Disclaimer: Don't own it, any of it. When I do, I'll tell you.


Chapter 9:Moonflow Pt. 2, Cheers for the Merriest

"You're… not dead?"

Ahh, Rikku had forgotten the way with words this man had. It was refreshing, and annoying, seeing as how the only reason she might be dead was because he himself had just beaten her up. She grunted a "Duh" she didn't think he heard and jumped to her feet just as he was about to poke her. Taking off her swim gear, she started with the heavy shoulder pads first, flicking open the clasps and letting it all fall to the sand. Then the tight wetsuit was next, zipping it down in the back. The noises Tidus made as she shimmied out of the tight suit were amusing, to say the least. And if you'd been Rikku, mischievous fifteen year old that she was, you might have dragged out the process for a laugh. Which she did, listening as Tidus tried to stutter something out while watching her.

Finally she stepped out of the oppressive suit and went for her mask, pulling both headgear and goggles off at the same time. Air can be a tasty thing after breathing through a metallic contraption for five hours, so Rikku enjoyed it.

"Whew, thought I was done for back there." She dropped to her hands and knees, feeling the sand beneath her fingertips. Her arm ached a little, but was ignorable for now. She was busy at the moment, she had to give this blonde ditz a reprimand.

"Rikku! You're Rikku!" He shouted, running up to her and kneeling in front of her. The happiness in his voice at realizeing it was her was enough to stop Rikku's reprimand. "Ha-heeey! You're okay! How you been?" Or not. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Terrible." Maybe he'd get the hint…

"Yeah, you don't look so good." Duh, idiot! At least don't pretend like you don't know what happ- "What happened?"

"You beat me up, remember?" she jabbed a finger into his face, making him back up again.

"Oh, that machina… That was you?" He asked, surprised. He stood up, helping her to a stand along with him.

"Mmm-hmm. Ow…" She put a hand on her injured arm and squeezed lightly as she spoke. "That really hurt you know. You big meanie!" she mumbled to the side as an afterthought, sighing at her choice of words. She never had been terribly good at insults.

"W-wait!" he said, flaberghasted. "But you attacked us!"

"Nuh-uh!" She cried, put out by his accusation. "Its not exactly what you think." Her high and mighty attitude about this almost sent Tidus into an argument of whose fault it really was, but the man with red hair was on the scene too quickly, breaking it up before it even began.

"Friend of yours?" He asked. He seemed nice enough when he wasn't throwing blitzballs at her head. Now that they were out of the water, Rikku noticed how much taller the man was compared to her and even Tidus. And those blitzball throws had been powerful, to say the least… Best not to cross this one.

"Uh, you could say that." Tidus pulled his trademark pose, scratching his head nervously. It was at times like these that Rikku doubted his claim to being a former blitzball star in Zanarkand. What star would get anxious over a little question like that? Rikku would break the nervous aura. Her spirit raising cheerfulness was known far and wide. Well, far and wide on Bikanel, probably not past that.

"Pleased to meetcha!" Her bubbly voice turned on full power, Rikku waved her hand in the air and wiggled girlishly. "I'm Rikku."

"Yuna, Lulu, I told you about her, remember?" His voice came out a little more squeaky and anxious than Rikku thought the question warranted. But of course, she didn't fully know the situation. Behind the tall orangey, Rikku saw the woman in black and her cousin again. Yuna was radiant as ever, her smile still in place, even after nearly being kidnapped. Rikku guessed the other woman was Lulu, and looking her up and down was immediately star-struck. The woman looked like everything Rikku wanted to be one day. Cool, collected, a dark beauty contrasting nicely to Yuna's calm, light beauty. That's what Rikku wanted. Not to clash with every room she walked into with her ungraceful trot and mismatched clothing. Maybe she would try something black when she got back Home. "She's the one who helped me before I washed up on Besaid. She's an Al Bhe- beh…"

He stopped himself from announcing her race to the group, something Rikku was thankful to him for afterwards. For now, he cast her a meaningful glance and Rikku got the hint. Al Bhed haters. She wondered which one it was. A sudden image of the red cloaked legendary guardian hit her, and she fervently hoped it wasn't him. Maybe all of them didn't like Al Bheds except for Yuna and Tidus. What would she do then? She scanned the busty lady, Lulu, again. Is it her?

"Wow, so you like, owe her your life! What luck meeting here, ya?" Orangey said amiably enough, and Rikku nodded her head happily. "Praise be to Yevon." The reverence in his voice when Wakka bowed and performed the greeting of Yevon was Rikku's first clue to the "Who in Yuna's summoner party hates Al Bhed?" game. She scratched her cheek nervously, wishing she'd kept her goggles on when she'd come out of the water. She wondered if she could slip them on now without anyone being the wiser, but Wakka was talking to her now. "So, uh… Rikku… You look a little beat up. You okay?"

Rikku refrained from blaming it for her current state as she had with Tidus. But she was saved from answering when Lulu spoke up, calling her over to talk. They walked a ways away to talk in private, Rikku claiming it was a 'Girl's Only' conversation. Wakka at first made as if to argue about the matter, but thought better of it when Lulu reaffirmed Rikku's bold claim. Even Wakka didn't want to mess with Ms. Dark Lady.

As soon as they were far enough away, Rikku's hands started up what her Brother used to call the 'hand pedal' motion, flapping her hands in front of her while she talked. If you could of course call what Rikku did next talking, and not speed dating her words. "Well, hi Yuna, guess what? I'm your cousin! Umm, my pop's sister married your dad, then they had you, and my mom had me, and now we're cousins! And-"

"Hello Rikku, I am Lulu." The dark woman cut in, silencing Rikku as sufficiently as a gavel, but she was smiling kindly. "There is no need to be nervous, not all Yevonites hate the Al Bhed Rikku."

"R-right. Thanks. So… well, since I found out you became a summoner, I didn't want you to, you know… the Final Summoning and stuff. So, I decided I'd kidnap you!" Yuna and Lulu both gasped, Rikku just plowing through as if she didn't hear them. "But, that plan kind of fell through, so I'll go for the second best thing. Yuna! I want to be your guardian!" She tried to sound as certain, determined, and forceful as she felt about the whole matter. And it must have worked, because seconds later Yuna had pulled her into a tight hug and was grinning with a new sparkle to her eyes.

"Rikku, I would love for you to be my guardian." She said with that slow, calming voice of hers. She even giggled a bit, then released Rikku and turned to Lulu. "I'll have to ask Sir Auron first though." Rikku's spirits, which had, with the hug, just hit a record high, fell sharply at the mention of the legendary guardian giving the final word on the matter. What if he recognized her from the stadium and thought she would be just as worthless on the pilgramage as she had been there. What if he didn't like Al Bhed either? Her effort would come undone then, and she would have to count of Brother in Macalania to save their cousin. So in other words, she would never see her cousin again if she failed here. Nervousness coursed through her at the finality of her thoughts. Don't worry, this is just your last chance to save your cousin from a sad doom. No pressure! She thought to herself. It didn't help in the slightest. Quite the opposite really.

"Sir Auron, I would like Rikku to be my guardian." Yuna said quietly. Rikku hung her head. Her name, which she'd always quite liked, now sounded extremely foolish and childish, and she cursed silently at the fact that she hadn't been named something with more power behind it. He came over to her and Rikku tried to surreptitiously duck her face away from his probing eye as best she could.

"Show me your face." He said solemnly. Caught. She thought, but stopped herself from snapping a finger. Rikku raised her face a little, turning it to the side so you could see more cheek and neck than actual face, and squinting her eyes a little. Maybe it would just look like she had sand in them, and not like she was totally obviously trying to hide the telltale swirled pupils and inexperienced youth behind her eyelids. She tried for a near silent "Huh?" but was thwarted. "Look at me."

"Oh… okay." She said, trying to put her usual cheeriness into the words. Her last chance to hide the tell tale signs of her being unfit for the role of guardian had come. So she closed her eyes tight and turned her face up to Auron's. He made a sound that was almost a chuckle and bent closer to her face.

"Open your eyes." His voice sounded half amused, half annoyed, but Rikku clutched to the first like a lifeline. Possibly the legendary guardian wasn't as scary as she'd imagined. She peeked a single eye open slowly, then the next one. "As I thought." And he was back to the solemn voice.

"Umm… No good?" Rikku asked helplessly, clasping her hands in front of her in anticipation of his answer.

"Are you certain?" He caught her off-guard with that one. She hadn't expected him to ask her a question. And she hadn't expected his voice to take on a tone she just couldn't understand. It sounded concerned, and knowing, and downright sad. But Rikku knew the answer to that question before her mind caught up with it.

"One hundred percent!" she said happily, and most of all, certainly. The complete certainty in her words was the only thing that convinced Auron to allow Rikku to join. It had been the set determination flowing through her voice on pure instinct that convinced him. It also convinced him that he should watch this girl closely. He had the sneaking suspicion that this little girl was much more than what others saw. "So, can I?" she asked cutely, smiling up at him and swinging her hips back and forth.

"If Yuna wishes it." He said offhandedly, and Yuna gave a hearty "I do."

And yet, maybe it was an unfounded suspicion… While he thought about it, watching her slyly from the sidelines of their group, the others talked, Wakka cheering on the first Al Bhed guardian without even knowing it. "The more the merrier, ya?"

"Then I'll just have to be the merriest!" she said to Wakka, an ear to ear grin etched across her face. Then she addressed the group at large, "Rikku, at your service."


AN: All done! I cranked this one out in just an hour or so. I tried to follow the actual scene in this one, and didn't make up much. Since its one of the only canon scenes with interaction between Auron and Rikku, I thought I'd leave it as is to make the rest of the series more plausible. Hope you enjoyed! Please review, it helps my writing and inspires me to write more! :D

Oh, it seems I've broken my word count record! Cheers!