Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ I Want to be Your Chicken Wuss ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

I Want to be Your Chicken Wuss :: Chapter Four

Author's notes:: Ack…I know it's been a long, long time since I've updated, and I'm terribly sorry about that. I could blame the lack of updates on writer's block or the simple fact that I'm just a slacker…but it's more like a combination of the two.

Anyway, this is a very short chapter, and I'm sorry for that as well, but I thought I'd just put it up as soon as possible and get to work on the next one. Besides, I found a good stopping point and so I did.

~O~

I don't think I had ever been this bored in my life. Even strategies class hadn't been this bad. At least the instructor had the sense to provide us with some colorful slides every now and then. This was cruel and unusual punishment. I didn't care about the life and times of some dumb old knight, and I'm sure no one else is our mismatched crowd did either. Except the one who was lecturing on Sir Whatever-the-hell-his-name-was. You could tell Steiner idolized the guy by the twinkle in his eyes.

"I thought we were going to see the Tot dude," I whispered to Zidane, having to lean over just a bit; the guy was a few inches shorter than me.

"So did I," Zidane grumbled, glaring at Steiner.

I sighed. It looked like we'd be here a few more hours; our beloved knight Steiner had just spotted a big-ass portrait of an equally large woman. Steiner had already started towards it when Vivi spoke up. "I think I hear Dagger," he said, his naturally quiet voice almost drowned out by the creak of Steiner's armor as he turned.

"Oh, yes!" Steiner pointed a gloved finger in the direction Vivi had been staring. "The princess was going to address the people! Right this way Master Vivi!" Steiner grabbed Vivi's small hand and tugged him down the hall.

"He completely forgot about us, didn't he?" I grumbled.

"Looks that way," Zidane remarked.

"Jerk."

The first thing I noticed about this princess was the fact that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I stood with my mouth agape as she addressed the little horned girl. The princess was decked out in some white ensemble, but it wasn't the dress that interested me (be it low-cut, or not). Talk about eye candy…

As my thoughts whirled drunkenly down the path of no return Zidane and company stood silently while horn-kid yapped about some chick named Sara or Sari or something…

"Why didn't you say anything, Zidane?" Vivi asked when the princess had spared us one last glance and turned to leave.

Zidane sighed, falling into a sitting position on the floor. "I wanted to," he said, his voice straining with emotion. "I tried…"

"And…?" Freya prodded.

"I just couldn't! I had this whole speech planned out for her! 'Good luck, Dagger! I'll be watching you from afar! Come see me whenever you need to talk…'" he cursed under his breath. "But that's all lies! I couldn't lie to her!" He punched the floor. "It's just…not what I feel at all…"

I was at a loss for words. It was obvious the guy cared about the princess, and he clearly believed that nothing could happen between them but… Ah, hell… Why did I care so much anyway? Sure…Zidane was trying to help me out, but I had already told him my position on the matter. (I still thought he'd have a better shot than Cid.)

The awkward silence continued to grow until Zidane slammed his fist against the floor a second time, growling under his breath and standing up. He started to leave and no one tried to stop him. I kept my mouth shut, watching him disappear around the hallway with a growing unease. What was I going to do now?

We were back in the bar. Or, me, Amarant, Freya, and Vivi were back in the bar. Zidane still hadn't shown up and only Hyne knew where the horn-girl could have run off to.

"I'm gonna go find Zidane," Vivi announced suddenly, his tiny voice breaking the silence. Amarant and Freya didn't seem to mind him leaving, but I thought briefly of stopping him. He was just so small; I couldn't fathom letting him run off on his own. But…Vivi had been by himself when I had first met him…

"Watch where you're going!" Horn-girl hissed, running straight into Vivi when she barged into the bar. "I'm not in a good right now!" She glared at the rest of us briefly before storming over to the broken staircase.

I ignored her, going instead to help Vivi up. "You okay?" I whispered, lifting him to his feet.

He nodded and started to say something when a squat, little old man with a big nose walked in, resettling his spectacles on said nose.

"Is…ahh…Eiko Carol here?" he asked in an even, heavily nasal voice.

"I'm here!" horn-girl said, standing up and jumping down the stairs, coming to a stop in front of the man. "It's the nerdy guy!" she exclaimed, seeming a bit surprised.

The unfortunately large-nosed man chuckled. "You're as energetic as ever, I see."

"Yup…I'm always energetic!" her smile faltered and she mumbled something under her breath. Very suddenly, I lost interest in their conversation.

"Hey, Vivi," I leaned down to whisper to the kid. "Who's he?"

"Dr. Tot," Vivi whispered back, righting his floppy hat on his head.

"Really?!" I exclaimed, causing those present to turn and look at me. Ehh… "Sorry," I mumbled, pulling Vivi aside. Tot and Eiko resumed their conversation whilst Amarant and Freya continued pretending to be slabs of stone.

"That's the guy who might know how to get me home?" I glanced skeptically at the short man. He reminded me of a Tonberry, as strange as that seemed. He was about the same size and shape…minus the tail, of course.

Vivi nodded. "Yeah. He's really smart."

"Spiffy," I mumbled to myself, catching an odd look from Vivi.

"Spif-fee?" he struggled with the word.

"Yeah; like 'cool' or 'great,'" I told him distractedly, waiting for the Tot guy to finish with the blue-haired nuisance.

"Why don't we go to your home so I can relax?" the kid suggested.

"My home's in Treno," Tot laughed. "That's an awful long way from here."

"That's okay!" Eiko squealed happily, causing me to wince. She was like a combination of Rinoa and Selphie: definitely not good for one's ear drums. "I've always wanted to travel! Let's go there!"

"Yeah," Zidane said as he entered, looking at each of us in turn. "There's a card tournament going on in Treno right now and I'd like to enter."

Cards? What about the princess? Was Zidane giving up that easily?

"Well then," Tot said cheerily, wiping his spectacles with a cloth before righting them on his nose. "Why don't we all go to Treno?"