A Wish that Spans the Ages
Track 04. Animato
Author's Notes: Final Fantasy X-2 is owned by Square-Enix, not me. The song Animato is the property of Utada Hikaru.
…
"A fighting tournament...?" Lenne asked in disbelief. "But I don't want to-"
"Oh, come on!" Kris enthusiastically interrupted her. "It's a duinhysahd vun daysc! A team tournament! You can either sign up by yourself, or with one other person and they randomly arrange teams of four to fight against fiends!"
"Kris..." Lenne attempted once again to voice her opinion and stand on the matter. "I-"
"It'll be so yfacusa!" She exclaimed happily. "I already signed you up with me, so I'll go ahead and see who else has entered!" She then left just as quickly as she spoke.
Lenne fell back onto her bed and sighed. How did she get into this mess? An idea hit her; she would try calling her producer.
"A fighting tournament...?" He asked. However, despite Lenne's protests, he told her to go along with it as it would be great publicity if she won.
…
"A fighting tournament...?" Eris had a surprised look on her face. "Can you even fight?"
"That's the thing!" Lenne sighed. "Aside from summoning, all I can do is sing and dance." She made sure not to emphasize her dancing in front of Kris, since she didn't know how Kris would react as she was a dancer as well.
"That can't be good..." Eris exhaled a puff of smoke. "If you're in danger, there's no telling what your aeon will do."
"Wait, what?" Lenne inquired. "But aeons tend to be very well-behaved..."
"Oh, please." Eris smirked. "You already told me that you came from Baaj. All summoners know which aeon comes from there."
"..." Lenne had to avert her gaze. "He's my only aeon."
"It's fine." Eris waved her hand, as if to dismiss the matter. "But you must be naturally a gifted summoner to be able to form a pact with him."
"How about yourself?" She found herself asking. "Which aeons have you made pacts with?" Lenne had to admit that she was the least bit curious. An aeon doesn't form a pact with a summoner unless they can identify with the summoner; that is why some summoners had to spend even more than a day trying to connect with an aeon in order to connect with it, to find some sort of common ground. Aeons had a clairvoyance and ability to look into a summoner's soul for this purpose.
"I have two." Eris smirked. "The first is Carbuncle, from Luca. The other is Fenrir... that one's not too well known. I don't think anyone's even taking care of his fayth right now. It's in Mi'ihen."
"Oh, I see." Lenne responded. Not too many fayths existed at the time, as it was only after the Machina War that summoners were put up on a pedestal.
Eris stood up. "I have another customer coming in." Lenne turned to see a man enter the hotel lobby. "I'll see you around."
"Oh, okay." The brown-haired singer bowed slightly, then made my way out.
"I'll be cheering for you." Eris smiled, and then left with the man.
…
Ever since Shuyin saved her from the fiend, Lenne decided to at least be somewhat friendly with him. So, whenever she had nothing else to do, they often went out on walks or sat down for tea. It was hard for her to exactly know how to define the relationship they had; Lenne wouldn't call it casual, much less romantic. Besides, with her past, she didn't feel quite comfortable or ready to completely trust him yet.
For some reason, at this time, he insisted that she join him in the school's music room. The two of them sat down at the piano.
"I shouldn't be surprised." Lenne stated. "After all, your piano playing skills are legendary among those in the music industry." She quickly covered her mouth. How was she supposed to justify her knowing that piece of information without blowing her cover?
As Lenne looked over to Shuyin, he blushed a little and averted his own gaze in the direction of the keys on the piano. "So you know..." He put his fingers on the keys and began playing a simple melody. "I'm actually not that good." He laughed a little.
He didn't suspect her, surprisingly. Maybe it really was a well-known fact... but then why hasn't he signed with anyone? With that much recognition, it's odd that he hasn't joined a band or even tried a solo career.
"This melody..." Lenne began listening to the crescendo of the song. "It's nice."
Shuyin smiled. "It's the very first melody that came to mind when I first saw you. The moment when our eyes met... that's when it came to me." He continued playing as her eyes widened. "Anyway, what's your claim to fame? There has to be a reason why you're at this school."
"I suppose..." Lenne tried to approach the subject delicately and with caution. It's not like nobody asked her the question before, but she could never be too careful. "I sing."
"Cool." He smirked even wider. For a moment, Lenne thought that it was that smile of his that made her even consider being honest with him. "I'd love to hear you sing one day."
"Maybe..." Lenne sighed. "One day."
…
"The tournament groups have been set!" Kris squealed. "We're both with Shuyin and Matthew! Wow, I finally get to meet Shuyin!" She seemed very happy... no, 'happy' didn't do her state justice.
"Who is Matthew?" Lenne asked. "Oh, wait... I think..." She cut herself off. Shuyin sometimes mentioned his friend on the blitzball team named Matthew, but she didn't want to let Kris know that she has been occasionally meeting up with Shuyin.
"Oh, just some guy on the blitzball team." Lenne didn't have to worry about cutting herself off, as Kris was predictably always doing that for her. "But, wow! Shuyin! This is a dream come true!" Just watching her reaction, Lenne had to wonder how the draws were done. In any case, it was too late to cancel anything, unfortunately; for better or for worse, she was to participate.
"You seem to like Shuyin a lot." Lenne commented offhandedly.
Kris sighed as she blushed. Her lack of an answer was an unspoken affirmation.
"What is it about him that you like so much?" Lenne had to admit, she was curious to see why he was so popular.
"From what I hear..." Kris almost whispered. "He's a real ladies' man. According to some girls, one night alone with him will make you do this, that, and the other thing! It's supposedly quite pleasurable."
Lenne's eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
"You're really lucky that he likes you!" Kris exclaimed. "Too bad that it's sort of wasted on a starlet like you. You probably have such high standards."
Lenne could honestly say that she didn't think too much about it. What Hatsuyuki did to her made her not wish to even consider romance again, and though she talked to Shuyin occasionally she made sure to keep a distance between the two of them in hopes that he wouldn't get carried away. But... somehow, at the mention of his promiscuous ways, Lenne was the one who became heartbroken.
…
"You seem to have a bad choice in boyfriends." His words grated on Lenne's nerves.
"It's not like I asked you for your opinion, Hatsuyuki." She sternly retorted. She was in a coffee shop studying, and he appeared out of nowhere. "Besides, isn't it like the pot calling the kettle black?"
That analogy didn't really work, since it would have insinuated that he was the one with a bad choice in boyfriends. But at the time, Lenne really didn't care; she wanted him to go away so she could study.
"I know what I did was wrong." He softly spoke, sitting down across from Lenne. "That's why I'm trying to make amends."
"... It's not like I hate you." Lenne replied, after a moment of silence and trying to calm herself down. That was followed by a deep breath. "I forgave you. But I can't simply jump back into a relationship with you. Ever."
"It's been a year. Half a year since you've enrolled here." He stated, his smile absent to show his serious nature.
"Hatsu-"
"Call me how you used to call me." He interrupted. "Say it... 'Yuki'."
Lenne shook her head. "I can't do that. Hatsuyuki... during our relationship, all you ever showed me was a lie. I was in love with that illusion. Now that I know what's true..."
"I see." With that, Hatsuyuki got up. "But, one day, you'll be mine again. Because I have loved you, and still do." He then left without further words. Lenne sighed; it seemed that all of her life, she could never finish saying anything. To be honest, she half-wanted to come to Zanarkand, and half-coerced. A lot of things were like that. She knew nothing else... but when she finally managed to finish a sentence, it dawned on Lenne that it was Shuyin who was listening.
It was the last round of the tournament, and Lenne's team was in the lead; they defeated all but the toughest and most powerful of the fiends. However, this last fiend wasn't the final challenge for no reason at all.
It was a Zanarkand Drake. "Don't ask me how they heck they managed to catch it and keep it contained for this occasion."
The team managed to develop a rhythm, for the most part. They got the hang of it after the first few battles; All Lenne could do was sing and dance, so she concentrated on supporting her allies. She was hesitant to use her dancing at first, but Kris didn't seem to mind, nor was her dancing actually that helpful. Kris also knew white magic, so she utilized that to help the group. Shuyin was using swordplay and Matthew was skilled with his fists, so they pummeled the creature.
Though they were careful, there was suddenly a point where Lenne was knocked into a wall and fell to the ground. The next attack was coming, and she didn't think anything could save her; her eyes became tightly closed.
"Lenne!"
…
"Lenne?"
She slowly opened her eyes. Everything was still blurry, as they refused to focus.
"Lenne...!"
As she was trying to get up, Lenne's eyes attempted to adjust to the new surroundings. Lenne blinked a few times, and saw the person who was calling out her name.
"I'm glad you're all right." Shuyin said.
"What... happened?" She found herself asking.
"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You passed out. You weren't injured seriously, but the doctors said that you were also buckling under stress."
Lenne then noticed that she was in a hospital room. Looking out the window, Lenne noticed that it was early evening.
"It's..." He continued. "It's been a month since you've fainted at the tournament."
Lenne spun her heard toward him. "What!" She raised her voice. I missed that much?
"And..." His voice was shaking. "A... a creature appeared. We think it was an... an aeon."
Lenne's eyes widened. "I-"
She didn't know what to say. Did her secret come out? Lenne averted her gaze and looked at her hands.
"That guy..." Shuyin spoke softly. "What was his name? Hatsuyuki? He came up to me on one occasion and reprimanded me on not trying to protect you adequately. I tried, I honestly did, but..."
"It's fine." Lenne smiled at him, weakly.
"I'm... I'm suspicious of Kristina." He stated. "She was the closest to you, but she didn't seem to do anything."
Lenne shook her head. "I find it hard to believe. She... um… doesn't have the kind of malicious nature to waste on trying to see me off." What other ways could she try to say that Kris was nothing short of too ditzy to try something like that? "At least, I can't seem to think of a reason why she'd want to see me die."
"She could be..." He started twiddling his thumbs. "Jealous? She keeps on flirting with me, but..." he swallowed. "You're the only one I like."
"..." Lenne pulled her bangs to the side. She noticed that her hair got longer. "I can't imagine you being disconcerted about a girl after you." She found herself stating. "After all, you've built yourself quite the flirtatious reputation with the girls."
"Those are lies!" He raised his voice. Realizing this, he tried to calm himself down. "I... I just moved here recently. People like making rumors up..."
"You need to forget about me." Lenne abruptly said. "I... I'm a summoner. That's the reason Yojimbo came."
"I know."
"...!" How could he have known? When could he have known?
"When he appeared..." Shuyin wrung his hands together. "He whispered to me. He said that he served you. And... everyone was scared, but I was the only one who heard him."
"Shuyin, please... just leave." Lenne shook her head. "I'm tired, and... I can't return your feelings." She had to be brutally honest. Lenne didn't know whether or not to believe him.
He got up. At the door, he turned back to look at the young singer. "The talent show signups start tomorrow, and the actual show is going to be in a month." He began to shut the door. "I hope to see you there."
"..." The door shutting seemed like a door slam, cutting Lenne off forever from a world she both longed for and despised.
…
After one night, Lenne's producer called her and asked her to write another song. He said it's been a while since her last single, and the reviews have been good... so they wanted another one as soon as possible. Lenne went ahead and thought long and hard, then created a song to send in.
…
There was a blitzball tournament going on, and Kris invited Lenne. They got seats right near the bench where the players sat, though Lenne didn't see Shuyin as he was playing all of the time. However, when Kris had to go to the restroom, Matthew came from his seat to sit next to Lenne.
"... yes?" Lenne asked, as Matthew's face was very serious.
"Does your roommate, Kristina... does she ever talk about me?" His question came out of nowhere. How could she tell him that she doesn't even really acknowledge his existence? What if he were interested in her?
"I..." Lenne had to think. "I think it'd be best for you to ask her yourself. You can't expect her to talk about you if you don't spend any time with her, right?"
He gazed at the sphere containing the players. No more words were discussed between them, and Kris was taking her time. However, Lenne noticed one thing... when Shuyin's shirt was ripped by the opposing team, on his back were distinct scars. It was obviously a claw mark. She gasped.
"He tried to save you." Matthew's words almost didn't reach Lenne. With tears in her eyes, Lenne quickly got up and ran outside.
…
Somebody out there better get this
Not many people can do it like this
How about some speakers to amplify me
How about a rhyme to fortify me
Life's messy so I clarify it
Simplifying things for everybody
I need someone who's true
Someone who does the laundry too
So what you gonna do
Please don't forget to follow-through
I take my diamond shoes
Someone who tries to be on time
Do what you said you'll do
I hope you like to follow-through
All that I need's a bit o' practice
My mind is set on bigger business
This is not a time for reminiscing
This is something new and interesting
Why are you trying to classify it
This is music for all humanity from me
Dreaming of hip hop tunes
They say you've got the proper tools
So what you gonna do
Keep doing things the way you do
I take my diamond shoes
Someone who tries to be on time
Do what you came to do
I came to see you follow-through
…
The world was still, almost everything at once. Then, a loud, clear sound heralded from the skies.
From this signal, the entire world burst into song.
Though the song's meaning was a false praise to a false god, the unity that the people as a whole presented was astounding; it was enough to shake the very foundations of the world with its clarion call, and quell Sin for just the right moment for the heroes to make their move.
And shortly after that, the world's 1000 year sadness had ended. The Eternal Calm began.
But... even if the world was happy, how could she be? Unable to dismiss her consciousness, semi-sleeping for one thousand years, unable to reach the one she loved? What would become of her?
