A Different World: Same World. Different Drama.

This take place 6 months after 'A Different World'. Gippal and Rikku try to fight for there relationship even thought the temptations and obstacles of the meddlesome corporate world, and people, try constantly to tear them apart. A love bound sequel. With some twist and turns along the way. Do not own FFX2

Chapter 10- Fooling Myself

GPOV

Its been 2 months since I've had the dream with Rikku. The doctors say her chances of waking up are going down Its gone from 86% to 52% since the accident.. Everyone is doubtful, I can see it in there eyes when they come to see her but I wont let them change my decision. They've already said that if Rikku's condition goes under 40% that I should take her off.

I refuse to do that though. I will keep her on it until the 11th hour. No one can change my promise to Rikku. No one can make me break my promise to her. Because I know she'll keep hers. Penelo comes in my sleep every now and then. Assures me that Rikku is fighting to come back to me. So I will keep her safe and alive until then.

I've paid for her to have at home care. The hospital was starting to sicken me. I saw too many die from terminal conditions on that floor. So now she is in one of the guest room. Heart monitor and life support machines. Only thing is that I have 2 nurses instead of the one that would come every so hours. I want her to have the best care. The guest bedroom is big so I had a little home office set up in there. Rin said he doesn't think I should work. But I had to keep myself busy.

Her not being here with me, is crazy. I can't stand the silence in this house. I remembered Rikku saying she could hear me talking. So I find myself telling her everything. I read her books. The latest is a book of E.E. Cummings poems. She once told me, before the accident, that she had never heard but one of his poems. I carry your heart. And she thought of me. The other night when I read it to her, I understood why.

It only made me miss her more, though. Its almost April, but its been raining all the time. I hate rain. It was raining that day and I haven't liked it since. I put on some smooth to drown out the sounds of the machines and the rain. The only silent thing she had connected to her was the intravenous drips. But today it has been thundering. Loudly too. I was worried because if the power went out, the machines would too. So I had Buddy go out an get some back up motors. IT would only last for so long but I told him to get multiple ones.

He called and said he was down the street, so I relaxed a little. I went up and sat by Rikku's bed. Took a break from my work. She seemed so pale. Her face had bruises on it. She still had a cast on her leg but they replaces her arm cast with a splint. I told them to make it yellow. It was Rikku's favorite color. I knew she would like it. When I was bored I would draw on it with some permanent markers. Like now. I was drawing a little brown bear on it this time. It went next to the graphite I did last time.

" I bet you never knew I could draw. Huh, baby?" I said to her as I drew the brown outline for the bear. " When you found those art supplies in that old guest room, I lied my ass off. Thought you would tease me about it. I told you it was Penelo's. But you want to know the truth?"

I knew she wouldn't respond but I wanted her to know that I was here. Waiting. So this conversation was only so she could hear my voice. But my heart wished for her to get up and respond. To smile. To tease me....to be here with me.

" Penelo couldn't draw worth shit. Not even stick figures." I was coloring in the bear now. I switched to blue so I could color in the anime eyes I made. "I used to do portraits for her when we were in high school. I'll make you one."

The thunder got louder. I got uneasy because I could of sworn I saw lightning. But I brushed it off and finished the bear. That's when it happened. The lightning flashed and thunder followed. And the power went out. My heart stopped and so did the life support machine. I jumped out my seat..

" Nurse!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I moved back the cover on Rikku. I put my hands on her chest and started compressions. I gave her mouth to mouth. My heart was about to explode out of my chest but I didn't care. My main concern was keeping her alive.

The nurses came in and in a second I was switched with the nurse. She and the other nurse did a 2-person CPR. Meanwhile I ran out the room and down stairs to find Buddy rushing in the room. Back-up engine in his hands. He knew why I ran downstairs to meet him and we ran back upstairs to plug up Rikku's machines. The nurses were still doing the CPR. I plugged in her mechanical ventilation machine to the first engine. After staring that engine, I watched impatiently as Buddy plugged in her heart monitor.

At first we didn't see anything on the heart monitor for a second. Then it happened. Like music to my ears. With a slight jump in the beginning, her heart's rhythm read normal on the machine. The nurses checked her out but I slunk in the chair. My head in my hands. And thanked the heavens that she kept her heart going. Buddy didn't say anything. He was just as shaken as I was.

After the nurses left, I looked up at Rikku. I ran my hands over my face and let out a deep sigh. "Don't do that to me Rikku." It was all I said. I decided that to get my mind off the incident that just happened. I would read her some more of those poems. It was to calm myself more than anything.

So I grabbed the book and read. Buddy came up and put his hand on my shoulder and that's when I realized I was shaking. She was all I had though. I promised to keep her alive. And that's what I was going to do. If I broke that promise……….I couldn't live with myself. My body shook because I had just been so close to loosing her. I had been so close to losing her.

Buddy came over and put a hand on my shoulder. He tried to comfort me but….it did nothing. The only thing that could comfort me is this woman in front of me. The one hooked up to multiple machines. The one that doctors say is losing the fight.

Rikku come back to me. Keep your promise.

----

RPOV

This journey Penelo spoke of was just what she said. I was forever running in this maze. Guided only by Gippal's voice. He was speaking to me constantly. Sometimes he recited poetry. Other times he was just talking to me. But then suddenly a storm came over this Garden like maze and the skies turned gray and dark. Gippal was telling me about the day I found his art supplies and how he was really good at art. And then I heard thunder, and suddenly his voice began to fade….He sounded so distant. Like he was going away.

I ran through the maze. Chasing after him. Or his voice. He was almost a faint whisper. The rain was hard and I couldn't see as I ran. I fell in a small forming puddle. Mud dirtying my gown. It was like the dream all over again…..I was losing him. But…..I couldn't! I wont! I'm strong, I can beat this! I will make it back to him. I arose to my feet and just as I did the rain stopped. The sky cleared and the sun gleamed through the skies and I heard his voice once more. Reading again. But in a faint whisper I could hear his voice again. Behind his reading. It said.

Rikku come back to me. Keep your promise.

And I swore I would. No matter what. I would come back to him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

3 Months, 12 days , 7 hrs, 43 minutes, and 23 seconds.

That's how long I've been waiting for Rikku to keep her promise. Its been hell. Everyday this week the doctors have told me that I'm keeping her on false hope. But I wont do it. She has a 29.45% chance of waking up. I haven't left this house in 2 months. Buddy comes by and checks on me. Nhadala comes by and paints Rikku's nails and all that Girly shit. I just watch from my desk.

I work to keep my mind off of it. I ran out of things to read to her. That's what I told Nhadala at least. She volunteered right away. They did become close over the weeks that she……. Truth is though that…..I couldn't take it anymore. I think the days are getting longer. I get this empty feeling inside when I talk to her. Like there's nothing I can do that will bring her back to me. And that's when I knew. I couldn't take this anymore. This pain. This feeling. Not having her with me. I mean she was her but SHE wasn't here.

Nhadala sat on the side of the bed when I walked over. She was painting Rikku's nails pink. I smiled to myself at the fact that Rikku never painted her nails pink. She did orange and yellow and colors like that. I shoved my hands in my pockets and watched for a moment. Nhadala looked up at me.

"What are you smiling at?" She asked. I shook my head.

"Nothing." I told her. Then that empty feeling came back. And I had to get away from her. " I'm gonna…..go out for a while."

" Okay. Where are you going?" She asked.

And I answered as honestly as it got. " I don't know."

----

I couldn't stay in the house. It held memories of Rikku. Her laugh. Her smiles. Her voice. And it was like every room in the house held memories of me and her. Our little rendezvous. And it was suffocating me. I was giving up on holding on to my emotion. It was clear. I needed out. I went into the garage and grabbed the first pair of keys I saw. It was to my Ducati. I looked at the key to the bike and remembered the day Rikku left on one of the damned things I had.

She knew I didn't like her on those things. But then again, I haven't liked them for a while. Not since Penelo's accident. And now I despised the thought of them. It seemed they only meant trouble. Always took away the important people in my life. No….it took away my life. I felt a pain in my hand and I looked to find the keys clutched in my hand. And indentation was left when I dropped them on the floor.

I felt a heat in my chest and had to get out quick. Away from these memories. I grabbed the next pair of keys that I knew didn't belong to a bike. Instead, the pair of keys I got belonged to the black 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero sport SUV that I got Rikku for Christmas.

I saw her eyeing it in the store when I went and got my Mitsubishi Lancer. Damn, there goes that feeling.

Without a second thought, I hopped in her car and drove away from that house as fast as I could. I was driving around the streets with no purpose. I just wanted to clear my head. Escape. Some part of me hoped I would get in an accident and join Rikku. But another part kept telling me to keep my promise. My promise. It all seemed like a bunch of shit right now. Had I dreamed that? Maybe my mind showed me what I wanted to see. Told me what I wanted to hear. .. Maybe I was keeping her alive on false hope. Hope that one day she'd come back to me.

Promised my self. I was pissed at myself now. She wasn't coming back. I dragged out the separation on some thought that she would. I can't believe myself. I don't know what to believe at all actually. I need to know, I need to reason with myself. I need to figure this out. But my reason, my logic, my sanity is lying in a hospital bed dying slowly. And I'm lost as hell without her. I'm fooling myself. Horribly fooling myself. And only one thing came to mind. I need a drink. A strong drink. To forget. To fill this hole in my heart. To remember why the hell I'm not fooling myself. Because right now, it sure feels like I am. Fooling myself into believing it'll be okay.

Into believing she'll come back to me.

To Be Continued…

Sorry this took so long. School and all. This is chapter 10. I am now writing 11. I want to do more of Rikku's P.O.V in the next one. And some supernatural next chapter too. Tell what you think about the story so far. R&R. I'll updates ASAP

Xoxo,

Ayata-Ayumi