Fragmented Memories and Lost Pasts (Prolouge)

Kira knocked out the last of the fighters and dusted her hands off. They really hadn't been very challenging to her. They were weaker than the fiends that she had trained against in Besaid.

Kira looked over and saw that the black-haired boy was still grappling with his opponent. She strolled over, tucking her thumbs into her pockets.

"Need help?" The wrench-wielder looked at her, and then past her to where his lackeys were lying in heaps. Her new ally gaped at her, and broke free of the submission hold he had been in.

"H-how?" Kira grinned, and got ready to punch the man that had been holding her new ally when a blitzball beaned him in the head. Kira relaxed her stance a little as her new ally turned his attention back to his opponent.

"Dryhgc, Kumo," Kira called to her friend. The giant of a man scrambled away, leaving the street littered with very injured mechanics. "So, what's your name?" The black-haired boy turned back to look at Kira, his hair falling into his eyes.

"Ikuto Watanari. Who're you?" Kira grinned.

"Kira. My friend over there is Kumo. Why were they after you?" Kira tilted her head to the side as she slung her jacket back on her shoulders. Kumo walked over, pinning his ball to his side with his arm.

"I, uh, steal stuff from their shops to work on my projects." Ikuto scratched at his nose a little, and Kira lifted an eyebrow.

'Large difference in personality there. Wonder if he uses a dress sphere?' Out loud, she said, "Because they have all the parts, right?" A slight frown quirked the corner of her mouth that only Kumo could see at the moment. 'Wait a minute. Since when have I been able to understand what people say in Al Bhed?' Kumo noticed the frown, and shifted his eyes back to the black-haired boy, who had nodded.

"Ah, where's my blitzball?" Kira pointed to the table where he had left his things, smirking a little.

"Where you left it. Kumo's got his own ball to use as a weapon." Kumo blinked a little as Kira cast a glance over her shoulder at him. "By the way, how are you feeling?" Kumo blinked, not expecting her to ask the question.

"I'm fine." Kira tilted an eyebrow at him as their new acquaintance gathered his things. Kira turned her head around and looked curiously at that plank-like item that she had noticed earlier.

"What is that, anyway?" Kira pointed at the object that had garnered her attention, making the new boy blink.

"It's a hover board. I made it with spare parts." Kira smiled, her gray eyes glittering with curiosity.

"Can I see?" Ikuto looked at her, then at his board, and then back at her. Finally, he shrugged and handed it to her. She looked over it carefully, and then hopped onto it and zoomed around in a small circle. "This thing is fun!" She hopped off and handed the object back to him with a smile. He smiled in return, and took the item from her.

"You made that? Think you could fix something for us?" Ikuto tilted his head to the side, gesturing that he had to know what the object was first. Kumo dug the microphone Brother had given to the amateur sphere hunters before they left the Celsius out of his pocket. Ikuto took the item, and turned it over in his hand.

"This is no problem! I'll need my tools, though..." Kira smiled at Kumo. They followed their new friend through the streets to a small apartment that he unlocked and stepped into. "Ah, sorry about the mess. I've been renting it, and barely making enough money to keep living here." The mess was really none of Ikuto's fault. Kira blanched slightly at the sight of rusty tools sitting in puddles of murky water.

"Ah, it's no problem." Kira looked around the apartment, taking in exactly how many gadgets decorated the walls, the only place where they would be safe from the water. "Wow. You tinker a lot, don't you?" Ikuto sat down at a workbench that covered one end of the apartment, looking over his tools.

"It's how I managed to survive until Sin was killed, really. The maesters of Yevon kept me hidden, fixing their machina when it was needed and basically doing all sorts of maintenance." Kira frowned, recalling something that she had heard.

"Isn't machina supposed to be against the teachings, though?" Ikuto nodded, chuckling to himself. "Why would they...? Unless they were hypocritical..." Kumo looked at Kira, who was frowning, her arms crossed over her chest.

"They were. It took until it was discovered that most of the maesters were already dead for people to even start to lose trust in them." Kira blinked. Ikuto had answered without turning around from the mike. He reached out and grabbed a pair of pliers that he kept in a waterproof bag, and used them before setting them on top of the bag. "This thing really got fried! What zapped it?" Kira smiled at Kumo.

"One of the electric elementals in the Thunder Plains. The particular one that did that won't be destroying anything ever again, though." Ikuto laughed and turned to look at Kira. "By the way, what was the dress sphere you were using to fight with?"

Ikuto laughed a little, still concentrating on the job at hand. "I call it the Breaker dress sphere. I found it while I was stealing parts, and accidentally activated it when I was in a bind. I've been using it since then." Kira blinked, amused at the name he had given his outfit.

Ikuto really was a nice person to be around, kind of like Kumo, but more withdrawn. He was gentle, but while he had been in that fight, his temperament had taken a very arrogant turn, like Kumo's did when he was playing Blitzball.

"Alright, it ought to work now." Kira walked over and took the microphone from Ikuto with a smile.

"I'll be right back, kay?" Kumo sent Kira a wary look as she smiled at the two boys and walked out of the building. He shuddered a bit as Ikuto looked after her, confused. Both boys flinched as curses in fluent Al Bhed ripped through the air from outside. Ikuto looked to Kumo, wincing a little.

"Remind me to never get on her bad side." Kumo nodded, wincing as well.

"You should've seen what she did to the blitzer that pissed her off in the middle of their game." Ikuto blinked a couple of times.

"She's a blitzer?" Kumo nodded, looking at the other boy.

"What, didn't you see the last tournament? She was in the Aurochs." Ikuto's jaw dropped.

"N-no way. She's THAT Kira?" Kumo nodded, lifting an eyebrow. The mechanic looked pretty shaken. "Rumo cred..." Ikuto rubbed at his forehead, closing his eyes. Kira's shouting disappeared, and she was now talking firmly, if with distaste, into the machina.

"Oac, fa kud mucd, dryhc du oui. Kumo'c vajan kud funca, yht, ra dyccat uid nekrd hayn Bevelle." Kira paused, listening. "Oac, E ys cdemm kuehk du red oui uhla fa kad pylg. Buccepmo hud yc rynt yc ev oui ryt cesbmo lusa yht belgat ic ib rana eh Bevelle, pid E femm cdemm red oui. Yvdan dryd 'bnyhk', E fuimth'd pa cinbnecat ev Paine red oui ujan dra rayt, duu." Kira's lips twitched at something that was said on the other end.

"Oi Kira, you almost done?" Kira flapped her hand at Kumo as he asked the question while leaning out of the window. "Guess not."

"Cra ymnayto tet? E's kuhhy ryvdy dryhg ran vun dryd. Uh, po dra fyo, E drehg Kumo'c cdemm celg. Ra'c yldehg veha, pid rec vajan hajan naymmo fahd yfyo." Again, she paused. "Ugyo, dryhgc. Caa ay mydan." Kira released the button she was pressing and walked back inside.

"Done, finally?" Kira rubbed at the back of her head at Kumo's comment. She smiled a little sheepishly as Ikuto went through the gadgets on the walls. Kumo and Kira both watched him for a little while, confused. Finally, Kira asked the question that was on both of their minds.

"What are you doing, Ikuto?" The purple-eyed boy turned around and held up two hover boards that he had managed to get off the wall.

"Getting these. They're the prototypes of mine, but they still work about the same." Kira caught the one that she had been tossed, and grabbed Kumo's before his fell to the ground.

"You got another one? There's a third person in our group. He kinda got separated from us, though." Ikuto looked at the wall, and stood on his tiptoes to remove yet another board. He held it up, inspecting the machinery, and nodded.

"Yep, this one still works. Kinda worried about it, since it was under a leak for a while, but none of the parts rusted." He tossed it to Kira, who held it awkwardly under one arm.

"We might as well leave now. You need anything else?" Ikuto looked around his apartment.

"Er...Some of my better kept tools, and that should be about it. Most of these bits and pieces don't even work anymore." He gestured around him, and went to his worktable. All of the tools he grabbed were in bags of some sort, mostly waterproof. He tucked them into a backpack, and looked to the other two. Kira blinked, and hit herself over the head, grimacing.

"CRED! E ghuf drana fyc cusadrehk E vunkud du ycg Brother!" Kumo and Ikuto both looked at Kira, surprised by her outburst. Kira smiled a little, rubbing beside her right eye. "I'm gonna go talk to him again, cause I forgot to ask if he'll let Ikuto come with." Kumo gave a little disbelieving laugh as Kira darted out the door again.

"Ue, Brother, oui drana?" Kira sounded slightly embarrassed. "Oayr. E vunkud du ycg pavuna...Lyh sa yht Kumo pnehk cusauha uid uv Bevelle fedr ic? Ra'c naymmo kuut fedr machina yht ymm, yht E ghuf ruf drana'c ymsucd hu uha uh dra Celsius fru ghufc aqyldmo fryd du tu fedr ymm dra cdivv...Oayr, Rikku dumt sa...Ra'c paddan dryh oui. Ra yldiymmo sygac cdivv dryd...Rs? Ur, ra lymmc ed y rujan puynt. Ed'c naymmo nih! ...Oayr, ra kyha sa yht Kumo uha." Kira smiled, and then grinned. "Ugyo! Caa oy mydan." She released the button and punched her fist into the air, grinning victoriously. Kumo and Ikuto were emerging from the apartment building at that moment, and exchanged glances before looking back to Kira.

"He agreed?" Kira whirled around, startled, but nodded all the same. She danced a little, hyper, like Kumo had seen Rikku do before. The male blonde dropped his head a little, in disgust. "E drehg oui'ja paah ryhkehk uid y ped duu silr fidr Rikku." Kira lifted an eyebrow at him, daring him to elaborate. "Dryd meddma tyhla-drehk oui zicd tet, E'ja caah ran tu dryd frah cra'c aqledat." The female blonde shrugged her shoulders and stretched her arms behind her.

"You ready to leave, Ikuto?" The black-haired boy nodded. Kira grinned and took off down the road at a dash. The boys had to hop onto their hover boards simply to catch up to her. Kumo hopped off his board once they had and trotted alongside her, taking the extra board she was carrying and tucking it behind the backpack he wore on his back to hold most of their things.

The three of them laughed their exuberance as they neared the exit to the town, Ikuto finally getting far enough ahead of Kira where he could hop off of his board and be able to run right alongside her. Kira's laughter faded a bit as she saw people standing in the way of them. She and the boys slowed to a stop, the smiles not fading from their faces, though Ikuto's was now forced while Kira's was in anticipation of a fight.

"Sorry, can't let you pass unless you're a member of the league." Kira propped her free hand on her hip, tilting it to the side.

"We're travelers. We aren't staying here, so you have to let us pass." The man looked pointedly at Ikuto, who was fidgeting a bit.

"He lives here." Kira waved her hand at Ikuto.

"He decided to leave. Now, I suggest you get out of the way before I have to force you." Kumo eyed Kira as she gave her ultimatum with a cheery voice. She had even grinned and closed her eyes, tilting her head to the side. The man on watch gestured his companion over and had a whispered conversation with him. The second guard had a rather large bruise developing on his face, and kept glancing nervously at Kira, who had opened her eyes again and her grin had faded into a smug smirk.

"...Just don't get it, do you? She's the one that..." Kumo's ear twitched as he heard the fear in the second guard's face. Kira had heard the snippet of conversation, and tilted her head to the side, her unoccupied hand at her chin in a thoughtful gesture. She snapped her fingers as if she had just figured something out.

"Ah, now I know where I recognized the uniform! You guys are members of that group that I fought at the café!" The guards looked towards Kira somewhat fearfully. The first one nodded to the second, and both scampered out of the way.

"A-all three of you can pass. Sorry to bother you!" Kumo looked at Kira.

"Please don't tell me you only did that to scare them." She merely grinned at her friend and hopped onto her hover board. She sped off, making Kumo sigh. The other two boys hopped onto their boards and zoomed off after her into the forest.

Kira giggled as she followed the tree branches, glancing back to see Kumo's aggravated expression. She yelped as she nearly rammed into a chimera, and jumped off to fight it. Kumo growled and hopped off as well, leaving his board where he hopefully wouldn't stumble on it in the middle of the fight. Ikuto did the same, activating his dress sphere again. His face split into a grin, and he shook his arms out in preparation for the fight.

Kira slammed her fist into the chimera, and skipped back to where Kumo and Ikuto were standing. Kumo threw his blitzball at the fiend, but it didn't have as much affect on it as they had hoped. Ikuto then dashed forwards and used some weird kicking move on it. Kira blinked a couple of times as he came back to their little defensive line.

"What on earth?" Kira yelped softly as the fiend managed to hit her while she was distracted and growled with rage at it. Before it managed to back of to a somewhat safe distance, she reared back with her fist and punched it in the beak, as hard as she possibly could. Pyreflies spouted out of its broken neck, and it screeched in agony as it faded. Kira smiled a little smugly, and then winced, massaging her right fist.

"You alright, Kira?" Kumo walked over to her, seeing that she was in some pain. She looked up at him and smiled a little.

"I think I bruised my fist a little, but it'll be fine. Come on, let's get going." All three teens hopped back onto their hover boards and continued along the trees until they started to hear the booming of thunder.

"Oh, there must be a storm." Kira blinked at Ikuto, who was zooming along next to her.

"Isn't there always a storm? I mean, it is called the Thunder Plains." Kira gestured with her right hand, and barely winced, the only sign that she was hurt more than she had let on. Neither boy caught sight of that wince, concentrating on where they were going.

Kumo fell off his board for the fifteenth time since they had defeated the chimera, making the other two stop and wait for him to catch up. Kira exchanged glances with Ikuto, and glided over to set her hand on his forehead. She sighed and dropped her hand right away.

"Your fever's getting worse again. You want to stop for a while?" Kumo shook his head as Ikuto tilted his head to the side.

"There's a Travel Agency in the middle of the plains. At the rate we're going now, we'll probably get there around nightfall." Kira nodded, and frowned at Kumo.

"Come on, we'd better get going, then. It's not too long until nightfall. We've been traveling for most of the day." Kumo nodded wearily, now too tired to even deny that he was sick.

Kira didn't have her occasional races with Ikuto like she had been having throughout the day, staying near Kumo in case he started to wobble, which he did from time to time.

Kira flinched a little as she heard the first loud bang of thunder as they finally reached the plains. Kumo started to fall off his board, and Kira caught him, stopping. Ikuto noticed that they weren't right behind him and also stopped, looking back.

"He pass out?" Kira shook her head as she supported most of Kumo's weight. With the hand not occupied by her friend, she dug into her belt pouch and pulled out a potion to use on him. He started to support himself again, and nodded his thanks to Kira, who smiled at him, hiding her worry.

"Not yet." Kira and Kumo caught up with their friend, and Kira yelped, pitched off of her board as thunder hit a nearby tower with a loud bang like a hammer pounding on a thick piece of steel. Ikuto and Kumo stopped to look back at her, bemused.

Kira picked herself up off the ground and brushed herself off, hiding her shaking hands with brisk movements. She grabbed her board and was about to hop onto it when she felt her instincts screaming at her. In an instant, she jumped back, dodging the bolt of lightning that would have hit her had she remained still.

"Kira! Are you alright?" Kira nodded to Kumo, as shaken from that as he was. She hopped onto the board and zipped over to where they were, glancing over her shoulder at the small crater that had been created by the lightning.

"That was close. How much farther to the Travel Agency?" Ikuto pointed at a hill.

"It's just below that rise. Pretty much everyone crossing the plains stops in there." Kira nodded to Ikuto's information and nudged Kumo into movement. Once his adrenaline stopped pumping, the platinum blonde was back to his drained self.

"Lusa uh, Kumo. Hud silr vindran huf. Oui cdub rana, yht fa'mm kad red po mekrdhehk." Kumo groaned, but listened to Kira's cajoling, floating over the ground at the fastest that he could stay on the board in his now slightly delusional state. He didn't even notice when Ikuto and Kira exchanged worried glances and take up spaces on either side of him.

Kira caught Kumo as he fell off his board right in front of the Travel Agency. She sighed as she noticed that he was out cold, and slung his arm over the back of her neck and supported his weight that way.

"Ikuto, could you grab mine and Kumo's boards? My hands are full." The black-haired boy nodded and opened the door for Kira. She dragged Kumo into the warmth of the traveler's haven, where they could hopefully get at least a room for Kumo.

"Hello, do you need help?" Kira looked up at the Al Bhed man that greeted her.

"Oayr. So bneaht rana byccat uid, yht fa haat y bmyla du cdyo dra hekrd." Kira panted a little, the grip she had on Kumo's belt with her right hand slipping a little. The tall blonde man blinked once in surprise at Kira's fluency in Al Bhed, but quickly showed her a room where she could set Kumo down.

By the time they both returned to the lobby, Ikuto was there, dripping water and exhausted. Kira went over to him and whapped his shoulder a bit. The proprietor of the travel Agency blinked at her familiarity with the boy. He had thought that she was only traveling with the blonde she had been supporting.

"You alright, Ikuto? You look like you're about to pass out yourself." The black-haired boy shook his head slightly, smiling a bit.

"If I may ask, where are you headed to?" Kira turned to look at the Al Bhed man, smiling with a hint of her exhaustion.

"Guadosalam. We're running an errand for a friend of mine, and got turned around. Ended up in Bevelle." She chuckled a little, and rubbed the back of her head. "Ah, by the way, is there another room where I could sleep? I noticed there was another bed in the room you let me put Kumo into." The man nodded. "Oh, I forgot to introduce us. I'm Kira. The friend I dragged in was Kumo, and this is Ikuto." Kira gestured to her newest friend. The man nodded.

"I am Rin. Come, this way." Kira nodded, and Ikuto followed her into the hall. The woman behind the desk exchanged amused glances with the one next to her.

"Ra tuac muja du ramb baubma, tuach'd ra?" They both tittered.

Kira thanked Rin and closed the door to her room, accepting the key to it. Ikuto had already been shown to the room Kumo was in, and promised to keep an eye on the other boy.

The blonde girl turned off her dress sphere, appearing in the clothes she wore without any magic. She removed the soaking wet dark grey pants and threw them over a chair. The next to come off was the white spaghetti strap tank top, leaving her in a wet bra and wet underwear. The door was locked, and the blinds were drawn, so it wasn't like anyone was going to see her like that.

Kira flopped onto the bed and buried her face into the comfortably dry pillow. She fell asleep rather slowly, distracted by the thunder crashing outside. When she finally did sleep, it was fitfully, dreaming of running and loud banging noises, with objects whizzing past her head. She was aware that there were several people running alongside her, but there were far more chasing along behind, using the sources of those loud bangs.

Kira woke with a jerk in the middle of the night at a particularly loud bang. She sat up, covered in a cold sweat, and rubbed at her face.

'Was that the dream I had when Paine told me I was whimpering in my sleep?' Kira rubbed her eyes, and then flopped back down, letting her arms fall to either side of her. She covered her head with the pillow, and fell asleep quickly, the sounds of the storm muffled to a dull roar.

"Kira! Yna oui ymnekrd? Ed muugat mega Ling red oui naymmo rynt!" Kira nodded in response to Shirai's question as the team entered their locker room. Kumo was cradling his hand still, and she grabbed his forearm to get a good look at the damage. She hissed as she saw the bruise mottling it already.

"Oayr, E's veha, pid Kumo ech'd! Fro uh eyndr tet oui ehcecd uh sdyoehk eh dra kysa?! Dryd luimt ryja paah pnugah!" The blonde man looked embarrassed as the redheaded boy came over to see.

"Oui haat du ku kad dryd lralgat. E'mm ycg uha uv dra kermc du kad uha uv dra satnelc." As the redhead did what he said, Kira proceeded to inspect the damage on her own, poking and manipulating her blond friend's hand to see just how much motion he still had. There wasn't much.

"Shirai, oui'na kuehk du dyga Kumo'c bmyla, mega dra bmyh cdydat. Vnyhgmo, E vyc rubehk dryd fa fuimt kad dryc vyn fedruid yhouha kaddehk ehzinat, pid Blitzball'c y jeumyhd cbund yvdan ymm." The brunette nodded seriously as Kumo winced. The medic arrived and bound up Kumo's hand for the time being. The ref entered the locker room and saw how they all were slightly stressed.

"The second half will begin in a few minutes. Prepare your team." Kira nodded in response to him, sighing slightly. She rubbed her stomach lightly.
"Ra kud oui uh dra kid, teth'd ra?" Kira blinked and looked at the redhead before nodding slightly.

Kira drifted from the odd dream to another, subconsciously logging the dream so she would remember it.

"Hela kuym. Kmyt fa kud dra dedma pylg." Kira nodded, grabbing a towel and wiping water off of her body.

"E haat vuut. E nyh ib ykyehcd dra 'fymm' nekrd yvdan E clunat dryd mycd kuym. Dra kysa ymsucd mycdat duu muhk." The redhead laughed as he dried himself off.

"Oui ghuf fryd drao cyo ypuit dra 'fymm'. Dra suna oui nih ehdu ed, dra suna uvdan oui kad ujan ed." Kira nodded and wrung out her hair, the water splashing onto the tiled floor.

Again, Kira drifted to another dream. The redhead's name was almost drifting in her head, but it was an abstract thought, not given to words just yet.

Kira hummed happily to herself as she sucked down a bottle of Ramune. Her other hand was occupied by the redhead's, and they were watching someone try to take down a difficult monster in a video game. The tall, darker blonde boy came up behind her hand tapped her shoulder. She jerked slightly, the marble in her glass bottle slipping from the knobs to slide firmly into the mouth of the bottle. Kira sighed and lowered the bottle, turning slightly to look at her twin. His eyes were wide with alarm.

"Tet oui caa-" Kira nodded, interrupting her brother before he finished his sentence and gave away the fact that they were on edge.

"E fynhat uha uv dras dryd E ghaf fru drao fana, pid E tuh'd drehg drao fana yfyna dryd E hudelat yho udranc." Kira's accent was almost too heavy to be distinguished. The redhead cast a confused glance at her, not understanding her words. She smiled cheerily to him, and he turned back to watching the player.

"Drehg drao'mm luja?" Kira took a sip of her soda again.

"Hud ihdem E'ja kud so ryhtc vimm fedr cusadrekr. Fa'na paah tuehk famm cu vun eh yjuetehk dras, pid drao'ja paah vummufehk ic cehla dra aht uv dra duinhysahd." He squeezed her hand, feeling that she was anxious about something. "E's veha, N---, naymmo. Zicd dymgehk du Kani ypuid cusadrekr dryd fa taymd fedr eh dra bycd." Shawn, who was standing on Kira's other side, rolled his eyes before gluing them back to the screen.

"E's hud cina ev oui cruimt dyga bynd eh dryd udran duinhysahd ev dryd'c frah drao'na kuhhy cdnega." Kira sighed, closing her eyes for a moment and taking a sip of Ramune again. When they opened, they went straight to a silver-haired boy standing in the background, watching them.
"Ev E tuh'd, ed'mm keja yfyo uin lrynyta, yht...Oui ghuf." Kira's eyes flicked to Kani as the silver-haired boy looked over at them. The man he was talking to also looked over, his dark brown eyes on Kira's face. "E's hud cina ruf syho yna rana, yhofyo. E ryjah'd paah ypma du cbud yc syho uv dras yc iciym." Kani tilted his head to the right, his eyes seeming to be focused on the screen like Shawn and the redhead's, but they were looking right at the object. His eyes grew wide after a second, and he changed how he was standing, propping his right elbow in the palm of his left hand.

"Dras lyh'd ryja vehecrat dacdehk dryd machina...luimt dras?" Kira cast a confused look at Kani, saw that he hadn't been talking to her, shrugged, and went back to watching the monster beating the snot out of the player.

Kira finally woke from her night's sleep, bemused at the last dream she'd had. She'd connected two of the names she remembered with faces, and recalled the first letter of the mysterious redhead's name.

"N-something...Wonder what it is," She mumbled, rubbing at her eyes as she tapped a light sphere on. She stood and dressed in her now-dry clothes before taking her hair down and running her fingers through it and putting it back up. She yawned and stepped out of the room, remembering to take the key with her.

Kira blinked as she walked into the lobby, still partially asleep. Ikuto was almost asleep on the table where there was some breakfast set out, his dark hair resting on it, and another person was actually awake and grumbling about something.

"Shirai? What're oui doing here?" The brunette jumped and looked around before locating Kira, still standing in the doorway, rubbing sleepily at her eyes. Ikuto lifted his head and saw who Kira was speaking to before dropping his head again.

"Kira? When'd you get here?" Kira sighed and plopped down into the seat across the table from Shirai.

"Last night. Oi, Ikuto." The black-haired boy turned his head a little, to show her he'd heard her. "Ruf'c Kumo tuehk?" Shirai blinked at Kira.

"Veha. Ra fyc cdemm ycmaab frah E mavd dra nuus," Ikuto mumbled. Shirai looked from Kira to Ikuto and back to Kira. The girl noticed and smiled a little.

"Ikuto's a new member of our group, Shirai." Ikuto sat up and looked over at Kira and Shirai as he heard that there was another friend. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes as he gave up on getting any more sleep. Kumo stumbled out of the hallway, his hair askew and looking exhausted. He stopped and looked at Kira and Ikuto. The only one of the four of them that seemed truly aware was Shirai.

"Did any of us really even sleep well last night?" Kira and Ikuto shook their heads. Kumo sighed and stumbled over to sit at Ikuto's table. Kira chuckled a little and blinked as Rin arrived. He saw that all four young travelers were up, and that the three that had arrived the night before were still looking sleepy. Shirai blinked as Kira raised a hand and greeted him with a smile.

"Sunhehk." Rin smiled back at Kira, but went about his business. Kumo noticed what Kira was wearing and lifted an eyebrow. She smirked at him, and poured herself a glass of water, drinking it.

"Fryd'na oui faynehk, Kira?" Kira smiled at him. Kumo had a pretty bad accent, proving that he hadn't been speaking Al Bhed for as long as she had been.

"E tayldejydat sy tnacc cbrana, yht drec ec fryd E fyc mavd fedr. Ed'c naymmo bnaddo lusvundypma." Kira drank her water, and gestured for him to do the same. "Ruf'na oui vaamehk? Yht pa dnidrbim. E tuh'd fyhd du ryja du cdub ykyeh palyica oui fana vaamehk mega paehk sylru." Kumo winced a little at Kira's accusation.

"E's veha." Kira looked at him for a while before accepting his answer.

"Ymnehk dran. Mad'c kad kuehk. Yunie, Rikku, yht Paine yna fyedehk vun ic eh Guadosalam." Shirai blinked at Kira as Kumo groaned.

"Oui naymmo haat du cdub ryhkehk uid fidr Rikku." Kira went back to her room and gathered up her things before coming back out. She had activated her fist fighter dress sphere before coming out, and tugged on her gloves to make them cover as much of her hands as she could manage.

Shirai caught the odd object Kira tossed him, and looked it over. Ikuto went back into the room that he had been sharing with Kumo and brought out their things, and tossed Kumo a very similar object.
A/N: The game that was being played in the dream was Final Fantasy IX, one of my favorites. The monster mentioned was Ozma, the hardest creature in the game.