*********** Love You)ChapterXXIII:Gilgamesh-A FFXI Love StorFollow

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I wrote a Interlude II on Friday, when I said I most likely wouldn’t be writing something. So if you missed it, you should probably go back and read it^^

Previous chapters and aki:

Part I- Connection (Enishi)

Kasho II- Kodoku (Solitude)
--
Chapter XIX:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=111927348442145844&num=0

Aki XX:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=111935938018852277&num=8

Chapter XXI:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1119447302239317740&num=4

Aki XXII:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=111953530528032132&num=4

Interlude II:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1119628326622576272&num=2

I don't own FFXI, or Hiptaru's Casino so don't sue me SE! Also, please note that I have not received any gil to mention Hiptaru's Casino in my story, but it was rather of my asking his permission that it came about.

No dedications this time^^
*****
I pulled the hood of my cloak disguise down a bit more around my head as I stopped at the entrance of Hiptaru’s Casino.

I knew from the moment that I entered into this casino, I would most likely be watched nonstop by ‘Papa’ Gilgamesh’s men.

I looked left, and then looked right,to make sure no one is following me.

I then went forward, and entered.
***
Chapter XXIII: Gilgamesh
***
Earlier that day:

"How are we going to get you into Hip’s Casino sir?" Satmanda said as his slender elvaan fingers started to synth up a cup of warm Windurstian tea from a fire crystal that I had forgotten about awhile ago.

I glanced over at Hitomi at the opposite end of the table, who was slowly turning the pages of some sort of dictionary that she said she used to teach herself English with in order to figure out exactly what I was saying. My eyes followed her progress, and I didn’t respond to Satmanda’s question until Hitomi finally shut the book and then looked up at me.

"A disguise of some sort...it will have to be good enough to fool Hiptaru’s guards in the casino. Hip may have no love for the Grand Duchy, but he has even less love for supposed traitors to Vana’diel as a whole." I finally replied.

"I’ll work on that!" Satmanda replied instantly, "I am a currently a journeyman with the Clothcrafting guild out in Windurst, so all you gotta do is name what you want me to make, and I’ll have it up faster than you can say ‘GameMaster Tapkaara’!"

I grinned at that comment, and then I heard Hitomi speak up softly.

"Ano..." she started out as she flipped through the pages of her dictionary once more, slowly building a coherent sentence out of English fragments, "Why must you go to see him? It dangerous after all for you to go out because of Ducal Guard, right? And why call him ‘Papa’?"

My mind drifted for a moment back to last night, when Hitomi explained to me in halting sentences that she had to teach herself some English because she couldn’t just keep running into me, and not be able to say anything in response to what I said.

I thought about what she said at the time, and I realized that I could never convince myself to learn a whole new language just to be able to communicate with one other person.

It still feels strange... I thought, then shook my head clear of last night and focused on the present.

I spoke slowly, allowing her time to look up a word if she needed to. "Hitomi...there are two people who can bring Jeuno to a grinding halt with but a single word. The first man is the Archduke, and the second is Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh runs the strongest underground organization that currently exists in the world of Vana’diel, and has connections both with all of the other countries and with the beastmen themselves. If I don’t meet him as he requests, he will most likely reveal to the Guard that I am here in response." I smiled as she deciphered my sentence and a look of slight shock spread across her face.

"Connect with beastmen?..." she said slowly.

I nodded a couple of times. “However, the Guard was unable to prove his connections to the beastmen before he became too powerful a force in Vana’diel, mostly through my own fault.” I said, not really wanting to elaborate any further into that statement.

Satmanda finally finished synthing up three cups of tea, and brought them over to us on a silver tray as quickly as he could. I picked up the small porcelain cup, and sipped at its warm fluid with a delicious sigh as it then slid down my throat. It tasted minty, but I could detect just a hint of cinnamon mixed into the concoction. After I finished my cup, I ventured forward again.

"Anyways, it’s a good thing he contact me, I suppose. It means he has a favor he wants to ask of me, and having ‘Papa’ in my debt is always a good thing. I can ask him to return the favor to me by maybe getting me a meeting with Amas, if the Archduke hasn’t had him executed yet. And yes, Gilgamesh is that powerful."

Hitomi and Satmanda at this point had finished their tea also, and Satmanda then gathered up all three cups and carried them over to the sink to be washed in a soapy foam.

"Oh, and that nickname ‘Papa’ was given to him by me because he seems to be the father of all illicit activity in Vana’diel, even if it can’t be traced directly back to him at all. Surprisingly, he took to it rather well and allows me to call him that whenever I am forced to cross paths with him." I added as an afterthought, remembering Hitomi’s last question.

Hitomi ran her fingers through her long black hair, unknotting a couple of tangles as she then grinned at me. "When do we go?" she said.

"You aren’t coming Hitomi. Gilgamesh doesn’t like to meet strangers, and would most certainly not want to meet one during a time where his life is probably in as much danger as the Archduke’s from the beastmen." I replied. She opened her mouth to argue with me, but I held up a hand in a sign that told her plainly that the subject was closed. "I will be sure to tell you what happened between us though when I get back. I promise."

She pouted for a couple minutes after she finished translating what she didn’t know, but I could tell that the reasoning made sense to her.
***
Now:

I entered into the casino, and was immediately overwhelmed by the casino itself. Everywhere were different colored dice tables, with various rules for various games placed above each one. The only thing that all of the tables had in common was a gold sign that said ‘100,000 gil minimum bet only please.’ Looking around, I couldn’t help but notice that Hiptaru had recently renovated the place. The ceiling was much higher than before, and there were frescos depicting the four kingdoms each of the four walls. The carpet underfoot was half an inch deep, and I felt my hair start to stand up slightly on end from the static electricity that walking across it built up as I headed to a small private room in the back. Everywhere were mithras and female humes dressed up in tight outfits who were serving all of the patrons fresh ale while they gambled away a fortune, one dice roll at a time. It was a high-class place, meant obviously to offer those who felt like the war might just kill them tomorrow a place to blow all of their gil in one last fit of fun and excitement.

I finally made my way to the back of the casino, and rapped a couple times on the door. After a couple of moments, the door opened noiselessly, and I slipped into a dark room...

And felt a blade slide across my neck, threatening to break the skin if I so much as moved.

"That’s enough Aoi," a familiar voice said as the lights came on, "Dimitri is not my enemy, but is instead a friend. Both of me...and of the Tenshodo."

-fin Chapter XXIII: Gilgamesh

Edited, Mon Jun 27 09:08:00 2005 by Nightsintdreams