Many thanks to those who have already stopped by and to those who left reviews. I have decided to change it up slightly and introduce this story a bit differently than my previous ones. I hope you will like the change and just so you know, for those who read the original chapter, you will see it again very soon. For those who are checking this story out for the first time, welcome! Once again thanks to DragonGirl323 and Azura Swan for the inspiration due to their intriguing stories. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns all things Final Fantasy

Rikku sat at the edge of the hospital bed, barely moving a muscle. It wasn't right, seeing him lay there like that...then again at least here he was getting treatment. What had been worse was the few hours before; seeing him laying on the ground, motionless...with so many contusions on his face. She thought she was going to stop breathing right there...but she didn't.

She took a moment to lower her head and let out a sigh, trying to relieve the tension in her neck. She observed her blue skirt, very similar to her brown khaki one, and she was wearing a white and blue barely there tank top. You are so stupid, she thought. How could anyone take her seriously? She always had to wear next to nothing, she always had to be silly and bubbly.

Why?

Because keeping things light was always the way Rikku dealt with everything. From the time she was a very little girl, life had thrown one tragedy after another. First her home was taken along with her mother and then she was told that she was part of a lesser people. After that it was her cousin traveling to her death; then when that crisis was averted, she later had a front row seat to a possible three sided war. But Rikku had received her father's stubborn trait and so instead of crying or being depressed like everyone around her, she decided to go the opposite way. It was a perfect idea, it made her stand out; it made her needed in her own weird way, and it kept those horrible aches away. It had always been about the attitude, you have lemons you make lemonade.

But today her need to keep things light had cost her. She was terrified Gippal would see how she really felt about him, because when she heard his indifference about her while talking to Baralai, Nooj, and Tidus it had been like a dam inside her broke. The same way she gathered strength in so many hard times was the same reason Gippal saw her as nothing but an annoying little girl who hadn't grown up yet. And it was then that she realized she would never be the kind of girl Gippal would want or was looking for.

The worst part is that he had caught her eavesdropping and he witnessed her tears, so she had to make it about her maturity level and taking her seriously as a person; that way the real issue of her wanting him was not part of the equation. But she was so hurt, so angry that she had let every broken part of her heart lash out at him and their fight had been terrible. And as it was her MO, she then stormed off without telling anyone where she was going or when she was coming back. But that was part of her nature and everybody knew it.

So why the hell did Gippal go off to find her? He knew like everyone else that she would come back when she had cooled down but for some inexplicable reason, he had gone to search for her.

Rikku had laid into her dad, her brother, Yuna, Paine and anyone else she could think of to find out which one made him come after her. But they had all sworn up and down that no one had asked him to go find her; that as a matter of fact, they had said the same thing she did...that she would come back after she had cooled down. But they said that Gippal was anxious and that he didn't want to wait, that he had to find her as soon as possible.

And that is why it was her fault that he was lying there in that hospital bed...if it wasn't for her need to be dramatic, Gippal wouldn't have been anywhere near the temple when it was sabotaged by some new unknown enemy.

It was all her fault and her normal failsafe philosophy had no place here. The doctors said that the likelihood of Gippal waking up was slim. And even if he did, there was even a higher chance he would be different, due to the massive damage the brain took.

Rikku could feel the burn in her eyes and she was using all of her remaining strength to not burst into tears. Crying would not help Gippal recover.

It just wasn't right. But someway, somehow, Rikku was going to change things so it would be.