Prism Hearts Chapter 11 Love is the Gift by Amazoness Duo amazonessduo@hotmail.com "She just left?" Relm asked anxiously. "She didn't say anything?" The painter paced the expansive room, chewing on her lower lip. That wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Yuffie was supposed to come in and confront her with another girl. To get jealous and demand to know what was going on. Granted, they weren't dating so it wasn't like Yuffie had a right to demand what she was doing with anyone, but she'd hoped Yuffie was too headstrong to care about that tiny fact. Eiko had helped make sure Yuffie could escape the dungeon so that she'd eventually stumble on her with Celeste, a very realistic painting that Relm had made. If Yuffie didn't want anything to do with her when she was available, maybe if Yuffie thought she'd lost the chance, the ninja would do something. Now it seemed that plan had all but fallen apart. "Well..." Eiko sat on Relm's bed, looking down at her hands. Yuffie hadn't really said much. The ninja girl had looked hurt and confused, but that wasn't what Relm had been looking for. Eiko had tried to convince Yuffie to go back in to talk to Relm, but Yuffie had disappeared. "Not much," she finally decided on saying. "This was a stupid idea. I need to go find Yuffie. I need to talk to her." "And say what?" Eiko asked, looking over at the girl in the bandanna. " 'Thanks for treating me like crap. I'm sorry for making you sad. Can I hang on your arm again?' " She only had what she'd heard from Relm to guess what had happened with Yuffie, but from what she'd heard of how they last parted ways, there wasn't a big reason to feel guilty over any of this. Pausing, Relm considered this. With a sigh, she nodded. "I guess you're right. I don't know what I could say to her right now that could make her understand. I've tried to get it through to her, but it's like she's just not listening." The painter crossed her arms, pouting. Looking up, she tried to stare up into the heaven's. "Mom, was it this hard with dad? Are all ninjas this difficult? Or am I just lucky?" Before the heavens could answer Relm's question, the door burst open. Or, rather, it would have burst open if it was anyone other than the prim and proper princess of Alexandria, Garnet. But even for her, it whipped open rather swiftly. "Have either of you seen Kairi? I wanted to talk to her about something before she saw my mother, but I can't find her." Eiko could tell that Garnet was more worried than she was letting on. The princess looked terribly distracted. A cold chill passed through Eiko as she slid off the bed. "Garnet, what's wrong?" She hurried to the princess's side. Despite being a rather regal princess, Garnet could be very impulsive at times. Having the princess run off into trouble without her didn't sound good to Eiko at all. "Kairi...?" Relm spoke the name as if speaking it for the first time. Her eyes widen as realization slowly sinks in. Everything had been happening so fast. She had been too wrapped up in her own problems to be thinking clearly. Kairi. The girl who was the key to all this. The girl that Celes had sacrificed herself for. If anything happened to Kairi, Celes' sacrifice would be in vain "We have to find her. Now. She could be in trouble." Whatever her concerns about Yuffie, they would have to be put on hold until after Kairi was safe and sound. 'Some protector you're turning out to be. I'm sorry, Celes.' Garnet nodded, turning back to the hallway. "I can't find Kuja either," she said, in a whisper that betrayed her fear. Though Relm didn't understand the significance of Kuja's disappearance, it hit Eiko loud and clear. The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on her small frame. The girls that Kuja took to his personal workshop never came back. No one knew what happened to them. Eiko had almost been taken their herself. Garnet had personally ordered the guards to let her go and had been trying to keep her from Kuja ever since. If they didn't get to Kairi soon, there wouldn't be anything left to save. And if Relm was right about Kairi being the Keyblade Mistress and needing to unleash the light, then they would all follow shortly afterwards. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "No! Not over there! How can we see the moonlight falling over the water with all those decorations in the way?" Selphie stood on the dock, directing the hapless boys under her command to finish up the decorations. The festival was going to be that night and she wanted, no, needed it to be perfect. What with all of the strange things happening on the Destiny Islands, they all needed a way to relax, to forget it all. And she had practiced her dancing every day with Yuna so that she and Quistis could dance on the beach under the moonlight with the waves lapping at their feet. She wanted that perfect moment with the cute blonde girl she was so in love with. It was that thought that she fixated on, that pushed her forward to make the festival a success. If the adults were too scared to have a festival this year, let them stay inside and sulk. She knew that would never help. Now, more than ever, they needed a chance to have fun, to laugh and twirl under the stars. They all needed this and Selphie was going to do her best to make sure they had their festival. "Put that over by the waterfall. It'll look great there." A soft chuckle behind Selphie shook the brunette from her singleminded devotion to the task at hand. "Those poor boys." Quistis wrapped her arms around Selphie from behind, rubbing the smaller girl's stomach. "I had no idea you could be so bossy, Selphie." "Hmph..." Selphie mock pouted as she rested against Quistis. "You're mean, Quisty. I'm not being bossy. I'm just... taking charge of the situation. Someone needs to if we're gonna be ready in time for the festival." "Oh, don't pout." Quistis pulled Selphie closer, nuzzling the smaller girl's ear. "You're cute when you're bossy. And it's sweet that you'd work so hard to get the festival ready." The blonde smiled wryly. "Or that you'd make the boys work so hard for the festival." Wriggling in Quistis's grasp, Selphie turned to face the other girl, looking up into her glasses and smiling brightly. Her hands rested on Quistis's shoulders as her green eyes stared up into crystal blue. The brunette giggled, smiling brightly. "Like I said, someone has to." Standing on her tip toes, the smaller girl's lips brushed across the blonde's, a small kiss that still managed to spark an electric haze across her heart. Still smiling, she pulled Quistis's glasses off and slipped them on herself, looking up at the blonde girl. The brunette gave her best scholarly look as she pushed the glasses up the way she'd seen Quistis adjust them a thousand times before. "And I've even been studying for it. Yuna's been teaching me how to dance." Placing a finger on Selphie's nose, Quistis couldn't help but smile at the bundle of energy that was her girlfriend. Many people on the Destiny Islands admired Quistis. Even many of the adults listened to her ideas. But the one she admired was the childish girl in her arms. The blonde wanted to try and fix everything, worrying incessently over things she couldn't hope to change, working late into the night over small details that eluded her. She got depressed easily, withdrawing further into her studies in an attempt to drown out her concerns. But Selphie always managed to grab her by the arm and drag her away from all of that, leaving her worries as well as her books in a cluttered pile on the floor. It wasn't that Selphie didn't get depressed. Even the energetic brunette had been hit by the loss of her friends and the coming storm that threatened their island paradise. But Selphie always bounced back. No matter what happened, she would see it through, finally breaking away from what troubled her with the same exuberance she did everything else. And it was this that Quistis admired her for. The blonde traced her fingers over Selphie's cheekbones, standing close to the smaller girl on the pier. A wild gust of wind brushed past them, the smell promising rain that would not be long in coming. 'In a way, the entire universe is a giant puzzle. One piece doesn't make sense without another. To unravel its mystery, you need to have the whole. People are the same way. One person alone doesn't make sense. You need that other piece to truly understand. That other half that balances you out. My Selphie...' Selphie's cheeks began to warm under her touch, turning a delicate pink beneath her fingertips. The sight of Selphie looking up at her, blushing faintly with the blonde's glasses perched on her nose, made Quistis's heart spin dizzily. There had been a time when she had wanted to travel just as much as Riku had. But eventually she had come to realize that sometimes you can find everything you're looking for right at home. Maybe in another lifetime, she had searched through worlds to find this girl that she held so close. But in this one, she had been right next door all this time. Laughing softly, Quistis pulled up the hat that hung at Selphie's back. "You took Irvine's hat again?" She set it snugly on the brunette's head, resting her fingers under Selphie's chin so she could get a good look at her in the hat. Pouting again, Selphie met Quistis's warm gaze. "I didn't take it. I borrowed it. He's busy helping Tidus and Wakka put up the decorations anyway. Besides, I look cuter in his cowboy hat than he does anyway." The smile Quisits had been wearing broke into a grin. "You can say that again." Leaning forward, she gave Selphie another kiss, not near as short at the one Selphie had given her. The two stood upon a world in its death throes, preparing for a mad party in an attempt to stave off the horrors that awaited them, but that was only one aspect of things. At that moment, they were simply lovers basking in the simple things, the power that lay in a single kiss. Mirrors upon mirrors upon mirrors. At any one second, at any given perspective, reality is a thousand different things and reality is nothing at all. In the end, reality is simply a suggestion. And rather than let her natural inclination to worry turn Quistis's world into a waiting game with the Angel of Death, she let her world become a taste of heaven, a taste that lingered on Selphie's lips. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Thank God Quistis showed up." Tidus fell back onto the sand, staring up at the cloud filled sky. The clouds that he used to imagine as all sorts of fun things now merely looked dark and malavelont, misshapen boogeymen waiting for their chance to become real. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and ignored the strangely waiting storm clouds. "Ya. I thought we'd never get a break. Selphie can be as bad as Lulu." Wakka rested against a tree, stretching. "Hmph..." Irvine crossed his arms, still watching the girls kissing on the pier. "I gave her my hat and what do I get? Nothin'." He sighed, brushing back his ponytail. "Some festival this is gonna be." Tidus nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, if it's a festival, there'll probably be dancing and stuff." He let that sink in for a moment before looking at the other two boys curiously. "Who are you gonna ask to dance with you?" Wakka shrugged. "I don't know. Dancin's not really my thing, ya know? Though if Lu asks, I'll probably dance with her." Irvine sat up, shaking his head. "Girls aren't like that, Wakka. They want you to go up to them all smooth-like." He grinned, pretending to be doing just as he said. He gave Wakka his most winning smile, winking. He took the other boy's hand, holding it warmly. "Hey there, good looking. How 'bout we show 'em how dancin's really done?" Wakka blinked in confusion, staring at Irvine for a long moment. He finally pulled his hand away from the cowboy, wondering just how steeped in fantasy Irvine was at the moment. "Umm... I don't know whether other girls go for that or not, but not Lu. She's way too bossy to care for that sorta thing. She pretty much gets what she wants." "Yeah, and it's not like your approach worked on Selphie," Tidus added helpfully. He didn't notice Irvine wincing. "She just laughed and said that was sweet and that she was going with Quistis." He rested his head back on his hands, ignoring the clouds again. "I think I'd probably ask Yuna. She's a great dancer. And she's really pretty." Irvine shook his head. "Well, yeah, I guess. But she's so shy and quiet. And she's been spending all of her time with that weird catgirl lately. Speaking of which..." The cowboy grinned widely. "Maybe the catgirl doesn't have a date yet." "But she's a cat..." Wakka pointed out. "And what a cat," Irvine said, whistling. "But she's still a cat." Wakka blinked again. What wasn't Irvine getting? That was just.... weird.... Tidus laughed, watching the other two boys. "You just wanna ask her because she reminds you of Selphie. They're both hyper and bubbly." "And what if that's part of it? At least the catgirl isn't already chained at the hip to some other girl on the island." Crossing his arms, Irvine frowned. Yawning tiredly, Tidus pushed himself to his feet. "Well, you can ask her in a bit. I'm gonna go find Yuna and see if she wants to dance with me at the festival." Wakka nodded, not getting up. "You go ahead and do that. I'm just gonna wait and see if Lu winds up asking me." Grinning, Tidus waved. "Good luck, you two!" He bolted off across the beach before Selphie could regain her composure and get them back to work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "So what's the festival like?" Rikku asked curiously as she walked side by side with Yuna across the beach. The water lapped right up near their feet. They were both walking barefoot, Rikku's paws leaving strange marks in the sand. She knew that a lot of the rest of the Islands' children were on the other side of that particular island preparing for the festival, but Yuna had preferred more peace and quiet. That didn't particularly bother the catgirl. She usually got along well with people, but she'd rather be with Yuna anyway. She knew Yuna better than the rest of them, even if she could tell there was a lot that the quiet girl wasn't saying. Still, it had been a small victory that Yuna had confided in her earlier. It made her feel... special. She was happy to be the one that Yuna would tell her worries to. It was nice to be close to -someone-. She was on an island chain somewhere far, far away from anywhere she'd ever been, seperated from her big sister and the rest of the Radical Dreamers by countless worlds. It was taking all she had to be optimistic about things. But it seemed easier with Yuna. In a way, it felt like the other girl needed her. And that let her push her concerns to the side. She hadn't been able to help Kairi much, trapped as a cat for most of that time. But now she could finally talk again. Maybe she could actually help. "Well... It's just something we have every year or so. All of the Islanders gather together and celebrate late into the night. There are feasts and dancing and singing and...." Yuna smiled, twirling lithely on one foot. The wind tugged at her kimono as she did. "It's wonderful. Some people tell stories and you get to play all sorts of games. Sometimes father would...." For one bittersweet moment, Yuna couldn't tell if the memory of her father made her feel warm and happy inside or if the emptiness that his absence at this festival and every festival she would ever go to in the future created inside of her would drag her down into a sea of tears. All she could do was try to freeze the thought exactly as it was, pushing it back deep inside of herself and continuing. "But this year, the adults are too worried about everything. The storms that are approaching, the weird holes that have been appearing on some of the islands, the disappearance of Kairi, Riku, and Sora, everything. Because of all that, they cancelled the festival. Selphie thinks that's a mistake, so she's organized our own festival." Rikku nodded excitedly. "That sounds like fun! I can't wait till tonight, then." The catgirl watched the other girl for a moment, trying to pick up on that shadow that covered Yuna when she spoke of her father. Whatever it had been, it seemed to be gone now. Nevertheless, Rikku wanted to be careful not to let it get any worse. She knew that Yuna had lost her father some time ago, but she didn't know much beyond that. And Yuna seemed to try to ignore the topic, so it was difficult to find out anything else. But even then, Rikku wanted to protect the blue- and green-eyed girl. She might be younger than Yuna, but that didn't mean she couldn't protect her. After all, Yuna had saved her life. And besides, the quiet girl seemed like she could use a guardian. And who better than thief extraordinaire, Rikku? Grinning inwardly, the catgirl pictured herself in some of her older sister's self-serving poses. Yep. She could help. Any trouble she saw coming, she'd send it yelping off in pain. "Are you okay, Rikku?" Yuna asked at last, watching her friend's goofy expression. Laughing nervously, Rikku shook her head. "I'm fine. I was just thinking. It's been a long time since I've been to a festival. The last time I went was with the rest of the Radical Dreamers. My friends," she added helpfully. "It was at East Heaven Kindom. It was really, really nice. All sorts of food you could ever even dream about. One of the princesses there, Mint, kinda reminded me of big sis. We were there to steal this Relic, an ancient magical book, and she showed up to steal it, too. It seemed she'd been kicked out of the kingdom. So she and Yuffie were both bragging about how they'd kick the other one's ass until they finally ended up wrestling on the floor. It was so funny! Zidane and I were just laughing and Kid was all pissed off about it." She grinned at the memory, her cat ears twitching subconsciously in the wind. "We all got thrown in the dungeon after that, because we were all just standing there while Mint and Yuffie were rolling around on the floor, trying to take the book from the other." Yuna giggled into her hand, watching the catgirl. She certainly was interesting. She'd never met anyone like her. Rikku was part of a mysterious band of theives/performers who travelled the worlds in search of various treasure. Yet she wasn't scary or menacing in the least. She was just... silly. And spirited. It was interesting hearing her stories as they sat up late at night in her usually empty home. Yuna shook her head, her hair fluttering in the breeze. She tried to stifle her giggle. "But that's awful that you all ended up in the dungeon." Shaking her head, Rikku just smiled again. "No, it wasn't that bad. We didn't stay in that long. Mint knew the guards, some guys named Biggs and Wedge that I swear I've met in half a dozen other places, and they let us all out." Laughing again, she placed her hands behind her head. "Mint and Yuffie kept bitching at each other until Kid and I finally had to drag Yuffie off so we could catch our ship out of there. I guess if you travel enough, eventually you'll meet someone like you." "I don't think so. I think you might find someone who seems a bit like you, or who acts similarly. But we're all different somehow. If I looked over a thousand different worlds, I'd never meet someone quite like you," Yuna explained, watching the catgirl. Blushing faintly, Rikku was glad that her fur made it impossible to tell. She smiled ecstatically, her embarrassment growing as she heard a steady purr resonating within her. She tried to stifle the purr, but it refused to die down. She was glad that Yuna would think that about her. Even worse, her tail was swishing about happily behind her. Before she could get it under control, it thumped against Yuna's rear, making the other girl take a quick step forward in surprise. Rikku could only stare forward, mortified. Stupid Dragon's Tear and it's half-done job. Stupid half-cat body. Her heart thundered in her chest, feeling to Rikku as if it should be just as audible as her purr by now. Surprisingly, Yuna simply turned, walking backwards slowly so she could look at Rikku. The young summoner was still smiling. A wave of relief crashed down over the catgirl's head, cold and refreshing. Maybe she hadn't totally screwed that up after all. "Thanks, Yunie," she said at last, smiling wide enough to show her fangs. "I don't think I'd ever find anyone like you, either." "I'd argue, but then I'd be contradicting myself." Yuna giggled. "And I can't let you do that," Rikku agreed, purring happily. Without warning and with only the barest of thoughts, Rikku took one of Yuna's hands in one of her soft paws. It felt like there were a thousand different things that she wanted to say at once, but the words eluded her. Just a cacophony of emotions and feelings surged through her. But being here with Yuna... She had to say -something-. Anything would do. She hoped. Squeezing the brunette's hand in her own, swirly green eyes gazed into Yuna's blue and green eyes, hoping to get across whatever her words failed to through her eyes. "Yunie, I won't let anything bad happen to you. Whatever's happened to you before now... I won't let it ever happen again. I'll... I'll protect you. From everything. I promise." It was and wasn't what she wanted to say at the same time. Whatever the case, she knew it was the truth. She wanted to protect this fragile flower, wherever the winds may carry her. She wanted to be there by Yuna's side, there to help her through everything. Yuna needed her, right? And she wanted that so badly. To be needed. To help. To be able to make things better. She'd always been Yuffie's little sister. She loved her sister dearly, but she'd never been able to protect Yuffie, only managing to help a bit here and there. Yuffie was too sure of herself to allow anyone else to do things for her. But with Yuna... She wanted to make sure nothing bad ever had to happen to her again. She wanted to fight off Fate itself to make sure she could always have a smile. A real smile. "I..." Yuna blushed, her eyes locked onto those swirly emeralds, almost drowning in them as they pulled her in. "I want that, too..." she whispered at last, furiously embarrassed that she'd admit that. But she did. Sometimes she could get so tired of being strong for everyone. She wanted to be able to collapse sometimes, to have someone to catch her when she stumbled. She trusted this catgirl, this thief from another world, this bouncy young girl with an indomitable spirit. Rikku was sweet and devoted and warm and... For a moment, Yuna couldn't tell which way was up. Her world seemed to have turned upside down. Her heart was dizzy, lost in conflicting thoughts. What she wanted to do and say clashed with what she thought she should do and say. Her mind and heart struggled on the battlefield of her soul for what felt like a short eternity. And finally, it ceased to matter what the outcome was going to be. Soft lips pressed against hers, paws holding tightly enough onto her shoulders that she could feel the claws digging through the fabric of her dress. Whiskers tickled her upper lip, and Rikku's soft, furry form pressed against her. Yuna slowly melted into the kiss. For this moment, she didn't need to know what to say or what to do. There was only this moment. Of soft, neko kisses and the wonderful fragrance of the rain encircling them. By now, trying to stop her purring would be almost impossible. Rikku's chest and throat vibrated with the happy purr that seemed to come from the very depths of her soul. She couldn't explain why she had kissed the quiet, sometimes sad girl, but she also couldn't explain why not. It just seemed right. It was what she'd wanted to do. It was what her words had wanted to express but couldn't. It was the manifestation of the emotions and feelings that burst through her like a fireworks display. And now it seemed perfectly right. Yuna's soft lips opened and closed against her own lips as the taller girl's hands went to her furry waist, pulling her closer. Thoughts were lost to Rikku as she kissed deeper, her scratchy tongue pushing between Yuna's lips as her claws nearly dug into the brunette's shoulders. So this was a kiss... A beautiful moment in time wrapped up in silk and offered up on the wings of angels. It was a precious gift that could topple kingdoms and move mountains, a gift that when combined with the dewdrops of love could become a force that could move the very stars in the sky. And now it was in Yuna's hands. So delicate, so fragile, yet so strong and powerful that it left her breathless and shaking. So enraptured by Rikku's kiss was Yuna, her mind so far away from the world around her, that she didn't see the waves moving as something large pushed through the water towards the Destiny Islands.