-1A/N: Another Aurriku fic-drabble at the request of jinjer and Jaymo. Thanks for your reviews!

Auron: This one is better than the last one, at least. . .

Thank you, Auron!

Auron: . . . but it's still cheesy.

-- Shut up. . .

"Look!"

Rikku turned at the sound of Paine's voice. She saw her comrade pointing down to a glowing point on the floor. Rikku wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked to stand next to her.

"You think it's a sphere?"

Rikku squinted through the smoke to see the glowing spot better. She ginned.

"Looks like it! I'm goin' for it!"

Rikku hopped down from the ledge and caught the sphere in an impressive dive-roll. She held it up triumphantly while Yuna laughed and Paine half-heartedly clapped. The two girls jumped down next to Rikku.

"Shall we watch it here?" asked Paine.

"I want to! I found it!" shouted Rikku.

"Technically, Rikku, Paine found it." Yuna pointed out.

"Aww, I don't care!" Rikku sat down on the floor and activated the sphere. What she saw and heard wasn't anything like she had expected.

"Rikku."

Rikku's jaw dropped. Floating above the sphere was a smaller representation of. . .no. . . it couldn't be. . .

"I want to tell you many things before we defeat Sin."

Too late. Though Rikku.

"I am making this sphere for you. It is easier to record things and give them to a person that to tell them yourself."

The man gave a small sigh.

"Rikku, I am an unsent. I was mortally wounded fighting Yunalesca. Somehow, I had managed to drag myself from Zanarkand to Bevelle. There, I died. When Sin again made his presence known, I rode it to Tidus' Zanarkand. And there I stayed. I left Zanarkand some years later. I had rejoined Tidus in Luca, becoming Yuna's guardian. Then, when we arrived at the Moonflow, something extraordinary happened."

Rikku realized that she had been holding her breath. She silently prayed for the one thing she wanted to hear.

"I met you."

Rikku's heart seemed to stop.

"At the time, you were annoying. You were always loud and obnoxious, pestering anyone who came near. Most of the time, it was me."

Rikku gave a small smile.

"But I realized that your happiness was more than useful. It kept Yuna upbeat and on track and prevented the party from drowning in my cynicism."

Rikku laughed under her breath.

"As the pilgrimage progressed, I had realized how important you had become. I found myself smiling instead of scoffing at your antics. A twirl and a laugh made my day brighter. An injury to you in battle made my heart stop. It was around the time of the Thunder Plains that I figured out why. I. . . "

Rikku stared expectantly at the sphere.

". . . I love you, Rikku."

The sphere shut off with a small whirl-click. Rikku stared in mild shock for a moment. It was when she felt Yuna sit beside her that she broke. She cried into Yuna's shirt while Paine slowly rubbed her back. Rikku couldn't tell how long she sat there while images assaulted her mind. But when her tears slowly subsided, she looked up to find Paine holding out the sphere to her.

"It's useful as a dress sphere," were her only words.

Rikku stood up and took the sphere from her. She turned it over in her hands before snapping in right in the middle of her garment grid. The feeling that overpowered her during her transformation was immense. Honor and pride, a feeling of protection, and an unwillingness to fail. Rikku studied her outfit. It was so much like his. . . but the sword. . . she lifted it up to the blue light. . . yes, it was his. His Katana, which she could barely lift two years ago but now could swing with ease. It was all his. His newfound presence was filling the room so much that Rikku spun around to see if he was standing there.

Rikku sighed, then glanced at his sword, mumbling a few words he had repeated to her when all hope seemed lost.

"Auron. . . this is our story."