It was the day after in which trouble reared its ugly head. The author considered exactly where the fanfiction was going. Meshuga was chatting with Kairi.
"So, did you and Riku have a go with the wooden sticks?" Kairi asked, sprawled on the bamboo banana lounge next to Meshuga's. The white-blonde locks bounced with her nod.
"Yup." Was the simple reply.
"You must be pretty good then, he's got bruises all over him!" Meshuga shrugged, wishing that Kairi would go away. She was quite bored with her twittering, and wished to be left alone. Riku was off somewhere else, where she didn't know. Probably foraging for lunch or something. "Meshuga?" the cheerful voice sliced through her thoughts. In response Meshuga shrugged. Kairi, undeterred, continued.
"Yup, those are some nasty bruises, especially the one on his face, but you know how easily faces bruise anyway, you guys must have been going at it pretty hard! I wonder how you'd be against Sora though, my manly man, he saved the universe as we know it once you know. And Tidus isn't that shabby either. Yuna is alright, well, she doesn't fight as such, just calls up nasty things to scare you with, I remember one time when Wakka got her angry, and she called up this HUGE beast thing, and it knocked him out, what do you think of that? With sword fighting though, I would like to see you go against Tidus, he needs to be taken down a few notches. Which reminds me; I'd been meaning to give you your sword back, the one we found you with I mean. Here;" She reached down to the other side of her banana lounge, picking the sword off the ground with both hands. Meshuga had been beginning to seethe, almost to the point of violence. But when she saw the sword… the one they assumed was hers…
It's such a nice, sharp blade, a voice crooned in her head. Wouldn't you like to try it out? Look at her. She's so weak. Doesn't have two brain cells to rub together. Why don't you just do it? Make it look like an accident. Meshuga raised her eyebrows with shock. She had voices in her head now?
"Meshuga?" Kairi repeated, offering the sword to her companion. Meshuga was staring at the sword. For a moment the world changed, went to what it was like in her last hallucination. Thunder boomed overhead as a creature, obviously long-dead with decaying flesh and torn rags offered her a shaft of light, the one thing that seemed beautiful in this revolting world… Meshuga put her hand out over the handle, about to touch it, but hesitated. For a moment the nice world flashed back; a flicker of blue and yellow, and a figure with purple and white, but it lasted only for a fraction of a second. Still Mehsuga hesitated.
…No? Then I shall do it for you! Shrilled the voice. Meshuga's hand tightened around the handle without her bidding, and her arm bent, hefting the blade expertly. Meshuga watched through half-lidded eyes as her arm, working of its own accord, cut down the gruesome creature. She half-smiled. Now she had put it out of its misery. She closed her eyes momentarily, and when she opened them again the real world was back.
Only now, it was considerably redder than when she had left.
Meshuga's eyes widened, and she dropped the sword as if it had stung her. She took a shuddering breath, backing away. Her eyes were locked on the scene before her. Then she screamed.
Riku heard it from the other side of the island, where he was helping Sora fix some wooden poles that he and Tidus had ruined in one of their sparring matches. The other two boys, to their great annoyance, were playing a mad game of tag. He jumped to his feet, dropping his work.
"MESHUGA!" Was his frantic cry as he sprinted across the sand, headed for where Kairi and Meshuga were. The others followed, though none quite as fast as Riku, his fears snapping at his heels, driving him onward. The scene that met his eyes drove the breath out of his lungs.
Meshuga was standing about three metres from the banana lounges. Splashes of bright red garlanded her face and chest with ruby droplets. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open in a silent cry. Riku's gaze followed her line of sight. The banana lounges were broken and splintered, cleaved by some huge force. On them lay the broken and splintered remnants of Kairi, her face and staring eyes a mask of horror. Next to her lay the blade they had found Meshuga with, unmistakeably coated with blood. Sora gave a strangled cry and ran to Kairi, where he dropped to his knees beside her.
"Kairi… no…" he was heard to whisper before he draped himself over her cooling body and cried. With his tears, so came Meshuga's. They rolled silently down her cheeks, making the blood on her face run.
"I…I don't know what it was- I tried to stop it-him- I tried, but… I…" She failed to say any more, as she was sobbing far too hard. Riku embraced her, stroking her hair gently as she cried on his shoulder.
"It's ok Meshuga… it's not your fault…" he whispered, trying to comfort her. Meshuga pushed him back off her, staring him incredulously in the eyes. Then she looked away and before he could do anything, she ran. Riku was about to follow her, one hand already outstretched, but a hand clamped down on his arm. He turned around to see Tidus, his face grave.
"Don't." He advised, steering Riku over to Sora. Wakka, Selphie and Yuna already stood behind him, eyes downcast. "You see this?" Tidus started, forcing Riku to look at Kairi's remains. "Your Meshuga did this. Now, we have to think of what to do about her."
"But it wasn't Meshuga!" Riku protested, earning a stare from everyone except Sora and, of course, Kairi. "Look, we don't have any solid proof that it was actually her that did it."
"What, and the blood and being here isn't?" replied Wakka, a sneer in his voice.
"She might just have witnessed it. She was talking about trying to stop someone, but she said she couldn't."
"Well then, where's the murderer? Do you see him anywhere?"
"Isn't it obvious that he would have run away?" Tidus released Riku's arm with a hint of distaste.
"Fine. Go talk to her. Innocent until proven guilty, I suppose. But someone's guarding her tonight. Not you, because you'd let her go… lover-boy." The title was spat like a drop of poison. "Wakka." The red-haired boy in question paled, backing up a step.
"No friggin' way! She'll kill me! And there won't be anyone there to stop it!"
"We'll take her sword away." Tidus declared. "And you can take Yuna with you." He knew the offer of the presence of Wakka's favourite female would convince him to do this duty, at least for one night.
"Ok, ok, but only for one night." He said, scuffing the ground with his foot. Everyone nodded, and Riku went off to find Meshuga.
He was unable to get anything out of her for the rest of the day, and finally night fell and Meshuga went to bed. When she fell asleep, Wakka and Yuna took their places silently, sitting as far as Tidus would allow them away from the bed. The night wore on, and nothing happened. Wakka sighed. Thank the powers that be.