Inside the travel agency, they were safe from rain and lightning. But still, the thunderclaps could he heard from here.
"Why are you that afraid from lightning?" Tidus asked Rikku.
"When I was a child," Rikku explained. "A fiend attacked me at the beach. My brother wanted to save me, so he hit it with a spell... but he missed the fiend and hit me instead."
"Ouch..." Tidus murmured.
"It was a thunder spell," Rikku said. "Bzzzzzzzt! I'm scared of lightning ever since..."
----
Right when they arrived at the agency, Yuna excused herself and asked the shopkeeper for a room. She said she was feeling a little tired.
Nabiki was curious. Yuna didn't seem that tired all day long. It really wasn't like her at all, so she decided to eavesdrop a little, sneaky little girl she was...
She tiptoed along the hall toward Yunas door, which was closed. Behind it, she could hear an unknown voice.
Nabiki put her ear on the door to hear better. Now she could understand the spoken words. It was the voice of an old man, and it sounded like a testament.
"...can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart," the voice just said. "He is using Yevon, the Guado and even the summoners. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough, he had suffered, and became twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as punishment for my deeds. But whoever is watching this: I implore you to stop Seymour. Stop my son!"
Nabiki almost gave a little gasp of surprise, but she managed to control herself. Quietly, she removed her ear from the door and walked back to the others.
Akane was sitting in the foyer, when Nabiki came up to her and nudged her. "Sshh! Akane! Come, I'll have something to tell you."
Puzzled, Akane followed her sister inside a back room. Ranma, who saw them leave, followed them.
Nabiki wanted to close the door, when Ranma entered the room. "Hey, you two. What's up?"
Akane shrugged. "Don't know. Nabiki's acting all mysterious, all of a sudden."
Nabiki thought a little and pulled Ranma inside. After closing the door, she said: "Okay, maybe you should hear this as well..."
"Out with it, Nabiki," Akane said. "What's the matter?"
"Yeah," Ranma asked. "Did your stock lose in value?"
"That's not funny, Saotome," Nabiki frowned. "It's about Yuna. I just overheard her listening to some kind of record... a testament from Lord Jyscal, as it seems."
"Really?" Akane asked. "What did it say?"
Nabiki gave them a serious look. "He said, his son - Seymour - would be baaaaad news. He's planning something, and Jyscal is begging whoever listens to that record to stop his son."
"Okay," Ranma muttered. "I guess this means Yuna won't marry him, huh?"
"I don't know." Nabiki shook her head. "She might decide to play along, to catch him off guard."
"But all by herself?" Ranma wondered. "Isn't that too dangerous? After all, Seymour seemed to have a pretty sharp mind."
"Perhaps she wants to... negotiate something," Akane pondered. "But I'm willing to bet Seymour's the better negotiator."
"We have to watch her closely," Ranma said. "And make sure Seymour doesn't do anything stupid. We always have to stay near her."
"And what if he's going to the Chamber of the Fayth with her?" Akane asked him. "WE cannot exactly just barge in there."
"No," Ranma smirked. "But I can. Don't worry. I always knew Seymour's a little bastard. I'll make sure he doesn't lay a hand on her."
"Let's better not tell Yuna or the others," Nabiki decided. "They will only be worried, and I don't think Yuna is going to change her mind."
"Okay," Ranma nodded. "But as soon as I see some Guado do something suspicious, I'll do anything that has to be done."
----
When they returned to the foyer, the others were ready to leave.
Rikku was still whimpering, her hands on her ears, and winced every time it thundered.
"It's not going to stop, is it?" she whined.
"Don't tell me you expected it to stop?" Auron said.
Rikku didn't respond. Auron just shook his head and went out.
"All right, already," Rikku sighed. "But, you didn't have to say it like that, you know? You could be more comforting or something. You know, try to cheer me up?"
Auron didn't respond.
"Hey! Are you listening?" Another thunderclap made her wince. She made fists. "I'm not scared," she yelled. "I'm not scared, you hear?"
Ranma felt sorry for her. He knew what it was like to be deathly afraid of something, even if the Neko-ken was now under control.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Wed, 26 Jul 2006 08:45)
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