AN: Well, here I am, up late and updating ^-^;; But your reviews really helped me to write more ^-^
Okay, why I haven't updated in FOREVER: I'm forbidden to use my computer o.o Yes, forbidden. Ya see, every time I use the Internet, something breaks. Seriously XP. Sooo, I type these on my own (no Internet connection in my room XP) computer and I'm updating at school XD Well, it's better than no updates. ::pouts::
Please keep all your reviews coming because I read every one and It helps keep me motivated ^-^ Last time I checked, I had about 30+ reviews on this story and I was very happy ^-^ (and upset that I can't update and you've all been waiting sooo long!!!)
Gomen! Well, better late than never, ne? Read and Review please!
~*^-^*~
Auron watched Rikku silently. Her back was to him, so she couldn't see. He quietly shut the door and just watched her. She was still oblivious to his presence, and continued to mumbled to herself.
Deciding that it was best to make his presence known, he cleared his throat. Rikku jumped, obviously startled. She rolled over onto her stomach and faced him, eyes wide.
"W-who are you?" She squeaked and shrunk back into the headboard. Inside, Auron felt a small pang of hurt. Outside, he said nothing, regarding her neutrally. He took a step forward, causing Rikku to press her back further into the headboard.
"That is not important. What do you remember?" He sat down in the chair Yuna had been sitting in. Rikku eyes him wearily, not sure if she should trust the older man or not. Sensing her uneasiness, he spoke.
"Yuna sent me."
"…Oh, okay." She smiled and sat up, watching him curiously and waiting for him to speak.
"What do you remember?" He repeated the same phrase from before. Rikku leaned back and scratched the uninjured side of her head. She frowned.
"I…don't know. I remember…pain…and then…I'm sorry." She sighed and bowed her head, her bangs shielding her eyes from view. Auron didn't know why she was apologizing, but he said nothing.
"Can you…tell me?"
"What happened?"
"Yea, and…who I am? How I know all of you? You know?" Her eyes held a desperate tone in them and it was hard for Auron to refuse. He rose from his seat and walked silently towards the door. He could feel Rikku's eyes follow him as he placed a hand on the handle.
"Yuna should be the one to tell you."
~*^-^*~
Rikku sighed and fell back on the bed. Forgetting how close she was to the headboard, she smacked her head into it. (AN: And this is the end of the fic because she was hit hard enough and she remembered everything! ^-^ I think you'd all kill me if I did that XD)
"Ow!"
"That's how this whole mess got started!" Rikku looked towards the door. Yuna stood before her, giggling lightly. Rikku pouted. She did not find this amusing.
"What do you mean? Can you tell me about…everything? Who I am, I mean."
Yuna nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. Rikku smiled and crawled over, sitting next to her cousin.
"Who you are? Well, You're name is Rikku. You're Al Bhed…Umm…you're my cousin…"
"Really? I'm related to you?" Rikku's eyes shone happily as she hugged Yuna's arm. Yuna smiled. It was something the old Rikku would have done. She nodded before continuing.
"You're joining me on my pilgrimage to defeat Sin. You're one of my guardians."
"Y-you're a summoner!?" Rikku shrank back, eyes wide. Yuna smiled sadly and nodded.
"So you know all about summoners and Sin then?"
"Uh huh." Rikku curled into a ball. Even though she hadn't known Yuna long, she didn't want to think about the fact that Yuna would die. One of the few things she remembered was her principals.
"What happened…to make me forget?" Rikku unconsciously rubbed the sore spot of her head. Yuna sighed and looked out the small window near Rikku's bed. The lightning was still flashing wildly, seeing as they were still in the Thunder Plains.
"You…were struck by lightning. And you hit your head on a rock."
"A rock? A rock caused all this?" Rikku shook her head, slightly amused. Yuna said nothing and continued to stare out the window.
"What about…that guy?"
"Guy? Oh! You mean Sir Auron? He's another one of my guardians. He was also my fathers' years ago." Rikku nodded thoughtfully. She couldn't help but let her thoughts drift back to the man who had come in her room. Neither girls spoke as they both sat, lost in their thoughts.
~*^-^*~
Auron scowled as he leaned against the Inn wall. He was outside, away from everyone else. Why had he run away? Why didn't he tell her what happened? He heard the door open and Tidus stepped out.
"Auron?"
Auron grunted in response. He didn't feel like company now. Tidus didn't take the hint and leaned next to him.
"What…are we going to do about Rikku? Can she still come with us?"
"…" Auron said nothing as he thought about what the young boy had just said. Would she be able to travel with them?
"Auron?"
"I don't know." He answered truthfully. He didn't know what she knew and didn't. She might not even know how to fight anymore, he realized. Tidus frowned and silently stepped back inside, seeing as Auron was not going to talk much. Auron didn't protest.
He couldn't describe what he was feeling right then. It was a small pang in his chest, just like earlier. He brushed it aside. He had more important things to think about. Like the pilgrimage. The door opened again and someone stepped out.
"I said I don't know, Tidus."
"Don't know what?"
Auron tensed. Slowly, he turned his head towards the young Al Bhed standing next to him.
"Nothing."
"Oh." Rikku sank to the ground next to Auron, wrapping her arms around her knees and drawing them to her chest. He watched her out of the corner of his good eye. Her hair was up in its' trademark do, and she was wearing her normal clothes. The only things that pointed out she wasn't herself was the small singe on her shirt, the bruise on the side of her head, and her memory loss.
"Where are you going after this?" Rikku asked softly, craning her head back to look up at the stiff guardian. He said nothing for a few minutes.
"To finish Yuna's pilgrimage."
"…Are you…going to leave me here?" Her voice was soft and shaky; barely audible over the crackling of lightning. But Auron heard it. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly snapped it shut. He didn't know what to say.
"Please, don't leave me!" Rikku jumped up and threw her arms around Auron. For a second time, his eye went wide. Rikku buried her head into his coat and pressed herself up against him. She was crying softly, just the thought of being left behind too much. Auron hesitated before pulling his arm completely out of his sleeve and wrapping it around the young girls' shoulders. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but Auron couldn't make himself let go.
"Auron? We're getting ready to leave now." Lulu came peeked her head out the door. She raised an eyebrow at the two guardians locked in an embrace, but said nothing and went back inside after seeing Auron nod. Rikku pulled back slowly, and her eyes were amazingly dry for someone who had just been crying.
"I'm afraid to be alone. Please, don't leave me." Although she had pulled back, her hand held a white-knuckled grip on his coat. He gently pried her fingers off and smoothed the fabric out. She stood before him, hands clasped in front of her chest.
"If you think you can still handle fighting, you can continue with us." Auron turned to go meet the rest of the group, but not before catching the look of joy on Rikku's face.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Rikku latched onto Auron's arm, much to his shock, and pulled him inside. Wakka, Lulu, Khimari, Tidus, and Yuna waited inside.
"Shall we go?" Yuna motioned towards the door and waited until everyone left except her, Auron, and Rikku.
"Rikku, are you sure you'll be okay?" She placed a hand on her cousins' arm. Rikku nodded happily. Yuna glanced at Auron and giggled. He didn't look very happy, but then again, he didn't look like he minded much either. She waved at them to follow before hurrying out the door.
"Do you mind letting go?" Auron glanced down at Rikku, who still clung to his arm. She looked up, blushed, and nodded, before slowly pulling away and wrapping her arms around her waist. Auron did his best to ignore her look of helplessness and walked out. Rikku followed slowly.
~*^-^*~
The road out of the Thunder Planes was filled with monsters. Rikku opted to sit out the first few battles, watching every spell Lulu cast, every blade Auron swung, and every Aeon Yuna summoned. Finally, when the group had run into Qactuar, a rare find, Rikku switched in with Yuna.
"I'm ready to do this!" She crouched over slightly, arms hanging loose and ready to steal anything she could. Auron stood on one side and Tidus stood on the other.
"Rikku, this isn't like those other monsters." Tidus glanced over at Rikku, who seemed oblivious to anything he was saying. Rikku waved him off and sprinted forward.
"Is she crazy?" Wakka muttered from somewhere off to the side. Rikku lashed her hand out, trying to steal anything, but came back empty-handed. She frowned and bit her lip. The Qactuar stared back at her, before slowly leaning over.
"Rikku! Watch out!" Yuna yelled as she switched in with Tidus. The Qactuar had stopped now, and Rikku's eyes widened as thousands of tiny needles flew out her. She screamed and hid her face behind her hands. A couple sliced her cheek before she felt someone tackle her to the ground, just out of range of the attack.
Auron and Rikku rolled, the force of Auron's dive roll enough to send them flying off the battle field. Yuna ran away, hurrying towards her two fallen guardians. Rikku lay panting underneath Auron. Her heart thudded rapidly in her chest and her cheek stung. Auron's full length was pressed against her, pinning her to the rocky ground. Luckily, lightning decided not to strike right away.
"Are you all right?" Auron pushed himself up into a hald pushup position. His arm, which normally hung out of its' sleeve, was all the way out and braced on one side of her head. Rikku nodded breathlessly, trying to ignore the fact that his face was a mere inch or two from hers'. She could feel his breath, slightly sake tainted, on her cheek. She gulped.
"Rikku! Sir Auron! Are you okay?" Yuna stumbled over a rock and hurried over to them. Auron grunted gruffly and climbed to his feet. Rikku, still slightly dazed, sat up. She jumped when a gloved hand was offered to her.
"T-thanks." She let out a shaky breath and took Auron's hand, letting him pull her effortlessly to her feet. She brushed off her shorts and went slowly to join the group.
"You could have gotten both you and Auron killed, what were you thinking!?" Tidus raised his hands, exasperated. He wasn't mad, exactly. Just a little….stressed. Rikku winced and distanced herself slightly from everyone.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled and looked at the ground. Auron, safely hidden behind his glasses and collar, sneaked a look (AN: English teaches me nothing. Is this correct?
^-^;;) at Rikku. She acted the same as if she had all her memories, he realized. Reckless and always racing into things.
"Just don't do it again." Auron picked a few spines out of his coat and glanced back at Rikku. Everyone else had started forward, the exit within sight. There were a few red scratches on her cheek, but there was one spine sticking out that she didn't seem to be aware of.
"You have a spine in your cheek." Auron watched her look up, startled. She carefully brushed a palm across her cheek and winced.
"I'm a little squeamish, can you help me?" She took a step closer, closing her eyes tight. Auron felt a chuckle threaten to erupt and fought it down. She seriously didn't like the thought of pulling a spine out.
"Hold still." He leaned in and with his glove-less hand, gently pulled the needle out. She winced, then opened her eyes and stared at the pin in Auron's hand.
"Thanks!" She seemed back to her normal self, he realized. Before he could turn to go follow Yuna, Rikku jumped up, pulled his collar down, and kissed him quickly on his cheek. Stubble brushed her chin as she pulled back and grinned at him before running off to catch up with the others. Auron stared after her, his face carefully blank. He shrugged away the feeling in his chest and took steady strides to catch up with the rest of the group.
~*^-^*~
AN: Pretty long chappy, if I do say so myself ^-^ What do ya think? Good? Bad? It needs work ^-^;; Again, thanks for all the reviews, and I'm open to any ideas you might have to help improve the story line, since my imagination is running a little dry ^-^;;
If you have any suggestions or ideas, please email me! (tasukixmiaka@yahoo.com)
~*Neoshipper*~
