Sometimes I think I use page-breaks too much--those lines across the page. I think maybe I put them in where they're not needed. Oh well.

You know, someone asked once about the rules for dryland blitzball. Pretty simple. Three players a side plus one ref (the numbers are adjustable—be fun to see a really big game). Not enough players for a goalie, so instead of a net, an end zone like in football with no set defenders. Same times and halfs as regular blitzball. You carry the ball in your hands and unlimited passing is allowed. Possession turns over upon scoring. Basically anything goes, but if you hurt Rikku, Auron will hurt you on the next play. (These rules just kind of evolved.) But no overdrives and each team can ban two abilities from the other team before the start. These can be changed at the half. Usually they go with no Slowga, no aeons, no armor break (Auron can do that with a successful touch—he doesn't need to actually cut something) and no Use. There were some pretty wild games before that rule. Occasionally Tidus and Rikku want to play "unlimited" games where all of those are still allowed. Anyway, also no offensive spells beyond first level elemental spells. (Drain is considered an offensive spell, Osmose is not.)

You think I should explain in-game why they only use three fighters at a time? Or just leave it one of those game things that no one talks about?

By the way, siddown is not a typo, siddown is how a sometime sergeant (or the warrior monk equivalent) indicates to young green-as-Calm Lands-grass recruits that he is not quite done counseling them and would they please remain seated until the end.

Major spoilers. Disclaimer: FFX isn't mine. (Neither is FFY or FFZ.) Follows the story, but kind of AU. It's an Aurikku. (Didn't start that way.) This is about characters and the gradual building of a relationship. (Maybe I'll put some relationship notes in my profile.) This is-T-. Might be dodgy next couple of chapters, though.

And, like last chapter, this one is dedicated to Gining, for the same reasons. Hope you like it.

Soldier of Spira

Auron:

We're headed back to the Calm Lands.

Specifically we're headed to the zoo. We saw the fayth, we saw the sword, we captured the fiends and found the treasures. Now they want to revisit the zoo before we start up Mt Gagazet, headed for the caves and the guardian and then Zanarkand, where they still think that all of this will end.

There's a saying, when you're tired but still have things to do.

You can rest when you're dead.

I hate that saying.

Combat Pay

Rikku's Diary:

"Go to bed, Rikku. You need your sleep."

That's what he said to me! Three days ago!

He took me with him into the chamber of the fayth when everyone else was asleep, and I was all scared and stuff even though he was right there with me and holding my hand, and then the fayth came, and it looked just like a man with a little dog! Then the fayth called Auron nephew and Auron called it uncle and then I couldn't hear a word! I saw them talking, and their lips were moving, well Auron's lips were moving, but I couldn't hear anything! And Auron turned to me and asked me something or told me something and didn't understand at first that I couldn't hear! He turned and yelled something at the fayth, and the fayth said something back, I guess, and then Auron said something else and the fayth said something else, and then Auron turned back to me and just squeezed my hand and said, It's okay, moving his mouth real slow so I could make it out. Then he and the fayth talked for a long time.

You know, I couldn't hear. But that just made it easier to see how angry Auron was at the fayth. I think he really hated him! I've never seen Auron really hate anyone. Not even Seymour.

Auron hates HARD. And cold.

I think...I think Auron almost pulled his sword and attacked him once. He put his hand on his sword, but I had his other hand with both of mine and I was pulling hard, and he turned and looked at me for a moment, his brown eye burning into mine, and then he took a deep breath, and the two of them started talking again. And then I guess they were done, cause Auron turned back to the teleport pad, but I think the fayth had one more thing to say cause Auron stopped for a moment like he was listening. He didn't look back and his face didn't change, whatever it was, and then we got on the teleport pad. The little dog was wagging its tail, and I waved goodbye to it.

Auron never let go of my hand the whole time.

When we got back out I was asking all sorts of questions right away, of course. But...

"Rikku," he said to me quietly, "What did you hear?"

"NOTHING!" I said, all indignant. "All I heard—"

"Shh..."

I lowered my voice, so I wouldn't wake the others.

"All I heard was you call him uncle and him call you nephew, and then nothing! What happened?"

"The fayth made you deaf for a little bit. He wanted to talk in private."

"That's not what I meant! What happened between the two of you? What did you say?"

Auron:

Lord I was tired.

I do get tired. I just never let them see, even Tidus, or my brother-in-honor. Except, sometimes now, I let her see. Rikku. Sometimes now I let Rikku see my shoulders slump, and hear the fatigue in my voice.

Why do I let her see what I don't show to anyone else?

I looked at the others sleeping around us. To one side I saw the Ronso keeping watch, looking at us.

Did you know that Ronso can lift one eyebrow inquiringly?

Uncle, his eyebrow asked me.

I shook my head a little, and he turned away with a slight smile.

"Auron?" the girl said.

"I'm tired, Rikku," I told her. "And this is not the best time to talk about this. Not in these caves, and not in this valley. We'll talk later, and I'll answer...some...of your questions."

"Um..." She bit her lip. "Okay, Auron."

"Go back to sleep, Rikku."

"Come lie down with me," she said. She was still holding my hand, swinging it a little bit in both of hers. From start to finish, she had never let my hand go.

"I have to take my watch back from the Ronso," I told her.

"You said you were tired," she said quietly, looking up at me with deep green eyes.

I did?

"That doesn't mean I can rest. Go to bed Rikku. You need your sleep."

So she went back to her blankets, and I went back to stand against the wall, to watch, and to think.

She hugged me before she went, and I hugged her back.

Auron:

It took us another three days to finish up down in the cavern. We captured all of the different fiends, checking them off on the brochure the girl carried. We dug up two more chests, guided by the girl's maps. I found out that these weren't the original maps she had bought from Marty. She had gotten these from him at the Scar. Apparently she had gotten a good deal. For some reason, Marty wasn't at his best that day. I suppose when we get to the zoo I'll send a message to Rin to pay the man whatever, whenever.

I took some of the battles myself, but not as many as before. I was still a bit shocked that I had been trying to impress the girl. It didn't square with my own image of myself that I would flex and preen so that a pretty young girl would think that I was bold and strong, and I was somewhat disgusted with myself. But I had to be careful not to take that out on her. She didn't deserve that.

She deserved...

She didn't ask about the fayth of Yojimbo, and what he and I had said to each other. I knew she hadn't forgotten, but she respected my wishes not to talk about it yet, even when she was angry with me, as she was when Tidus finally wrestled her shovel away from her after the...incident...digging up the second chest, and I wouldn't help her in the impromptu keep-away session that followed. She huffed and pouted and had Little Auron call me a meanie and hit me over the head with his little stick sword when I wouldn't make the others tell where they had hidden it. (In fact that shovel remains safely buried down in that cavern, perhaps the second most dangerous thing down there.)

But we still sat together, the two of us, trying to puzzle out the ancient Al Bhed primer she had found in the chest. It reminded me a little of the days Willa and I would sit up and do the crossword together. For just a moment a feeling of missing Willa hit me like a deep stab. Then it was gone, back into the background of my dead soul.

Even if she was mad over the shovel incident, Rikku still sat next to me at meals, and slept next to me two of the three nights. She still asked me to help her with the Find the Fiend challenge in the brochure, and I pointed out the epaaj hiding in the tree and the valaha shape in the clouds, and together we found our way through the maze from the entrance to the chamber of the fayth, avoiding the tonberrys along the way. And that reminded me of nothing and no one else. That was purely and wonderfully Rikku.

Rikku's Diary:

YAY! We FINALLY got out of that CREEPY cave and back into the sunshine. Whew. You know, I've never really had a problem with enclosed places, but I think that place might have given me one!

So we're back in the valley and Auron right away leads us up the path back to the top, and he's all ready to go straight up the mountain, but Tidus and Wakka want to go back to the zoo to get paid from capturing all of the fiends in the cave.

"Aw, come on, Auron," the kid said. "Who knows what we'll get! Maybe something that'll be a big help. Maybe something that'll make the difference one day."

Well, maybe. And I guess I feel a little guilty because they didn't even get the prize from catching all the Calm Lands fiends cause they wanted to get back to the Scar in time to meet us. I mean, they said a chest kinda fell out of nowhere, but they couldn't open it, and they really were in a hurry.

I could tell Auron, but he'd just think I was doing it to keep Yunie away from Zanarkand as long as possible.

Well, I DO feel a little guilty, like I said, but I guess he'd really be right about that.

So, Auron was all, No, we gotta get moving, and Wakka and the kid were all, Hey, we have a little time, and then Lulu came in on their side, and that convinced Yuna and then Auron was all, As you wish. And I wonder how much it really bothers Auron, cause he didn't try to guilt them or manipulate them or bully them or anything he usually does when he really wants them to do something.

So we turned around and headed back to the zoo. Hey, I bet I can get another shovel there!

You know, I've been a good girl. I mean, I haven't bothered Auron at all to tell me what went on in the chamber of the fayth, even though I was really, REALLY curious. I didn't even ask when we were out and walking together back up the path. I didn't ask when we stopped for the evening and trained and ate. And then the others went off to their blankets or to keep watch, and Auron and I were alone together out under the stars.

That's when I turned to him and said, "Now, Auron?"

And he nodded. He looked up at the stars for a minute, and then he said quietly, "Rikku, my family are the hereditary keepers of the first celestial weapon, Masamune."

"I remember, Auron," I nodded.

He's talking about legendary weapons that are supposed to be more powerful than anything. The stories say there's one for each race, like the Ronso and Hypello, and one for each of the traditional adventurer classes, like thief and black mage. (I wonder if there's a blitzball one for Wakka?) But there are a lot of legends in Spira, and I don't guess I ever really believed in them until Auron and I talked that time on the mountain.

"Nothing but trash," he muttered. "Anyway, the other weapons were all forged about a thousand years ago, just before the start of the Zanarkand-Bevelle War."

"The what?"

He looked at me with a small exasperated smile.

"You should have listened more closely to Maechen."

"THAT boring old man!"

"If you had listened to that boring old man you'd know what I was talking about."

"Well," I tossed my head, "You can tell me now and then I'll know anyways."

He smiled again and said, "Later. The point is that they were all sort of copies."

"Copies?"

"Sort of. Masamune is much older than any of those weapons. No one knows how old. The great powers of that day, a thousand years ago wanted their own Masamunes, so they collaborated to create the other celestial weapons. Nirvana, the Ocean Trident, and so forth."

"You sure know a lot about it," I said.

"It's one of the things we're taught in our family. So, they all worked together, using the advanced machina of Bevelle..."

Machina? Bevelle?

"...the high magics of Zanarkand, the secret craft skill of the Al Bhed..."

"What!" I gasped.

"Yes, Rikku," he nodded gravely. "Your people were instrumental in creating the weapons. That's why, even though you are human, and not truly a separate race, the Al Bhed were granted one of the weapons. It was part of the price for their help."

Wow...

"Yes, Rikku. If you ever run across a powerful handgun with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ammunition that also inflicts non-curable status ailments, well, keep an eye on it anyway."

He paused a bit, and then shook his head a little before he went on.

"The thing is, Rikku, they were all copies of the first, oldest weapon, Masamune. No one knows Masamune's age, or where it comes from. I suppose I should have asked when I had the chance."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. You'll understand," he sighed. "Masamune passes from hand to hand in my family. The sword itself always chooses who will have it. My grandfather wielded the sword for many years. He was a legendary mystical warrior named Matoya. He had three sons and a daughter. His oldest son was a famous fighter, and I think everyone assumed that when the time came the sword would pass to him. But the sword rejected my uncle, and chose the youngest brother, a man almost twenty years younger than my uncle."

Auron:

My father told me about that day. He only spoke of it once. I suppose if he had lived we would have talked more about it. I remember he said that they knew grandfather was dying, and he had called them all home to the place where they had grown up, on the side of a nameless mountain between Macalania and the Calm Lands, to witness the swords choice. He remembered that my uncle seemed proud and excited that day, even though their father was dying, but my father couldn't find it within himself to blame the man. It was the day that his oldest brother had looked toward and trained for all of his life. My uncle had worked hard for many, many years to gain the sword skills to be worthy of Masamune.

I looked over at the girl, and described the scene for her as my father had told it to me.

"My grandfather climbed from his bed. His children were worried, but there was a tradition, a ritual, to hand the sword down. They couldn't have stopped him. Grandfather stood and raised the sword, and it started to glow with a bright white light, brighter and brighter until he couldn't see and he wondered if he would ever see again or if their sight was burned from their eyes. And then," I paused, "Father couldn't quite explain this very well, but he said it seemed then that the sword began to glow black. He couldn't explain it any better than that. He said the sword glowed solid black, deeper and deeper, and they were still blind.

"And then he said a pain started to grow inside him, and it became a stabbing wound in his gut and in his head, growing worse and worse until it was indescribable. He said he had never felt pain like that before, or after, and he thought he was going to die. He wanted to die. And then it was gone. The pain was gone and it was such a shock that the pain had stopped that he didn't notice at first that he could see again. After a moment he looked around at the others, at his brothers and his sister and his father. His sister and his middle brother both had thin trickles of blood running from their noses and they were gasping for breath. His oldest brother had blood smeared all across his lower face and running from his nose and from the corner of his mouth, and he was on the ground breathing quickly and shallowly. And my father realized two things. First, he himself wasn't breathing at all, and he tried to take a breath, but he couldn't. And second, he realized that they were all looking at him.

"And for one moment, he saw himself through someone else's eyes. He was on his knees and the entire front of his shirt was red. He was bleeding from his mouth and from his nose and from his eyes. And he suddenly understood that he wasn't seeing himself through his brothers' eyes, or his sister's, or his father's. He knew as he collapsed forward onto the floor that he was seeing what the sword saw."

I stopped. She just looked at me, waiting.

It was so long since I had thought of any of this. Or really, that I have thought of my parents and my sister at all. And I felt a sudden fear that I was forgetting them, like the girl had told me she was afraid that she was forgetting her mother. What irreplaceable moments had I lost simply because I hadn't tried harder to hold on to them?

I shook my head, putting the thoughts away for now, and continued.

"My father didn't really want it, didn't want to be the custodian of the sword, had never wanted it or expected it, but he didn't refuse it. And my uncle...left. First there was a scuffle. Words. My uncle was a very proud man. He was called the greatest warrior of his generation. Yes, Rikku, just as I am. And he had been raised steeped in legend and stories of the sword, just like everyone in my family. And all his life my uncle had always assumed that he had a destiny. He thought it was Masamune. It was a hard blow to him when the sword chose someone else. He didn't know who he was, if he wasn't the one who would wield Masamune. He didn't know what he was for. I can understand that. So in his disappointment and his anger and his confusion he left and went looking for a new destiny. And he found it."

Rikku's Diary:

Auron was looking out into the night.

"By becoming a fayth?" I asked.

"By becoming a mercenary fayth."

"And the little dog, too?"

"The dog always liked me," he said with a small smile.

Neither of us said anything for a while.

"Auron," I said after a bit, "So what did the two of you say? To each other, I mean."

"I..."

He shook his head.

"Yojimbo has done terrible things, Rikku. And I...called him on it. Asked how he could justify what he'd done."

"What did he say?"

"He asked how I justified all of the terrible things that I've done."

"Oh. Uh..."

"I said I couldn't. And I never tried. We...I suppose we exchanged threats for a while, and then I was done. There was nothing left to say. Really, there was never anything to say. I don't even know why I went to see him. Maybe just to show..."

He looked over at me, and then away again.

"Maybe just to show you a part of my life, Rikku. Maybe just to share something with you."

He laughed softly.

"And you couldn't even hear it," he said. "Anyway, just before we left, I told him that things were changing. I told him that a new day was coming. And then I turned away."

He shook his head.

"And he said a new day comes every morning, but nothing ever changes."

And the two of us sat for a long time, not saying anything, just sitting there next to each other. I'm not sure what he was thinking, but I was thinking about...not exactly about what he'd told me. Get right down to it, what do I care about Yojimbo?

No, I was thinking more about the fact that he told me these things about himself. I thought about the fact that he wanted to share parts of his life with me. I was thinking that every time I think that I can't care any more about him, something happens, and I do.

And suddenly, I was just feeling great. Really great, like I wanted to laugh and dance and fly.

He wants to share his story with me.

Tell me that isn't better than a kiss.

He has to leave one day.

Don't think about that.

"There's more," he said, quietly.

"I'm here," I answered, grinning wide. "I'm not going anywhere."

He smiled.

"To understand Yojimbo," he said, "You need to understand the sword. Rikku, do you remember at the Crusader's sword shrine, when I was acting so..."

Auron:

I was searching for the right word.

"Spacey?" she offered brightly. "Weirdy-poo? Whack-a-doodle?"

"I was going to say, anomalous."

"It's a good thing I read a lot," she muttered.

"Rikku," I said, and there must have been something in my voice, because the little half-smile slipped from her face as she looked at me. "Rikku, the sword was speaking to me."

She didn't say anything for a moment.

"Oooookay..." she said finally, cocking her head to one side and putting one finger to the corner of her mouth. "So, um, so, is this sword here with us right now?"

"Very amusing, Rikku," I answered.

"Heh heh. Sorry," she smiled.

I didn't say anything, but I raised one hand, and let one finger gently trace the outline of her jaw, and she went silent, and wide-eyed. I dropped the hand to the goggles hanging around her neck.

"Rikku," I said, and gave the goggles a playful shake. She looked down, and I flicked one finger up under her nose.

"HEY!"

I lifted one eyebrow at her.

Rikku's Diary:

I wish I could do that. When I practice in front of the mirror all I can do is squint. Heh.

Auron:

"Okay, Auron," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry. I mean it this time. Truce?"

"Truce," I said, and we solemnly shook hands.

"So, the sword talks to you."

"When I'm close enough, yes."

"Auron," she said with a slight squint, "Are you saying that sword down there is MASAMUNE? Cause it didn't look very...celestial..."

"No. Do you remember, Rikku, what I said I did with Masamune?"

She closed her eyes and sat up very straight, and recited, "You took Masamune to the highest cliff you could find and threw it as far away as you could. It was your twelfth birthday."

She opened her eyes.

"That's right, Rikku," I said. "I threw the sword from a cliff. I didn't want anything more to do with it. I had gone in to get the sword from the house even though I already had a decent sword. By the time I got back out it was too late for my sister and my mother. Perhaps..."

I looked into the fire. I don't do that much. Ruins your night vision.

"Perhaps," I went on, "Perhaps I could have saved them if I hadn't gone into the house to get Masamune."

I felt her slim arms wrapping around me.

"You can't blame yourself for that, Auron, for what happened," she said softly. "You didn't kill them, the fiends did. Just like I didn't kill all the people that died on Bikanel, the Guado did."

Strange. An old pain that I rarely even notice anymore went away a little, when she said that with her arms around me.

Odd...

I shook my head.

"Maybe you're right, Rikku. But I do blame myself, and I also blame the sword. The reason I went into the house was that Masamune called me. It said in my mind that I didn't have a chance against the fiends without it."

Again I shook my head.

"Perhaps the sword was right. In any case, my family died, and I threw the sword from a cliff afterward, but I knew it wouldn't stay lost. Masamune is old, very old, and strange and powerful. There is...a mechanism...for when the sword is lost. A sort of reset button, you Al Bhed might say."

She let go of me long enough to slap my arm lightly, and my mouth quirked up in the dying firelight.

"Pardon," I smiled thinly. "So, when the sword is lost to its chosen wielder, it...sort of breaks up...into component parts, and the parts are scattered and hidden. There's the blade, and the hilt, and a sigil and crest. That rusty blade back down there is nothing, but the hilt is the true hilt of Masamune, and the key piece to obtaining the blade. Down there in that valley, I was close enough to speak to it. I didn't want to speak to it, and I was able to block it out using mental disciplines, until I came face to face with it. Then it was too powerful to keep out. The hilt is the second strongest element."

"Uh, huh?"

"All four component parts are pieces of the legendary sword, and all can speak and...and the other things the sword does, but they are not equal. The blade is the most powerful, and can force itself into my thoughts on the Mushroom Rock Road, which is where it's hidden. The hilt is second most powerful, and can work its way past my barriers when I'm somewhat close..."

"Like when you're standing in front of it at the shrine."

"Yes, like then. The sigil is the third of the pieces in power, but I've never run across it, so I don't know exactly how powerful it is, just that it's less so that the hilt and moreso than the crest."

"Have you ever seen the crest?"

"Yes, once on the Mi'ihen Road. It's not powerful enough to speak to me unless I allow it."

"Huh," she said, thoughtfully. "I'd kinda like to examine it."

"I wish you luck. I threw it into the woods as far as I could."

"Oh, well. But, hey, Auron, I thought that rusty sword had been in that shrine for hundreds of years?"

"That's what the Crusaders think too," I said. "I told you, the sword is very old, and tricky. The thing is, Rikku, that Yojimbo is still somehow tied to the sword. You know that the temple aeons all have limits put on their power, all except Bahamut."

"Yes?"

"Well, so does Yojimbo. And my uncle hates that Yojimbo is so weak."

"WEAK! He's an AEON!"

"Rikku," I said, "I BEAT him in single combat. Well, single combat plus Tidus and Yuna and the dog. No, Rikku. My uncle curses every day of his existence that his aeon is no stronger. It gnaws at him, like a hunger. The aeon is his weapon, forged to take Masamune's place when the sword rejected him. And yet the key to unlocking the full strength of Yojimbo is Masamune. It's somehow something that every fayth chooses for itself when it becomes a fayth, or it's chosen from inside them, or something. I'm not sure. But in any case, reconstructing Masamume is the key to Yojimbo's power, and that's what my uncle wants. That's why he was threatening me. He's desperate for Masamune's presence. Strange, really, that he now wants another man to take up the sword that he craved for so long."

"So..." she said slowly, "So, what does it want, Auron? The sword? What does IT want?"

"It wants me, Rikku."

Rikku's Diary:

No chocobos.

We get back through the gorge and there's NO CHOCOBOS!

GRRR! I look over at the man. Did he realize there wouldn't be any chocobos waiting for us? He shrugs at me, the way he does so only I can see.

Meanie.

So we have to walk back to the zoo.

It's not so bad, I guess. We're back in our rhythm now. Get up, eat, walk, walk, walk, fight fiends, stop, train, eat, walk, walk, walk, fight fiends, stop, train, eat, sleep next to Auron under the stars, under his old, red coat, his hand maybe on my shoulder.

I can live with that. Especially if we're headed AWAY from Zanarkand.

"It wants me, Rikku."

That's what he said, that night we finally talked about it. Auron told me that the sword seems to have some kind of weird obsession with him. (What other kind of obsession could a sword have with a guy?) It seems to think that Auron's the one that it's been waiting for all these years, the heavy-sword fighter of its dreams.

Which is tough luck, cause Auron never intends getting close enough to even sniff that sword. Tough for Yojimbo, too. Or the fayth of Yojimbo. Whatever. That still confuses me.

And I did ask Auron once if all that sword business was like the reason all those Crusaders were all looking at him so funny, but he said no, that was something else.

"So, uh, so what was it, Auron? Why were they all giving you the stink-eye?"

"I can't tell you that right now, Rikku."

Geez, how many secrets does this guy have!

We're almost to the zoo.

Auron:

We pace around the chest, the girl and I, opposite each other, hands held behind our backs, heads down in study, looking at it closely. We stop. The girl fidgets, playing with her hair, biting her lip, putting one finger to the corner of her mouth. Finally she lifts her eyes to mine, and sort of dog paddles her hands in front of her. I think it's an unconscious habit when she's puzzled.

"So whataya think's in it, huh?" she asked.

Interesting question. I close my eye and inhale. I can smell...

Hot copper in my mouth. The sea when a storm is coming. Old stone, and old wood, and old books. Blood, and power, and age.

"Auron?" she asks.

It smells like...

"Destiny."

"What? Auron!"

I open my eye and look back at her. She's already tried to unlock the chest several times.

"I don't think it's ready to open yet, Rikku."

And, I silently add to myself, If this is what I suspect it is, then I think that I hope that it never will be ready to open.

Tidus comes running up to us and skids to a stop.

"Hey, Auron, Rikku! Com'on, the guy has something for us! For catching all the Calm Lands fiends! We didn't get it last time because we were in such a hurry," he said, breathlessly. "Com'on! Com'on!"

He grabbed my empty sleeve to pull me along, like he used to when he was a small boy. It always irritated me immensely. Not even Rikku has ever dared do that.

"HA!"

Oh damn. The girl laughs and grabs me by the lapel with both her hands and the two of them drag me slowly behind them to the office. Teenagers. I swear, if Wakka ever grabs my coat...

I gently but firmly disengage the two of them from my clothing before we step inside. I hide a small shudder, as I must every time I step over the body of the young wyrm. The girl notices, and looks at me oddly for a moment.

"How do," the zookeeper says looking up from behind the counter. The others are already there. "Got a little something for you people."

He reached down and brought up a small box. I frown, and inhale. Death. But...not quite.

Almost, I unsling my sword and attack. Almost. The zookeeper's eyes meet mine, and a look of amused distain flashes across his features as he shakes his head a little. He's telling me that this is not the time. There is nothing harmful in the box.

A part of me wishes I could just go ahead and attack, and get this farce of his over with. But he's far too dangerous, especially here, in his place of power. The others would be surprised, off balance. They would hesitate, and we would lose. We'd hurt him. But we'd lose. Even at our best, he might still defeat us. No. This was not the time, if truly he is not forcing the issue.

The girl goes up to the box to open it.

If I am wrong...

"Oooo! Hey, what are these?" she asked, reaching in and taking out something rather flat and tattered. It looked almost like a scrap of thick black cloth.

"Farplane winds," the old man answered, coming around in front of the counter. "Ninety-nine of them. I'm sure a smart girl like you can figure out how they work."

"Oh sure," she said, absently, and sat down on the floor then and there to try to puzzle these new items out. "Hey, do you have a comm sphere?"

"In the corner. Say, listen," he said, turning back to us, "With all the fiends you brought me I was able to mix and match, and, well, heh heh. I've created a monster."

"What?" Lulu said, and I heard Yuna gasp. The men moved a bit closer to the ladies. Rikku was oblivious.

"Yep," the man smiled proudly. "Cutest little chimeragast you ever saw. Has his daddy's eyes. All eight of 'em. Heh. That's a little joke."

"Heh," the girl said absently, hearing the word "joke". The others were not amused.

"So, uh," Wakka said, his eyes narrowing. "So whattaya goin to do wit this monster, huh?"

"Why, let the Crusaders fight it of course, for training. The one's that want a real challenge, that is," he added slyly.

"Ummm..."

That's the boy. I think to him, Shut up, Tidus. But to no avail. The zookeeper goes on, "Say, you people want to give it a shot? Free of charge this first time. It's the least I can do. Ah, one-time offer."

"Let's DO it!" the boy shouts with a smile, turning to Yuna.

"Well..." she said, glancing at me.

"And any items he drops when you beat him are yours to keep, of course," the zookeeper put in before I could say anything. That decided Wakka.

"Hey, it's free, ya? Mights well go for it, then."

"I agree," the black mage said.

Those two have been agreeing about too much recently. It was worrisome. I might need to find some wedge issue to force them apart, such as what's more important, magic or blitzball. Get the boy to bring it up. I know I know. I've been subtly pushing them together, but the thought of them being too close at this stage worries me. Broken faith and wounded soul. Yes, I think they need one another, and yes it would be good for The Plan if they healed one another. But one of them is certainly the agent of Bevelle, and I don't want that one to corrupt the other.

It's a balancing act.

They're all looking at me now. While I've been musing, they reached a consensus.

"As you wish," I said.

"All right!" the boy whooped and put up his hand for a high five. Unfortunately, Wakka was looking the other way and the girl was still oblivious and they were the only ones who ever returned his high fives. Yuna was too shy. He looked around in disappointment. "Uh..."

And Lulu of all people put up her hand and slapped his palm with a little smile before she turned away, leaving Tidus with his hand in the air staring after her. Even the Ronso stared. I think she enjoys confusing people.

Everyone needs a hobby.

I knew a man once who collected rainbows.

"Kimahri, bring the girl," I said, and heard a squawk from behind me.

Let's do this.

Rikku's Diary:

Dammit! I just about had this figured out when Kimahri slings me over his shoulder and carries me through a doorway behind the counter and down some hall! Man, it's a good thing I wear shorts and not a miniskirt!

I wonder if Auron would like me in a miniskirt...

Um, so I notice the walls start out wood paneling, but then they turn to rough wood, and the hallway starts to open out and suddenly we're walking down a kind of narrow ravine. Kimahri finally puts me down and huffs with Ronso laughter as I slap his arm and hurry on ahead to see. The ravine opens up into a small, bowl-shaped valley. We all stop and look around, waiting. Yunie and Wakka look kind of worried. Lulu looks amused. The kid looks excited. Kimahri doesn't really look anything. And the man just looks calm, as usual. I used to think he looked bored all the time, like whatever was going on was really beneath his notice. But that's not it at all. He just looks calm. Then a sort of gate that I didn't notice before opens and something comes out.

Uh, guys? That is one BIG scary chimera.

"Wakka," the man says. "Suggestions?"

Hey, Auron, is this really the best time for a pop test?

"Uh, okay, so three out of four attacks are elemental, ya? And we know the pattern, so, Haste Yuna, put her up front, keep ahead of it with nulStuff, an the physical attacks? Just suck it up."

The thing's coming closer.

"We would take a beating," the man said, "But that would work in the end. Very good, Wakka. But we're going to try something else instead."

"Uh, Auron?" I said. "Whatever we're gonna try, maybe we should, you know, get with it? Cause it's, well, iiit's heeeeeeeeere."

Smiling thinly the man stepped forward and lined us up—him, and me, and Tidus.

"Tidus, Haste yourself, then Rikku," he said.

Okay, that thing was up to something. I could see the eyes looking at me, ALL of them! WHOA! Haste spell! WOO HOO!

"Rikku, back for Yuna."

POOP!

"Yuna?"

"Yes, Sir Auron?"

"Call Ifrit."

"Um, all right."

Huh. He's gonna use an aeon. He doesn't really do that very much. Yuna made some moves, and the big fire aeon appears. I mean, not Bahamut big, but pretty big. The aeon clawed the ground and looked to Yuna for instructions. Yuna looked to Auron.

"Shield."

Yuna relayed the order and Ifrit sort of concentrates and we could all see a kind of force dome appear for a moment in front of the aeon. Then the thing made its move! It all of a sudden bends forward, and the snake tail came up over the top and opened its mouth and lightning crashed into Ifrit! I screamed just a little and jumped against Auron, and I felt him wrap an arm around me.

"Sir Auron?" Yunie turned and asked over her shoulder.

"Shield," he said.

So Ifrit shielded again, and the thing rushed up and CRUNCHED into him! If...if we were in there that would have been Auron it hurt! Whose stupid idea was this!

Well, so anyway, Ifrit looked pretty bad. Yuna looked at Auron again.

"Shield."

"Sir Auron..."

"Yuna. Shield."

So Ifrit barely managed to lift its head, and we saw the force dome again, then its head dropped back down, and the big chimera opened its eagle mouth and hit the aeon with a water attack. I thought for a moment that that was it, Ifrit was finished, but no, he was still alive, barely.

"Now," the man said. "Attack."

Yuna looked at him, and I know she just desperately wanted to get the aeon out of there cause the next attack would kill it for sure, but the man just looked back at her, so she turned and had Ifrit attack. The aeon lifted its head, and drew its lips back in a snarl and jumped forward fast and clawed the chimera right in the lion's throat! The fiend roared and I could tell that Ifrit had landed a big blow, but now...

"OH!" I said, just at the same time as Wakka said "Oh!"

Then the big chimera threw a huge flameball at Ifrit, and healed him completely!

"Shield," the man said.

"Shield.

"Shield.

"Attack."

After the second time through Auron walked back and sort of leaned up against a tree.

"That's that. This'll take awhile," he added, looking at us.

Um, well. Okay. Me and the others stood around and watched the big chimera and Ifrit for a while. I don't guess we really knew what to do except wait it out. Tidus and Kimahri stayed close to Yuna, who was still up front, of course.

Shield, shield, shield, attack.

Shield, shield, shield, attack.

"Uh, guys?" I said. "I think I'm gonna go get some food from one of the venders. Anyone want anything? Auron? Come with?"

"Hey, maybe some sandwiches, ya?"

"Perhaps some fruit," Lulu said.

"Something dead," Kimahri rumbled. Okaaaay. I think that's Ronso humor. If it's not, I don't wanna know.

I'm not sure Tidus heard me.

I looked at Auron, but he shook his head.

"I'd better stay here, Rikku," he said. "Just in case."

Makes sense. I watched the battle for a moment.

Shield, shield, shield, attack.

Lulu ended up going with me, and when we got back we sort of broke up to eat, Wakka and Lulu over there, and Auron and me sitting cross-legged over here, and of course Tidus staying close to Yuna. I saw him tap her on the shoulder and hand her a veggie sandwich. Kimahri was kinda keeping an eye on Yunie. So I was taking big happy bites out of my sandwich and gulping down shallows of Macalania Fruit Punch while I looked over one of those farplane winds we got. (I'm gonna figure it out soon.) But Auron was just kinda picking at his food. He should eat more. It's not healthy.

"Rikku..." the man said. I think..."

Auron:

It's something I've been thinking of for awhile.

Rikku's Diary:

"What Auron?" I asked, kinda looking up but still kinda looking down at the farplane wind too.

"I think we should consider changing the parameters of our relationship."

And I SPIT out Macalania Fruit Punch ALL OVER him!

"Uh, uh...!"

Okay, I didn't, but it felt JUST like a spit-take moment!

"Uh, Auron, um, what!"

"Rikku, I'm suggesting that the two of us form a limited alliance."

Does...does that mean what I think it does?

Oh. No, of course it doesn't.

Wait...what?

"You already know that I'm getting reports," he said. "Intelligence reports about what's going on all over Spira."

"Well, yeah."

"You don't know who's giving them to me, or why I want them, but you know they exist. There's no point keeping them secret from you. I'm saying I'd like to share these reports with you. Have you read them, keep abreast of what's going on around us. For you, well...knowledge is power. It would increase your knowledge. But I benefit, too."

He smiled a small, kinda crooked smile.

"I may have mentioned it before, but you're smarter than I am. You can help me analyze and synthesize all this, help me to form as clear and coherent a picture of the world as I can. This gives me a better chance to form plans and options. But it does the same for you. And we'll be able to talk things over, discuss what they mean, bounce ideas off each other.

"I want to be honest with you, Rikku," he said. "The most sensitive information doesn't come in the regular notes. It's given to me verbally, or sent by a special courier, and I might not share that information with you. But I think I'm offering the best kind of deal. One where both sides gain."

My head was kind of whirling. I didn't know what to say. I never expected something like this. Well, maybe. But not this formal. An alliance. He wasn't saying that he trusted me, exactly, and he wasn't actually asking me to trust him, but...

Not being willing to betray him to the others was one thing. Even having faith in him was one thing. But actually cooperating with him when I still didn't even have a clue what his real goals were was a whole other thing! But...but this really would help me, too. Help me with my own goals—like getting all of us through this alive. All of us, Yunie, me, him, and the others. Wouldn't it? I had to think about this. I had to be clear. Did he want an answer now? I couldn't give him an answer now!

"Auron, I can't... You can't just throw all of this at me and... Auron, I need time to think about it!"

And I saw approval in his look.

"Just exactly right, Rikku. Think about it. There's no deadline on this. It's an open offer."

He stood up, and brushed off his coat.

"I'd rather have you working with me than against me."

And he walked off to check on Yuna. I think he was giving me a minute to think. That's considerate but he hardly even touched his sandwich! I munched on it absentmindedly while I was thinking thinking thinking.

So, what do I think? Gee, come out of left field with an offer, why doncha? Well, first...I think there's a warm little feeling inside me knowing that he wants my help this much. I know he respects me and the things I can do, but this is different somehow. Even better. And then there was a little thrill that we'd be working together, him and me, sharing something new and important just the two of us. I remembered how much I missed the intimacy of it being just the two of us, like on the mountain, and maybe this would bring some of that back. And...and I wouldn't be just on my own all the time. It wouldn't be just me, and sometimes Tidus, trying to save her and him and everyone. He'd help me. He'd listen to me, and I could talk to him about things.

Dangerous thoughts.

Hey, Rikku, remember that he's one of the things you need to protect them all from. It was just too easy to lose sight of that on this vacation, when I started to fall in love with him. (And him with ME!) But I can't forget my responsibilities. He wouldn't love me if I was the sort of girl who could just forget like that. I'm not gonna betray him. I decided that one a long time ago, but I needed to keep an eye on him, and I had to keep trying to figure him out for Yunie's sake and all of us, including him. Would this new arrangement help me with that? This was just one little piece of what was going on with him that he was offering to share. I still couldn't trust him. I had to remember that.

It hurt to remember.

But anyway...well, this would be at least one place where I wouldn't have to be all the time against him, then go begging to him in the night to hold me so I wouldn't be so afraid. But...

I shook my head. I had to think about this...think it through. There seemed to be a lot of upside and not too much downside. And besides (was my nose twitching?) I really really really wanna know what's going on!

Auron:

There were faster ways to defeat the beast, I suppose, but none as sure or as safe.

And none that would annoy the zookeeper more.

The boy began to pester me about letting him and the others have a shot. But I think...I think he really just wanted Yuna to rest for a bit. I wonder why he didn't simply ask? Perhaps, he didn't want Yuna to think he didn't believe she could handle matters?

Oh well, she could probably use a break. The mental contact with aeons in battle is tiring. (Tip: That's one of the keys to defeating summoners in combat.) It took some juggling, but we managed to get a large array of nulSpells spread through the party and everyone Hasted. Kimahri and the black mage cast their spells, Tidus and Wakka attacked, and the girl rushed in and stole.

Rikku's Diary:

Yay! Lightning gems!

Auron:

Yuna nibbled on a sandwich.

I guarded. Not too bad. They only had to use three phoenix downs on me.

After a time, when everyone was ready, Yuna switched back in and summoned Ifrit once more, and it was not too much later that the chimeragast fell in a cloud of pyreflies.

They all looked at each other and then shrugged.

After winning the battle we went our own ways. The girl was still trying to puzzle out the farplane winds, but I knew that she was also contemplating my offer. I wanted to give her time to think.

I spoke to the fiend handlers that work for the zookeeper, spreading gil with an open hand. When I left the stables I went and found my new contact here with the Luca network. It was another tout, but nevertheless a big step up from Marty. The zookeeper's chimeragast would be a big step up from Marty. I flipped quickly through the notes I received from him to see if there was anything vital happening, but there wasn't really. Dream Zanarkand still hadn't fallen from the sky to crush Bevelle.

Hm. Some interesting bodies were turning up in Bevelle. Kinoc would need yet another replacement, it seems. Overall the situation in the city appeared static for the time being. Tensions were growing in Luca as the city fathers tried to keep the Church's problems at a distance. Kelk Ronso was on the mountain ahead of us, not saying much. Perhaps I should contact him before we get there? Not much time for that now. The Hypello seem to be up to something. It's hard to imagine the Hypello being up to anything, but they seem to be looking for something. Hm, the Guado are still everywhere, being very active, and still no sign of Seymour. The Guado are meddling, of course, but...could they also be looking for something as well? What would...ah. A sudden hunch burst into my head. It only occurred to me because I've been thinking of Masamune, but perhaps they seek the Guado celestial weapon? The Guado weapon hasn't been seen in years. Could that be where Seymour is? Questing? I need to think about this. If they should manage to find the Lance of Atrophy our next meeting with Seymour could be...difficult.

As I walk, I idly wish I could talk these things over with someone. Strange thought. If Jecht were here, or Braska, or even Vedec, I could talk to them, but I've never really had the compulsion to share secrets.

You know, I should have made my offer to the girl weeks ago. As things stand, even if she accepts, we'll soon be out of touch with the network. I'll probably have one more contact among the Ronso when we reach the mountain, but once we start up there'll be nothing until after Zanarkand. She still doesn't know there's going to be an After Zanarkand. Still, she can go through the backlog, and get a picture of how things truly stand on Spira. We can talk, and use each other as sounding boards.

Am I...am I putting too much of a burden on a young, teenaged girl? Secrets are burdens. But, knowledge is power. But power brings responsibility. And doesn't she have enough to worry about? These were the questions I had wrestled with before making my offer. And recently a new one had come to me. Am I just doing this to have someone to share it all with? Am I just offering her these burdens because I'm lonely, and I like her?

(A sinful little fantasy flits though my head. The girl and I, working together on The Plan, full partners, sharing everything, no secrets. Equals. But...it could never happen.)

I've kept many secrets for many years, but I've never felt any need to share them with someone simply because I liked and respected them, and so that I wouldn't have to carry them alone. Never.

But I've never known anyone like Rikku before.

Of course, if she should happen to be Bevelle's agent, it could prove...disadvantageous. Unlikely, but not impossible. Bevelle has always tried to gain as much control as they could over the summoners. The summoners have always had great influence with the people of Spira who admire them and look to them for hope. Roughly eight hundred years ago summoners were almost completely independent of the Church. They traveled to ancient sites of worship to enlist the aid of powerful, legendary beings known as aeons to try and defeat Sin. These were different from the aeons of the present day. They were actual living beings that could be killed, and over the years their numbers dwindled, or at least the number of those willing to aid the summoners of that day dwindled. Yevon was still a young church then, and still consolidating power, and over the years they persuaded some of the faithful to become fayth and craft summons that mimicked the early aeons, and as the true aeons disappeared the summoners turned to the new temples, and were drawn into the Church's power structure. The Church used their control of the temples and the new aeons to bind summoners to Yevon.

They had other methods as well. Public opinion, for example. In times past Summoners had always journeyed to defeat Sin for the people of Spira. But then priests in their pulpits and at their alters began to constantly praise the summoners who traveled to defeat Sin for the glory of Yevon. And people started to believe them. And after a time, so did the summoners. This was a subtle form of control. There are unsubtle means as well, like the Church control of the aeon souls and summoner souls. And then there were the damage limits put on most of the aeons themselves. Only the Church can easily release those locks. There are...other ways to do so. But they are difficult, and known to few.

And summoners and guardians have changed their minds in the past, once they've reached Zanarkand and learned the truth. Deciding not to sacrifice themselves for a lie, they face the mercy of Yunalecsa, the fra, and the Haagh Zhii—the Stone Claw.

But to return to the point, the Church also manages to place an agent into almost every summoner party. And I know that they have placed one in ours. I expected that. Any agent is recruited in one of four basic ways. The first is the classic agent, spotted by someone from the Grey Court or the Office of Inquiry, and recruited in some way. The actual method can be hard or soft, persuasion or subversion or coercion. That goes to motivations, which is a different matter, somewhat. The second is the agent who offers his service to the Church (or whoever) of his own initiative—the "walk-in". These often have special skills or resources, or positions. That's what makes them valuable. Their motives also vary—usually money or power, but often piety or something else that's important to them. The third is the long term agent, recruited in their youth, who takes years to work themselves into some useful position before their masters activate them—the "sleeper". Dangerous, because this could be anyone, really. The last is often the wild card, hard to predict and to spot. This is the agent who is working for one group, but for at least a part of their career believes they are working for someone else. The method is sometimes known as "false-flag". So, consider Rikku. Was she perhaps approached one day by someone working for the Al Bhed intelligence service? Or someone she thought worked for them? She loves her people, and if she were asked to perform some potentially dangerous mission that was vital to the Al Bhed? What would she do? Not hard to guess.

But I do not think it is Rikku. If I am wrong, I will deal with it. It shouldn't matter who the agent is anyway, the way I have set things up. I dismiss the thoughts (for now) and wander back to the others.

"Auron!" the boy comes up yelling. "Hey, Auron! The guy made another monster! He's gonna let us fight it for free!"

Well...

Poop.

Auron:

"It won't be like the last one," I tried to tell them. But they didn't want to hear.

"Hey, Sir Auron, it's free, ya? So why not take a shot?"

Because phoenix downs aren't free?

"Bahamut and the other aeons are strong, Sir Auron," Yuna said with a smile. "I'm sure they can handle it!"

Not if what the stable hands told me is accurate.

"Yes, Sir Auron," Lulu added. If we win, we gain. And if we don't, there's no real loss. We might as well try. He won't offer us a free chance again if we don't"

I idly wonder if Lulu grew up without much money. It shouldn't have been a big deal on Besaid.

"Hey, think of it as practice," Tidus said, "As training!"

Even the Ronso nods.

The girl is still engrossed in the silver hourglasses we received earlier from the man.

"Very well," I answered them. "As you wish."

Perhaps it's for the best, I think to myself. They're all smiling at each other. Perhaps a good hard pounding is what they all need. Things have gone fairly well for them these past few weeks. I'm glad that they have regained their confidence but I don't want them to get cocky. Overconfidence is not conducive to long life when facing the mountain and Yunalesca.

I know.

That's how we found ourselves back in the arena valley a half hour later, Hasted, waiting for the master tonberry to sidle closer.

Most of us waited.

The girl rushed in and out. She really is fast. She smiled and opened her hand to show me something I didn't recognize. Something strange. Then she started shaking wildly and fell to the ground and was still.

Damn it!

How many times do I have to warn her?

Karma.

"Tidus! Phoenix Down."

I looked up and saw the small uber-fiend come one step closer.

"Sir Auron!" Yuna called from behind me, "Let me use Bahamut!"

All right. Won't help, but some things you have to learn for yourself.

"Rikku, are you all right?"

"Uuuuh...well, I'm better..." she answered shakily.

"Okay, Rikku back, Yuna up and call an aeon."

"Yeah!" the kid yelled. "Now we'll show'em!"

Rikku's Diary:

Boy were we beat up, especially Auron. He had jumped in between us and that DAMN butcher knife over and over and over, and it would just SINK into him! Yuna's Protect didn't help him and neither did that STUPID sword that I couldn't even MAKE right! And then afterward he didn't even want to let Yuna heal him. He kept saying it was just a scratch. Boys! But I MADE him sit still and let Yunie cure him and I could tell he was feeling a lot better now.

"So, that went well," he said, sitting up.

"Uh, well," Wakka said, rubbing the back of his neck, "At least it was free, ya?"

Auron:

Not counting the thirty phoenix downs, two elixirs, and twenty-odd fire gems. Ya?

Oh well. The money I won betting against us almost makes that up.

Rikku's Diary:

So, there we all were, sitting around on benches just outside the office, getting ourselves healed up and resting and catching our breaths after the big fight with the little robed, lizard guy. And now that Auron's okay I was just happily going over and over all our new stuff, silver hourglasses and farplane winds and some candles of life that I stole from the guy before he beat us all up. I recognized those from pictures I remembered in my AP organic-mix textbook from school, but I had to look them up in the Al Bhed materials database over the comm to make sure I was right. And then there was something else I got from the guy. Something weird. I wasn't sure what it was! And we had a bunch of three stars now. I recognized those cause Mom showed me one once. AND I was looking over our shiny new return sphere that we got for beating the first guy! That's gonna come in real handy! And I still have one teleport sphere left. Heh heh heh! So...all I need is a sword! A better sword! Man, Auron's gonna be so surprised!

I look up at him and look back down quick. He's sitting on the bench next to me, not doing or saying anything, just sort of keeping me company while we sit in the warm sun and I play with all my new stuff. And it's nice, but I know we're both still thinking about what we talked about.

And then Wakka and the kid come over to the two of us. The man looks up at them standing there.

"We think we can take the earth eater," the boy said.

Auron:

I almost Shooting Starred the both of them.

Rikku's Diary:

He really did!

Auron:

They took a quick step back from me and I felt the girl's hand on my arm and turned. She was looking at me with a carefully neutral expression, and then she shrugged. And I knew she was thinking, What the heck, Auron. I'll get a chance to steal something, you'll see the thing up close for next time, and with a little luck only Wakka and Tidus'll get pummeled. And maybe Lulu.

Fine, I think back at her. But this is going to hurt.

It did.

Rikku's Diary:

Okay, that was not fun. Well, the good thing is it didn't last all that long. I ran in to steal, then Tidus threw a Haste spell on me, the man set himself to guard us, I stole again, the thing threw three punches and that was that.

"Tidus," the man asked dryly from where he was lying on his back in the grass. "Do you want to try it again?"

"Ah, nooo..." the kid answered from somewhere in the trees where the thing's punch had landed him. "I'm, ah, I'm good."

"And the rest of you?"

"Uhhh, no no, Sir Auron, I uh, I guess not."

"No, Sir Auron."

"I...think not."

Kimahri just looked away, maybe blushing a little darker blue.

"Fine, then we can start thinking about leaving."

"Uh, Auron," I said.

"Yes, Rikku," he answered, tuning his head towards me.

"I, uh, I think I want to try again."

What? What are you all looking at?

Auron:

"But Sir Auron!" Lulu said, walking at my side up the hallway toward the front office. "We know we can't win!"

"Rikku is very excited about whatever it was that she stole," I reminded her. "She thinks it could turn out to be very important and she wants some more samples to examine."

"But it'll cost fifteen thousand gil!" she almost wailed. I could smell her true unhappiness at parting with the money.

"Do we have the funds?"

"That's not the point, Sir Auron! We need the money!"

The only times I have ever seen Lulu act flustered have been over spending money.

"Rikku gave you fifteen thousand gil she found in treasure chests. That will cover the first fight."

"The first fight?"

The zookeeper was waiting for us when we entered the front office. His eyebrows climbed up high on his forehead when he saw us.

"What? You lost?" he said, and shook his head sadly. "Guess you're just not up to snuff."

"Guess not," I replied calmly. "We're going to give it another try."

"Well that's fine," he smiled. "That'll be, ah, that'll be fifteen thousand gil."

"Fifteen thousand is an awful lot," Lulu said silkily, swaying closer to the counter.

"Everyone needs to make a living, miss," he answered. "And I have a lot of overhead. Why, do you know what it costs to feed these fiends?"

"Fiends don't eat," I said.

He scowled at me.

"They do if you make them," he said. "We force feed them special mixes to keep them healthy and mean."

"Still," Lulu said in a low, throaty voice, leaning forward a little. "Perhaps we could work something out, some sort of discount."

I took a quick glance down her swaying cleavage, and so did the zookeeper, but he shook his head.

"Wish I could, miss mage, wish I could. But my men, they gotta eat too. They got families to support, and bills to pay."

"Your bills," I said. "It's a company town."

He frowned at me.

"I provide a service," he said. "Fifteen thousand."

"But maybe—" Lulu began.

"Lulu, pay the man."

With visible reluctance, she did, and then pouted off back down the hall to the others, muttering something about No one knows how to bargain anymore.

The zookeeper and I regarded one another for a moment, he with a thin little smile, and I without expression.

"So," he said, "Caught all the fiends in the cave, eh, Auron?"

I didn't reply, but turned to follow the black mage out.

"Have a nice chat with Yojimbo?" He asked to my back. "Always nice to see family, isn't it, Auron?"

"Just shut up, Mi'ihen," I ground out, and stalked through the doorway. His phlegmy cackle followed me.

Auron:

We leave in the morning.

The others are busy with preparations. The aeons are all healed and their overdrive attacks charged. We've stocked up on hi potions, phoenix downs and the like. We fought the earth eater—hm, say rather we were trounced by the earth eater a total of three times. The girl came away with a total of four of the odd items (and one common key sphere, to her great disgust) at the cost of thirty thousand gil and a very upset dark mage.

Rikku is excited over all of the new items she received, and I am sure that they will prove interesting. She still has not given me her answer. I hope that she will choose to cooperate with me. She really will be a useful ally. And I want to tell her more about my past, and more about her own. I'd like to tell her about the three-cornered war between Yevon, the Al Bhed, and the Guado that took up so much of my life before I went to Zanarkand.

Perhaps...one day...I can tell her about the war in heaven.

Rikku's Diary:

There he is! I've been looking for him!

"Hey Auron!" I yell, running up to him. "Hey, I figured it out!"

"What's that, Rikku," he smiled.

"These farplane winds, Auron! I figured them out!"

We've got a lot of keen stuff now, but I knew there was something about the farplane winds, and I kept working on them until I got it!

"Auron, I can use them to put deathproof on armor!"

"Hm. Interesting. Or deathstrike, I imagine."

"Yeah yeah yeah," I say, "Sure, deathstrike. But that's not important. Deathproof, Auron!"

He shook his head.

"Rikku, what...?"

Auron:

"Auron," she said quietly, and put one hand on my arm. "Deathproof could come in real useful to someone who's planning to take on the Grey Court, and Kali, one day."

She stands in front of me, looking up at me with one hand on my arm. I look back into her dark green, swirled eyes.

She's trying to protect me. She's trying so hard to protect me.

I protect others, they don't protect me. When has someone ever tried so hard to protect me?

Braska. Jecht. Vedec.

They were my brothers.

I put out one hand and brush her cheek.

It is very soft.

"You are right, Rikku. It could come in handy."

"So, um, so. Should I go ahead and put it on a bracer for you, Auron?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"No, not now. Later will be soon enough."

She cocks her head to one side and looks at me oddly.

Rikku's Diary:

Later. You know, I found that flexible arm down in the cavern, and asked his advice what I should do with it. And he said I should wait. It's kind of strange, because on the one hand he's always pushing us towards Zanrakand, like we have to get there quick, and then other times it's like we have all the time in the world.

Like with...

"Auron," I said quietly. "Why aren't we going to Baaj Temple?"

"We will go, Rikku," he said. "Later."

Auron:

"Auron," she said softly, hugging herself as if she was cold. "There isn't going to be a later for Yunie."

She looked at me.

"Is there?" she asked in a tiny, hopeful voice.

Rikku's Diary:

And after a moment he gave my arm a little squeeze, and then let it go, and silently walked away.

Next: One Word