A/N: Prompt is Nice View for Traught Takeover over on Tumblr. Also a crossover with FFX.

Implications

Part I

The moon hung lazily in the clear sky, casting a pale light over the island. It reflected sharply in the deep crystal waters of the beach, and if you were to blink just so, it would seem as if there was no liquid at all, simply an endless reflection of the sky, flawless and smooth. If you were to not blink at all, then you may even have trouble telling whether or not the water was echoing the sky or the sky was simply being capricious and doing the same to the water.

Either way, there was no denying the sight was beautiful, a single serene moment in a world of Sin. A man standing a little back in the forest drank it all in with the fervor of one who knew its rarity, pausing for a moment in his search. With a breath, he closed his eyes and felt like he could almost feel the ambience pressing against his skin, begging him to relax and join it in this singular moment.

Dick brushed the intoxicating allure away slowly, and his eyelids fluttered open as it dissipated with a sigh. He could sit here and watch the bask in the sights of Besaid Island any time he wanted to, his real goal was a little more fleeting. Bringing his bright blue eyes down to watch the beach in front of him, he sat hidden in the foliage and waited for the girl.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait long; which was only to be expected. He'd timed this down to the second. The first sign of her appearance was a break in the perfect reflection of the water, a white trail of bubbles that signaled her swimming towards the empty beach. As expected, she veered just before reaching the open expanse of sand that led up to the village ahead, instead choosing to break out of the water at a hidden alcove a few feet past it.

Coincidentally, the same place where he lay in wait, camouflaged in the thick green trees just above it. Even though Dick knew she couldn't see him from here—he'd planned this very carefully—he still couldn't resist the instinct to freeze up as she came closer and dragged herself out of the water. She coughed thickly, spitting out ocean water as crawled forward.

He noted that quickly; she obviously wasn't a blitzball player, or even that good a swimmer if she managed to suck in some water while swimming. Which then raised the question—why did she keep doing it to come here?

Question upon question piled in his mind, but Dick assuaged them with the knowledge that he'd get his long alluded answers soon enough.

In fact, right about now.

With only the faintest rustle of leaves, he jumped down to finally greet the mysterious woman.

He landed with a thump on the soft sand, and had only to raise his head to see an arrow pointed between his eyes.

Grinning in a way that came in stark juxtaposition to the situation, Dick remarked cheekily, "Wow, how random is it that you're on this part of the beach? What a coincidence."

A soft growl came from her direction, but heedless of the warning, he went on, "That's an Ultimus Bow, ain't it? Those are pretty rare. Have to applaud you on that find."

She was sopping wet, from her the top of her hood to the ends of her, notably bare, feet. He admitted that it was certainly a point in her favor that she could still manage to look that intimidating while shaking like baby Garuda that fell from the nest. He gave her another point on managing to still her hood completely in place.

Damn, he'd planned for it to have slipped a little when she'd readied her bow. He guessed he'd just have to figure out another way to get a closer look at her.

Gaze falling on the terrifyingly sharp tip of the arrow aimed at his head, Dick resolved next time to do it in a fashion less threatening to his person. After a few moments, he realized that she wasn't going to speak anytime soon and he chose to sigh theatrically. "This would really go much easier if you would volunteer something about yourself…."

He trailed off suggestively, waiting for her to at least supply him with a name. She simply snorted and pulled the arrow even further back. Dick frowned. She was much more stubborn than he'd planned.

Fear started to thrum a steady beat in his veins, and he decided to speed this up a little. "Look, I know you're not going to kill me, that'd mean too many questions, questions mean a search, a search means they find your little hideout in the woods, and, well," he grimaced, "That means very, very bad things. I got it, alright? I'm not going to say anything; I was just hoping we could talk."

"I could make it look like an accident. People drown here all the time," she said finally, her voice a low rasp that sent a shiver shooting down his spine. Despite the words, Dick found himself grinning.

"Then why haven't you done it already?" He could actually feel her seethe as he pointed this out, and he wondered in the back of his mind whether or not she'd actually rise to the bait. All predications and previous calculations pointed strictly to the negatory, and he was pleased when they proved correct.

Lowering her bow, she quickly stepped back a few steps. Recognizing the movement, he sighed and chastised, "I already said I'm not here to hurt you, and I certainly don't have a knife to pull on you. Seriously, what do you think I am?"

Her voice came out as a low hiss, sharp as the edge of a dagger. "A damn liar. I can see the scabbard by your belt, you know."

In a smooth movement, he pulled it out and held it in front of him. Trying not to take her flinch as a complete insult, Dick rolled his eyes and let her gaze fall on the empty scabbard. "I told you, I didn't come here to kill you, and it'd be really rude if you tried to kill me after what I've done—"

She scoffed, "What have you done?"

Her standoffish attitude finally wringing on his last nerve, Dick coolly explained, "You haven't been all that discrete. I told the village that I was the one hunting in the forest and trampling around all over the place. Also that it was my fault an entire basket of fruit had disappeared from the larder."

He shrugged. "Told 'em my friend, Wally, had gone sleep eating again."

She didn't answer for a moment, and just when Dick had started to think this entire thing had been in vain, she said in a voice a little above a whisper, "You actually did that?"

"You mean cover up for you?" He crossed his arms. "Or leave the larder door open?"

She fell silent again, and Dick had the distinct feeling that he was being examined, thoroughly searched for any trace of falsehood that could indicate he was stringing her along. He stood tall and waited it out, finally letting out a relieved breath when she wordlessly slung her bow back over her shoulder. She wouldn't be attacking him again; at least he could be thankful of that.

"What do you want?" Her voice rang out clear in the space between them.

Oh, come on. Dick groaned in exasperation. "Do we really have to have this conversation now? Can't we just get to know each other a little better?"

Faltering, she stammered, "W-what?"

"I mean, I sort of want to know who you even are before we get to such extensional questions like what I want or how I figured out you'd be here or why I've been tracking you for the last couple months," he elaborated, pretending to be oblivious to the way she gasped. Crossing his arms, Dick suggested, "In fact, how about we start with you taking off that hood?"

There was no hiding the way she tensed up at his words.

Wincing, he amended, "Or not."

Searching his mind for something else to distract her with, he didn't notice until the last moment that her hands had already reached up to clasp her green hood. In one deft movement she pulled it down and started to fix her hair. Under his sudden stare, she started to fidget just a little, nervously threading her fingers through the blond strands.

Several things occurred to Dick at that moment. None of them very good.

First off, she was shivering, shaking almost violently. Duty, and the threat of a particularly disdainful look from his butler, stated that he should probably be lending her his cloak about now, or casting a fire spell to warm her up.

In fact, now that she was starting to shrug herself out of her soaked hood, untying the clasps that kept it there, he could plainly see that she didn't seem to be wearing much at all. Tattered layers made up her skirt, and there was a long stretch of bare skin from her stomach to her chest, which was covered by a green wrap. Her shockingly yellow hair fell in long chunks across her shoulders, but she was already tying it up, pausing only to shoot him a dirty, slightly confused, look with her green eyes.

The next revelation came nipping on the heels of the former; or rather, chomping down on its legs and refusing to let go unless acknowledged. With a decidedly unplanned nervous gulp, Dick had to admit that the woman he'd been tracking and including in his plans was rather pretty. Scratch that—pretty didn't even begin to cover it.

There was a strength to her features that struck right at his heart, forcing him to release a shaky breath from his strained lungs lest it get trapped there as he coincidentally forget the proper procedure for aspiration. Yet, the hard, defiant tilt of her chin and barely disguised snarl came in sharp contrast to the flustered and unsure look in her eyes. This was someone who, while used to hiding themselves with bluster and threats, became nearly unwound at the idea of letting any she held so closely loose.

Added onto the bright halo of hair, which the moon seemed to take considerable pleasure in lighting, and the…distracting way the water was making her clothes stick to her skin, highlighting curves that he couldn't believe he hadn't seen while she was skimming the water; then Dick found that he was quickly falling prey to one of the ordeals that seemed to blight his friend, Wally, on a regular basis.

That's to say, he could finally understand why the auto-hasted runner would make such a complete fool of himself over certain members of the female population.

Apparently, love did that to people.

Heart racing strangely as her mouth twisted into a perplexed pout at his silence, Dick realized that this was quite possibly the worst thing that could have happened.