Ureta Tsumi (A Ripened Sin)
Chapter Twelve: Worth Fighting For
By: NurikoLuver (Trudy Haley)
Author's Notes: Whoo-hoo! Happy Mardi Gras! I'm tired as heck and it's time for beddy-bye, but I just had to get out another chapter. Nope, I'm not going to neglect my readers anymore. In fact, I have a SURPRISE {http://www.geocities.com/trudy2002/ghettoffx.jpg} for any of those who care. ^^;;
Hey, forgiveness, please! I've only been using the Wacom for two days, already. Man, ish that hard!
Yes, it makes no sense. No, I didn't take my pills this week.
V_V;; Sorry so short. I promise more Aurikku-ness when I'm more concious.
Another two hours before we reach Bevelle. Rikku flipped from her back onto her stomach. So many things to think about. Well, talking to Auron *DID* make her feel better, there were some things she couldn't talk about with him: specifically, Auron.
She couldn't think of anyone else to talk about Auron with. Originally, she had thought about talking to Tidus about Auron, but...that would be kind of WEIRD. She did want anyone else to know. No, it wasn't because she was ASHAMED of her feelings, but it was more that...she was afraid of making things awkward.
So, not being able to talk to someone else about Auron also eliminated the possibility of them asking if Auron liked her. But...this was so hard! What else could she do?!
Confess?
No way!
Rikku groaned and rolled back over on her back. Nothing to do. All her comrades were napping-- except her. Nothing to do except try to go to sleep.
Just a few hours ago, that was all she wanted to do. But now she was unsure of what she wanted. After talking to Auron, she felt so much better, but now...All what she could think about was him.
And whenever she thought about him now, she got all nervous.
She needed something to occupy herself.
Talking to her dad? No. That'd require going to the deck. Going to the deck would require interaction with Brother. Nopers.
Talk to the Al Bhed Blitzball Team? Maybe. There were some serious hotties on the team. Maybe.
Talk to Rin? He *WAS* incredibly nice, and he had been her dad's best friend since before she could remember. But *STILL*. She'd probably start rambling on about Auron, and the thing she LAST needed was Rin picking up on her crush and then discussing it with dad. So maybe that wasn't the best idea...
That left one other option: sleep.
She wasn't particularly FOND of that option, either. But maybe it WOULD be for the best. After all, invading Bevelle to save Yunie probably wouldn't be a walk in the park. A little sleep could keep her stamina up.
So she fell asleep. And she dreamed.
This dream, much like all the other dreams Rikku recollected, was a bit strange. But this one was the most enigmatic dream she could ever recall. She had never known Auron when she was little, but in the dream she saw herself and a boy she presumed was Auron, both no older than maybe four or five, playing outside by the Chocobo Corral on Mi'hien Highroad.
"You've gotta count to fifthty," Auron said with a childish slur.
"Fifthy? But..."
"I had to count to fifthy, too!" Auron protested. "It wouldn't be fair if you didn't count that long too."
"'kay, 'kay! I gots it already!" Rikku burried her face into her arms, leaning against the foilage of a rather huge tree. "One...two...free..........fourty-eight, fourty-nine, fifthy! Okay, Auron, here I come!"
But everywhere she looked, Auron was nowhere to be found. Not behind the large brush. Not hiding behind the curvature of the Travel Agency. Not behind the tree, where he could easily touch base as soon as she walked a few feet away. Nowhere.
"Auron! Auron! Where are you?!" Realizing her words were in vain, as anyone who played Hide-And-Go Seek knew THAT trick, she thought for a minute before yelling out, "I give UP, al'eady. 'kay? You won't be it if you come out, al'eady!"
No response.
Suddenly, her mother emerged from the Travel Agency. Rikku ran towards her in a panicked frenzy, pulling on her long skirt. "Mommy, mommy, where is Auron?"
"Auron? Auron's gone."
"Gone...gone where?" Rikku looked up at her mom's face with childish curiousness.
Just as quickly as she emerged from the building did Rikku's mother's face melt and mold into a more familiar composition. Her petite figure sprouted upwards as muscles protruded from her willow-like legs. Veins protruded from her face as her jaw squaredened into the dignified face of a man.
It took only an instant to realize who this man was. But in that instant, before she could say anything, he leaned down.
Rikku slowly backed away, but his swift moves were too much for her child-like stature. He grabbed her by her neck, pivoting her chin upwards, sending her eyes staring into his own. "He's gone...to the Farplane."
"S...seymour...l-let go of me!"
He laughed, tossing her to the ground. "Rikku, Rikku, Rikku..." he tsked. "So naive."
"N...naive?!" Rikku stumbled to her feet.
Seymour laughed once more. "Your life is but a fleeting dream, Rikku. You've just yet to realize that. Or realize anything. Naive fool. You just need to wake up your own self-dillusion, created by your own unconcious guilt. Just WAKE UP."
"Rikku...wake up! Wake up..." she woke up to Auron, who was gently shaking her awake.
"Auron...I had...I had a dream...a REALLY strange dream--"
"Rikku, I really hate to interupt, but...right now, it seems we have a little problem on our hands on the outside deck."
"Outside deck?" Rikku rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stretching out of bed. "How big is this 'little' problem?" She strapped her claws onto her clentched fists.
"Our problem just HAPPENS to be Bevelle's Guardian, Evrae."
"Oh, geez..." Rikku and Auron sprinted to the outside deck together, prepared for battle. As soon as they stepped outside, they gazed at the exquisite and life-threatening creature, cast with a shell of pulchritude and unmistakenable danger.
Rikku glanced at the exigent party. Wow, did they need her help. Lulu was switched out for Rikku, and she immediately began healing the party's poison and depleted hit points with her cornicopia of Al Bhed Potions.
But from there, the battle went from bad to worse. Evrae, being extremely adept in magic defense, left most of the party useless when the airship was pulled back from the creature. However, being too close often left the party in a dangerous situation, as Evrae's short-range attacks left the party defenseless.
A difficult battle, but one that left Rikku with a sudden feeling of worthiness. Heal, heal, heal. It was her potions that was keeping her comrades' stamina up. It was her hard work that was helping her friends to survive that 'one more hit', or that sudden Swooping Scythe attack.
For the first few minutes, Rikku found that she was more alert than she had ever been in a battle. But as time progressed, she found her mind becoming more sluggish, her reflexes becoming less active. It seemed as though everything was just...slowing down.
The more she tried to focus, the less focused she became. She felt dizzy. Maybe it would be best for her to sit out the next couple of rounds and leave it to Wakka. Maybe.
"Yunie..." Rikku signaled for Wakka to take her place, which he gratefully accepted.
She lay down on the middle of the ship, near the main exit to the outside deck. She didn't want a sudden lurch of the ship to result in her pre-ordained demise. She wearily glanced at her other companions sitting beside her. Tidus and Auron. How ironic that the three of them would be sitting out a fight together- if even for a round.
"You feeling all right, Rikku?" Tidus was the first to notice, for once. Strange how quickly he picks up on the things Rikku didn't WANT him to pick up on, but so slowly on the things she DID.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just hope this all ends soon."
"All what? The battle? Or the pilgrimage?"
"Just the battle..." Rikku sighed. "But even so, it's all the same. The faster we kill off Evrae, the quicker the end of the pilgrimage comes...and Yunie, with it."
"I know..." Tidus sighed. But as soon as Kimahri came running from the frontlines, he was the first to step up to battle Evrae. How strange.
All of them working towards a common goal: the end of the pilgrimage. The end of Yunie.
Rikku tried to shake off the foginess in her head along with these not-so-optomistic thoughts. This wasn't like her. She was supposed to be the hyper thief. Not the pessimistic sword-fighter. She glanced at Auron, whose attention seemed to be focused on the fight.
Auron, Auron, Auron. Was that all the guy worried about? Fighting?
A life filled with fighting probably isn't worth living, Rikku decided. But we fight every day. Not just wars against Sin, but also little battles...against ourselves...against others.
Was it all really worth fighting for? Fighting another battle only to be greeted with another?
Why do we do it?
She blinked the thoughts away. Why the sudden search for answers? There was a battle to be fought.
Imitating Auron, she tried her best to watch attentively as Tidus casted another round of Hastega and Lulu cast Firaga.
How strange indeed.
Chapter Twelve: Worth Fighting For
By: NurikoLuver (Trudy Haley)
Author's Notes: Whoo-hoo! Happy Mardi Gras! I'm tired as heck and it's time for beddy-bye, but I just had to get out another chapter. Nope, I'm not going to neglect my readers anymore. In fact, I have a SURPRISE {http://www.geocities.com/trudy2002/ghettoffx.jpg} for any of those who care. ^^;;
Hey, forgiveness, please! I've only been using the Wacom for two days, already. Man, ish that hard!
Yes, it makes no sense. No, I didn't take my pills this week.
V_V;; Sorry so short. I promise more Aurikku-ness when I'm more concious.
Another two hours before we reach Bevelle. Rikku flipped from her back onto her stomach. So many things to think about. Well, talking to Auron *DID* make her feel better, there were some things she couldn't talk about with him: specifically, Auron.
She couldn't think of anyone else to talk about Auron with. Originally, she had thought about talking to Tidus about Auron, but...that would be kind of WEIRD. She did want anyone else to know. No, it wasn't because she was ASHAMED of her feelings, but it was more that...she was afraid of making things awkward.
So, not being able to talk to someone else about Auron also eliminated the possibility of them asking if Auron liked her. But...this was so hard! What else could she do?!
Confess?
No way!
Rikku groaned and rolled back over on her back. Nothing to do. All her comrades were napping-- except her. Nothing to do except try to go to sleep.
Just a few hours ago, that was all she wanted to do. But now she was unsure of what she wanted. After talking to Auron, she felt so much better, but now...All what she could think about was him.
And whenever she thought about him now, she got all nervous.
She needed something to occupy herself.
Talking to her dad? No. That'd require going to the deck. Going to the deck would require interaction with Brother. Nopers.
Talk to the Al Bhed Blitzball Team? Maybe. There were some serious hotties on the team. Maybe.
Talk to Rin? He *WAS* incredibly nice, and he had been her dad's best friend since before she could remember. But *STILL*. She'd probably start rambling on about Auron, and the thing she LAST needed was Rin picking up on her crush and then discussing it with dad. So maybe that wasn't the best idea...
That left one other option: sleep.
She wasn't particularly FOND of that option, either. But maybe it WOULD be for the best. After all, invading Bevelle to save Yunie probably wouldn't be a walk in the park. A little sleep could keep her stamina up.
So she fell asleep. And she dreamed.
This dream, much like all the other dreams Rikku recollected, was a bit strange. But this one was the most enigmatic dream she could ever recall. She had never known Auron when she was little, but in the dream she saw herself and a boy she presumed was Auron, both no older than maybe four or five, playing outside by the Chocobo Corral on Mi'hien Highroad.
"You've gotta count to fifthty," Auron said with a childish slur.
"Fifthy? But..."
"I had to count to fifthy, too!" Auron protested. "It wouldn't be fair if you didn't count that long too."
"'kay, 'kay! I gots it already!" Rikku burried her face into her arms, leaning against the foilage of a rather huge tree. "One...two...free..........fourty-eight, fourty-nine, fifthy! Okay, Auron, here I come!"
But everywhere she looked, Auron was nowhere to be found. Not behind the large brush. Not hiding behind the curvature of the Travel Agency. Not behind the tree, where he could easily touch base as soon as she walked a few feet away. Nowhere.
"Auron! Auron! Where are you?!" Realizing her words were in vain, as anyone who played Hide-And-Go Seek knew THAT trick, she thought for a minute before yelling out, "I give UP, al'eady. 'kay? You won't be it if you come out, al'eady!"
No response.
Suddenly, her mother emerged from the Travel Agency. Rikku ran towards her in a panicked frenzy, pulling on her long skirt. "Mommy, mommy, where is Auron?"
"Auron? Auron's gone."
"Gone...gone where?" Rikku looked up at her mom's face with childish curiousness.
Just as quickly as she emerged from the building did Rikku's mother's face melt and mold into a more familiar composition. Her petite figure sprouted upwards as muscles protruded from her willow-like legs. Veins protruded from her face as her jaw squaredened into the dignified face of a man.
It took only an instant to realize who this man was. But in that instant, before she could say anything, he leaned down.
Rikku slowly backed away, but his swift moves were too much for her child-like stature. He grabbed her by her neck, pivoting her chin upwards, sending her eyes staring into his own. "He's gone...to the Farplane."
"S...seymour...l-let go of me!"
He laughed, tossing her to the ground. "Rikku, Rikku, Rikku..." he tsked. "So naive."
"N...naive?!" Rikku stumbled to her feet.
Seymour laughed once more. "Your life is but a fleeting dream, Rikku. You've just yet to realize that. Or realize anything. Naive fool. You just need to wake up your own self-dillusion, created by your own unconcious guilt. Just WAKE UP."
"Rikku...wake up! Wake up..." she woke up to Auron, who was gently shaking her awake.
"Auron...I had...I had a dream...a REALLY strange dream--"
"Rikku, I really hate to interupt, but...right now, it seems we have a little problem on our hands on the outside deck."
"Outside deck?" Rikku rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stretching out of bed. "How big is this 'little' problem?" She strapped her claws onto her clentched fists.
"Our problem just HAPPENS to be Bevelle's Guardian, Evrae."
"Oh, geez..." Rikku and Auron sprinted to the outside deck together, prepared for battle. As soon as they stepped outside, they gazed at the exquisite and life-threatening creature, cast with a shell of pulchritude and unmistakenable danger.
Rikku glanced at the exigent party. Wow, did they need her help. Lulu was switched out for Rikku, and she immediately began healing the party's poison and depleted hit points with her cornicopia of Al Bhed Potions.
But from there, the battle went from bad to worse. Evrae, being extremely adept in magic defense, left most of the party useless when the airship was pulled back from the creature. However, being too close often left the party in a dangerous situation, as Evrae's short-range attacks left the party defenseless.
A difficult battle, but one that left Rikku with a sudden feeling of worthiness. Heal, heal, heal. It was her potions that was keeping her comrades' stamina up. It was her hard work that was helping her friends to survive that 'one more hit', or that sudden Swooping Scythe attack.
For the first few minutes, Rikku found that she was more alert than she had ever been in a battle. But as time progressed, she found her mind becoming more sluggish, her reflexes becoming less active. It seemed as though everything was just...slowing down.
The more she tried to focus, the less focused she became. She felt dizzy. Maybe it would be best for her to sit out the next couple of rounds and leave it to Wakka. Maybe.
"Yunie..." Rikku signaled for Wakka to take her place, which he gratefully accepted.
She lay down on the middle of the ship, near the main exit to the outside deck. She didn't want a sudden lurch of the ship to result in her pre-ordained demise. She wearily glanced at her other companions sitting beside her. Tidus and Auron. How ironic that the three of them would be sitting out a fight together- if even for a round.
"You feeling all right, Rikku?" Tidus was the first to notice, for once. Strange how quickly he picks up on the things Rikku didn't WANT him to pick up on, but so slowly on the things she DID.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just hope this all ends soon."
"All what? The battle? Or the pilgrimage?"
"Just the battle..." Rikku sighed. "But even so, it's all the same. The faster we kill off Evrae, the quicker the end of the pilgrimage comes...and Yunie, with it."
"I know..." Tidus sighed. But as soon as Kimahri came running from the frontlines, he was the first to step up to battle Evrae. How strange.
All of them working towards a common goal: the end of the pilgrimage. The end of Yunie.
Rikku tried to shake off the foginess in her head along with these not-so-optomistic thoughts. This wasn't like her. She was supposed to be the hyper thief. Not the pessimistic sword-fighter. She glanced at Auron, whose attention seemed to be focused on the fight.
Auron, Auron, Auron. Was that all the guy worried about? Fighting?
A life filled with fighting probably isn't worth living, Rikku decided. But we fight every day. Not just wars against Sin, but also little battles...against ourselves...against others.
Was it all really worth fighting for? Fighting another battle only to be greeted with another?
Why do we do it?
She blinked the thoughts away. Why the sudden search for answers? There was a battle to be fought.
Imitating Auron, she tried her best to watch attentively as Tidus casted another round of Hastega and Lulu cast Firaga.
How strange indeed.