Yuna hopped aboard the Celcius along with Wakka, Tidus, and Auron. Before telling Brother to take off for Bevelle, she wondered where her cousin had gone. "She went to the beach," Auron said simply, as if reading her thoughts. Then again, he was dead. Maybe they really could read minds. Either that, or Auron was just good at reading people.
"Hey everyone," she smiled at her loyal friends and former guardians. "Before we go, I need to talk to Rikku. I want her with us." Yuna could see the division to be against it or to allow her to come in Auron's eyes. "I'll feel better with her here," she spoke especially to Auron. "Hey!" Tidus said in mock offense. The high summoner giggled. "Oh, you'll get paid later, star player."
When Yuna had reached the beach, she found her cousin by the sea, her head atop her knees. "Rikku?" She shook the young Al Bhed awake. "Hmm?" She mumbled as she stretched. "I need you to come with me." Her green eyes shimmered with hope and hesitance. "What?" Yuna asked gently, so as not to break her fragile composure. "Yunie...I know Auron is with us, but can we please...search for Gippal?" Yuna nodded, trying to hide her smile. "Of course. Rikku, you still care about Gippal very much. I can see it in your eyes." With a blush, her cousin turned away, refusing to answer the question.
When she got Rikku on board the Celcius, the young Al Bhed asked quietly to go to the Cabin. Yuna looked at her blitzer husband, worried. "It isn't like her to be so quiet," she fretted. Tidus closed his eyes and smiled, seeming to remember something. "What?" the former summoner demanded. "Well, I remember on your pilgrimage, a certain someone had to take a rest in the Thunder Plains because that certain someone was trying to deal with a certain creepy maester by herself," the blitzer smirked as his wife blushed. "Well, I didn't want anyone to know!" And then it hit Yuna; maybe Rikku wanted to be alone because she didn't want anyone to see how much she was hurting. "I see," Yuna mumbled.
The high summoner felt guilty for Rikku's plight. In comparison, Yuna had had it easy. Sure, she had dealt with a creep who tried to destroy Spira, had to watch all of her aeons die, and feel her heart break as the only man she ever loved vanished without a trace for two years. But there's where she differed from Rikku; she had only loved one man. And her dear cousin loved two at the same time. One was a dead man who had returned at the request of her dead mother, a man who wanted so badly to be with Rikku. But if things returned to normal with Gippal, then he would return to the Farplane. The other man was a childhood friend of Rikku's who had long since fallen in love with her and clearly would have done anything for her. Despite her crusty attitude, the young Al Bhed was heartbroken over losing Gippal, and though Auron's presence comforted her, it simply reminded Rikku that in the end, she must choose.
"Auron," Yuna murmured. The man in red looked up, awaiting her command. "Go to her. She needs you now." The fearless warrior hesitated. "But...she-" "Go!" Yuna ordered forcefully. The former guardian sighed. "As the lady wishes..."