . . Well, ‘The Flametongue’ was a much better place than the other one. And it was bigger, which meant there wasn’t going to be as much crowding as I thought.’
Bilus, Hail, Briruru, Aaroka, and Shana were all sitting at a quaint little table not too far from the stage. In roughly three or four minutes, the glistening diamond-covered curtain would pull back to reveal ‘Adamantoise Shells’. Shana couldn’t think of a better way to get Aaroka and Bilus hyped up for the tournament tomorrow. He just hoped that the band would come on stage soon . . . He was getting anxious!
Aaroka, being the calm, collected pimp that he was, was very busy chatting up Hail. Their current topic of discussion was something along the lines of music, if Shana understood correctly, but, he wasn’t really interested. Although it was funny for Hail to talk about all these happy poppy people, and Aaroka talk about the little island bands from Besaid.
Suddenly, the diamonds on the curtain moved, which meant the curtain was. With how they shimmed, it was as if someone was pulling back the night sky. Aaroka and Hail blabbering on was the last thing Briruru wanted, so she shushed them very loudly. Shana reached over, patting her leg to get her attention as he mouthed ‘thank you’. His sorceress guardian couldn’t help but giggle evilly.
“Good evening, Luca!” the lead member of the Shells yelled into the mic. The cleric and the small island gunner flinched slightly, obviously not very used to live performances. “Our first song, man, it’s dedicated to a special lady out there,” the singer continued. Shana groaned as quietly as he could. Honestly! He didn’t hate girls! He had just had enough of the female population for today . . .
“Anyway, here’s the song; Katherine, I hope you like it!”
Once the roar of applause died down, the guitarist on the far left side of the stage began playing. He worked his gloved fingers up the neck of his instrument, plucking the strings with the talent only someone who had done this for years could. The way he ran his hand up and down the guitar was vaguely erotic. Or, it was erotic to Shana, anyway.
“I don’t wanna waste your timeMake you hang around, thinkin’ you done wrongYou could only wait for me for so longI countin’ on provin’ nothin’Cause it’s always somethin’And how you value yer time alone
So I’m outta here!Cause I know I’m nowhere nearWhatcha want, watcha wantWhat yer lookin’ for!”
WOW! They were great! If Shana could manipulate fire like Briruru could, he’d have a flame in his hand, waving it in the air like a few mages in the back were. This whole scene would be perfect, if the cleric hadn’t looked back and seen Hail snuggling her lover, like any normal girl.
“I don’t wanna make you smileOnly to see you don’t turn aroundWhen you decide I just let you downI ain’t makin’ up my mind just yetHow easy I forgetHow you add to my confusion
So I’m outta here!Cause I know I’m nowhere nearWhatcha want, watcha wantWhat yer lookin’ for!”
Briruru had joined the mages in the back, now. Shana really hoped she didn’t catch anything on fire with her fiery praise. The lead singer alone was enough for the summoner to wish he could get his intention. He was this little punky thing, with short, spiked red hair, and torn and baggy clothes. WHOA! He just licked the mic! Briruru looked over to her charge, letting him know that she, too, needed to change clothes now.
“If I’m breakin’ yer heartYou’ll know where I got my startIt’s barely like this anywayIf your world has fallen apartSomeday you’ll find me in the darkSearchin’ for the right thing to say
But I don’t wanna waste yer timeMake you hangin’ roundThinkin’ you done wrongYou can only wait for me for so long”
The lyrics were really speaking to the auburn haired boy. They reminded him of someone . . . The boy of his dreams entered his thoughts once more, sparking him to scan the table, not very subtly, for Bilus. When he found his rich brown eyes, gazing deeply into his own, he could feel the windows into his soul tear up. Had the Crusader been looking at him all along? Was he smiling at him? Or was he smiling because of Hail? Had he made up his mind yet?
“So I’m outta here!Cause I know I’m nowhere nearWhatcha want, Whatcha wantWhat yer lookin’ for . . .
Whatcha want, Whatcha wantWhat yer lookin’ for . . .”

Shana . . .
‘Mmm . . .’
Sha-na
‘Hmm?’
Wake up sleeping beauty!
The summoner was barely aware he had hit the cold floor of his temporary room. Now that brought back memories. Shana had been kicked, literally, out of bed on the first day of his pilgrimage, roughly two weeks ago. He sat up groggily, bed-hair and all, as he yawned, stretching out his tired limbs. The café had really tired him out last night. He had so been converted into a diehard fan of Adamantoise Shells.
“What time is it?” he asked, still half asleep. He stood up, his disheveled blanket pooling at his naked ankles, revealing his next to nude form. Reaching a hand under his t-shirt to scratch at his chest in his lethargic stupor, he began to move to where had laid his robes before the show.
“Almost time for the tournament,” a deep tenor chided. No way in hell was Briruru’s voice that deep. It had to be . . .
“Bilus?”
When he heard his guardian’s familiar chuckle, he thought his face was on fire. How many times had his face rivaled the redness of Fira over the course of his pilgrimage? Shana quickly snatched up his robes, pulling it on quicker than you could say ‘embarrassed’. “W-well, that was s-some show last night, huh?” he stuttered, stumbling over his words like a bumpy road.
“Yeah . . . Well, when you’re ready, we’re all waiting outside,” Bilus said, moving for the door. As he was about to exit, he turned around, watching Shana sit down and slump onto his bed. “Shana?”
The summoner sat up straight like a bolt of lightning, turning around to look at his guardian. “Yes?”
Bilus grinned big, leaning against the doorway. “Don’t forget to cheer for me.”

'The tournament started with Grand Maester Dupuy giving an address to all the partakers in the competition. Of course he would, the thing was in his honor. He was to watch the tournament at the top of the tall stadium, from the Maester’s Balcony, alongside Maester Keetmour. Maester Keetmour . . . There was something I didn’t like about him. He made me very, very nervous.
So far, Bilus and Aaroka were in round five of the tournament. Nobody stood a chance against them! I knew they’d be unbeatable . . . There were a few moments when me and the girls were on the edge of our seats, though. Namely, at the very start. Their first opponent cheated! I swear to Yevon he did!'
Bilus and Aaroka were standing confidently, their weapons at the ready. Aaroka’s black skullcap was billowing in the wind, while what little shaggy mane Bilus still had was doing its best to wisp about. They were both looking very heroic.
Their opponent, however, wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He was a very big man, height wise and weight wise. That was as much as Shana could gather on the man, as his body was wrapped in red armor. His weapon was also a lot nastier looking than the swordsman and his gunner comrade. While Bilus’s sword could slash, and Aaroka’s guns were hard to dodge, this man’s mallet looked like it could crush a man in one blow.
The armored competitor pointed his large hammer at the duo. “I’ve got a little somfin’ for tha both of ya . . .” he grunted, moving his hand about oddly. Bilus and Aaroka looked at each other confusedly, but Briruru knew exactly was going on. He was drawing magic symbols into the air, and only black magic users could recognize such arcane techniques.
“You guys!” she shouted, standing up from her seat on the front row, “he’s fixing to use magic!” Sure enough, the beautiful black mage was right. That familiar swirling aura of mana eddied around the armored man, and as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. In the next instant, clouds of green magic began to fill the area around Bilus and Aaroka, merging to form three giant green needles, dripping with toxic energy. The large, five-feet tall bolts floated around the two men, before descending onto them like fiends onto prey.
“Yo, man, look out!” Aaroka shouted, pushing Bilus out of harms way. The three needles of magic went through him, filling his body with a very potent venom. Once the magical nail-like objects pierced him to their seeming satisfaction, they continued to go through him, sinking into the ground in a cloud of toxic fumes. Aaroka doubled over, feeling the poison coursing through his veins.
Shana looked over to Briruru, shaking her arm wildly. “Bri! Is Aar gonna be alright?” he asked, his voice filled with worry. The cleric was three seconds away from running into the battleground and casting Esuna on his inflicted friend.
“Yeah. Bio’s a nasty spell, but it’s not lethal unless he doesn’t remove the spell for a long duration of time.” Briruru seemed to know everything when it came to the black arts. Shana wished he was that knowledgeable in white magic. Maybe then most of his spells wouldn’t backfire.
'The rest of that fight went smoothly. Bilus managed to avoid the man’s mallet enough to find a kink in his armor. He hit it hard with the dull side of his sword, cracking it all open. No wonder the man hid behind that armor! He was uuuugly. I haven’t seen that much hair sense me and Briruru got cornered by that overgrown dingo.
One after another, the other warriors in the fighting tournament fell. All of us were so confident that we ordered round after round of drinks and food. Needless to say . . . After so much water, you can only hold it for so long . . .'
The summoner leaned over towards his gothic guardian, making sure he was close enough for her to hear. “Hey, Bri, I need to go . . . Uhm . . . I gotta go to the bathroom,” Shana whispered, keeping his voice low.
“Well what do you want me to?” Briruru demanded, more than a little confused, and a little loud. “Can’t you go piss by yourself? Or do I need to hold your . . . Hand.” Shana covered his beat red face with his hand, before getting up to make his way for the toilets.
“Wait!” a particularly chipper voice squeaked. “I’ll go with you! I hafta go tinkle anyway,” Hail chirped, putting her cheese nachos aside to stand up and follow suit.
“Gee . . . Thanks,” Shana groaned. He scanned the area for a way to the bathroom, and, once he found it, began walking towards it with haste. He noticed that Hail was no less than two steps behind him. Apparently, she had to go really bad as well. Ahh! The images! They burned! Shana moved even faster to try and outrun the mental picture of Hail using the bathroom. Someone really needed to give him a lobotomy, so maybe then his imagination wouldn’thurt him so much.
Finally, the reached the bathrooms. He could hear the girl behind him clap her hands excitedly. Jeez. It was a bathroom, not a freaking water park. He turned to tell her to go into the left door, when he saw the man behind her. It was a man wearing goggles and he had his long blonde hair up in spikes. The summoner couldn’t get out a warning before he had knocked the female Crusader unconscious with a hard blow to one of her pressure points. Before Shana could scream, he, too, suffered the same fate. He kept enough consciousness to breathe one word before the darkness of sleep took him . . .
“B-Bilus . . .”

“Briruru.”
The dark girl turned to her taller companion, having to look up quite a ways to meet the Ebon’s eyes. “What is it, Kim?” the mage asked, turning her gaze back to the battleground. Soon, the next and final opponent for Bilus and Aaroka would emerge. After they beat him, they’d have the prize money and the title as greatest warriors in Luca.
“Shana and girl not come back long time. Kimari worry.” The tall huntress’s face was filled with concern, as opposed to her usual stoic mask. Briruru was about to offer her sympathies, and maybe suggest that they go check on the two of them, when the challenger came out. Her heart stopped for a brief moment.
He had dark, possibly black hair, tinted with blonde remnants. He had the look of a man who had seen many battles, with his stature and build. He wore a black suit, with a red cross on the back, and the front unbuttoned to show off his chiseled chest, and the many battle scars that lied there. To make the whole thing perfect, he was wearing dark sunglasses.
“Wow . . .” Briruru moaned in between her pants and drooling. She was in absolute heaven. Hearts might as well fly around her.
“Now, entering the field . . . The Black Flame, the Fiery Shadow, the Burning Reaper . . . Tonan Jet!”
Half the crowd roared, giving him their support in claiming the title. Amongst the roaring was, yes, Briruru’s. She was standing on her seat, waving her arms, cheering and screaming her little black heart out.
“Briruru, should you not be rooting foridiot and puny man?” Kimari asked, very confused over the witch’s switching sides. But the sorceress couldn’t hear her. She was too far gone in la-la land.
“And his opponent, the unstoppable duo . . . The Heart-Breaking Gust, Aaroka Ridgedell! And his partner, The Shining Crusader, Bilus Dracon!”
Bilus scratched the back of his head nervously, as the other half of the crowd began yelling their praise for Aaroka and him. Aaroka was simply waving his hands, encouraging more applause for their destined flawless victory.
“Briruru . . . Shouldn’t we go find Shana and girl?” Kimari asked, trying to get the girl’s attention. Still, the mage did not hear her. She was too caught up in the gothic swordsman preparing to attack.
He held his sword high above him, concentrating on something . . . He sent a glare at the two men from behind his glasses, before taunting them. “I’m sorry, but the fight ends now. Demon Flare!” the warrior cried, stabbing his katana into the ground. Fiery energy traveled around the weapon, and a good sized area around him, before fading away. Before they knew what hit them, a small eruption of energy went off beneath Aaroka and Bilus’s feet, knocking them far, far away.
“WHAT A MAN!” Briruru squealed, trying to jump from her seat and into the fighting grounds. Luckily, Kimari and a few security guards stopped her.

'When I woke up, me and Hail had been taken to some ship. We were in a cargo room, I think. The people around us were all speaking things I couldn’t understand, so I’m pretty sure they were Al Bhi. The past two days have been so fun. Really! The only thing that could make it better is if my dick just caught on fire. Right now. Oh boy, would I laugh, and laugh. And then I’d use it as a neat party trick. Yeah, that’d be swell.'
“Dra Summoner ec yfyga. Fryd tu fa tu huf?”
Their foreign chattering soon woke Hail up, and dammit if shewasn't a morning person. “Heehee! They sure caught us, huh Shana?” Oh, thank Yevon his hands were tied. Yevon only knows what he’d had done if they weren’t.
“Shana? Drah ra ec Mary Ann's geh. Nyeca dra yhlrun!”
The summoner had to think of something. He did not want to be kidnaped. He kicked Hail in the leg, and quickly had to think of a reason why he had. Oh, he had a plan! “Ow! Hehe,” the girl giggled, prompting Shana to shush her.
“Hail . . . Can you use your magic to burn the ropes off?” he whispered. The Crusader nodded, igniting a small flame on the tip of her finger. With a quick wave of her hand, Shana’s hands were free. Now . . . Where was his staff? Surely they took it and his backpack when they tied him up. Aha! It was right behind him. He subtly reached backwards and grabbed the blunt weapon, and stood up, holding it in front of him defensively.
“Look,” he yelled, getting his captor’s attention. “Let me and the butterball go. And noone has to get hurt. I have a staff and I know how to use it!” Shana pointed the rod at all of the Al Bhi in the room, trying his hardest to look menacing.
“Summoner! Ced pylg tufh! Drec ec vun ouin ufh kuut!” the Al Bhi closest to him yelled, getting very, very angry. Ooh boy. He messed up big time.
Shana looked at the Al Bhi in disbelief, wanting to do nothing more than knock his handsome blonde head off his sexy tanned body. “Okay. Over the past day, I’ve been crushed . . . Humiliated . . Kidnaped . . . And you’re getting an attitude with me?” Pure, uncontrollable rage took hold of the cleric. He simply couldn’t take these dark feelings inside of him anymore.
Moving as quick as one can in a robe, he bashed the man’s head with the gold part of the staff, rushed him and jammed the other end of it into his gut, and then struck him hard in the right cheek, effectively knocking him down and unconscious. “HELL YEAH!” the usually meek and reserved summoner roared. “Who wants some?” he taunted, spinning the normally powerless weapon around.
The rest of the Al Bhi in the room ran for him, and Shana did his best to inflict very intense pain on each of them. One came at him from behind, and was quickly subdued by ablow to the head. One tried to grab the weapon away from him, which prompted the summoner to jump at him, shoving one lovely black boot into his face. The last one tried to knock him unconscious once more, but, Shana rammed the blunt end of the rod into his groin, raising his voice a good few octaves. The cleric looked at the room, finding every last one of his captors to be unconscious or doubled over nursing their special place.
He grabbed up his backpack, and stuck good ole’ staffy in it, and began to move towards the door with a definite spring in his step and an aura of confidence around him. He took one last look at the room, flicking his hair like the diva he knew he could be, before he heard a very tiny little voice call out to him. “Uhm . . . Shana? Are you going to untie me? Heehee . . . Cause I’m kinda stuck. Heheh . . .”

'When me and Hail got back to the stadium, which, thankfully, was right beside the docks ((or around it, to be precise)), we were in shock! Bilus and Aaroka were losing! And Bri was cheering for the other dude! I get kidnaped for about thirty minutes and look what happens . . .'
Aaroka was currently knocked out. He couldn’t keep up with the Black Flame’s attacks. Briruru had told Shana that the gunner had got knocked out towards the beginning of the match. Bilus was, at the moment, fleeing from all of the swordsman’s attacks. It had turned into a game of cat and mouse. Tonan would send an attack at the Crusader, he’d jump away, and run to avoid the sharp katana heading towards him.
“Demon’s Flare!” Tonan shouted, summoning another flaming explosion from the floor. Bilus jumped out of the way, scanning the area for his opponent when he saw that Shana was, once again, back in the stands.
“You can do it, Bilus!” Shana yelled at the top of his lungs, waving his hands so much that it’s a wonder he didn’t fly away. Bilus grinned. He could do it now. He had the confidence boost he needed to take down the Burning Reaper. It was then that the swordsman knocked him out with the hilt of his katana. Kimari, Shana, and Hail all seemed to groan in unison. They had lost the chance at the prize money. Briruru, however, didn’t seem to mind at all.
“YAY! WHOO-HOO! GO TONAN! TONY, TONY, HE’S OUR MAN, IF HE CAN’T DO IT, NO ONE CAN!” she screamed, still standing in her seat and kicking her legs like she was in a chorus line. The dark warrior looked at her in the audience, and smiled. He also looked over to the summoner Shana.
The announcer was just about to declare Tonan the victor, when there was some kind of uproar in the crowd. Everyone was screaming, and running for their lives. Fiends were attacking the audience! Somehow, hoards of fiends had broken into the stadium. Yevon only knows what had happened to the security guards! Left and right, people were being taken out by dingos, drakes, and garudas. The stands were turning into a hideous bloodbath, and the chaos was inching closer and closer to where Shana and his friends were.
“Shana, look out!” Kimari roared, shoving her spear into a dingo that was just about to maul the summoner. The dark-skinned Ebon and the black mage sandwiched the cleric between them, trying their best to protect him from harm.
Briruru couldn’t use her special technique with Juliette, seeing as she had left the doll at the inn. So she’d have to rely on her regular magic, instead of the doubled effect she got from casting with her marionette. She summoned a cloud of snow and hoarfrost on a descending garuda, chilling it to the bone and knocking it from the sky with a well placed water spell.
The drake however, would prove more difficult to dispatch. There were almost dragon-like in appearance, and could use very strong breath attacks. Their thick hide would be hard to pierce, even with magic. “Leave this one to me!” Hail cheered, holding her rapier in front of her. She closed her eyes, focusing her magic on the blade. A cold wind enveloped the blade, wrapping it in small shards of ice and covering it in frost. She ran up to the beast, stabbing it with her blade. After the initial strike, the Blizzard magic on the sword transferred to it, causing several sharp blades of ice to erupt from within the beast. Needless to say, his demise was very messy.
Out on the battleground, things were equally chaotic. Tonan was trying to protect the downed Bilus and Aaroka from the swarming fiends. Namely Sahagin, fish-like fiends that were as dangerous on land as off. Things were looking grim everywhere, until . . .
Way up high, in the Maester’s Balcony, Maester Keetmour was watching all of this with some kind of calm, relaxed glee. Grand Maester Dupuy had been sent to someplace safe, away from the danger. His fellow Maester had promised him he’d take care of everything. The demi-Roselletti performed the Prayer of Yevon, before kneeling down on the floor and praise, throwing his hands up and closing his eyes. The magic of summoning enveloped him, in the same way as it did Shana when he invoked the Aeons. As if they knew what was coming, the fiends stopped attacking, looking upwards towards the sky as it turned the colors of blood and war.
Negative energy crackled amongst the now-stained-red sky, before a portal to some other world torn it open, dropping a chain from the other of this portal to beyond. Once the anchor on the other end struck the ground in front of the praying Keetmour, blood and dark magic poured out of the cracks it made, spreading into another dark portal. The chain and anchor began to retract back into the dark world, pulling up some kind of monstrosity with it.
The frightening creature had humongous angel wings, stained black by sin. It had chains wrapped all around it, binding its terrible powers from being used. But they snapped like strands of thread, as this demon revealed itself. It could be nothing less than a demon from the deepest reaches of hell. Its mummified torso had two, skeleton-like arms wrapped around itself in protection, and its head seemed to have been torn from some kind of demonic shark. Its right eye was sown shut, and the other eye was bloodshot and ever watchful. This . . . Was Keetmour’s Aeon.
Without warning, it began to release its prenominal powers onto the attacking fiends. Left and right, the monsters were fading away into clouds of sighing pyreflies. The Aeon’s dark magic slew every last one of the fiends, sending them all to their resting places. Once the mayhem had degenerated into shock and awe, and all that remained of the fiend attack were the victims and the pyreflies, Maester Keetmour dismissed the Dark Aeon, smiling asit turned into black energy before fading away, and looked heavenward.
Shana was amongst those staring in admiration. He couldn’t believe there was such an Aeon so strong.