GoodGurl: I know I so suck at writing stories, but thank you for Ater Serpens for telling me the error of my ways :D and sure I would like all my readers to tell me my mistakes and whatnot, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for letting me know that Auron's jug thing was for sake ;) heh heh. I thought I should get rid of it, since it was something not really important. I mean since you told me Ater, I don't think sake would help the situation they are in! LOL! ;) Oooh lookies, me gots a nice song that goes with this chappy! YEAY! ^_^ Oh yeah, the first few paragraphs with Auron and Lulu are a bit OOC, but I wanted to add something a little funny to a very depressing fic and I also wanted to show you guys that everyone deserves a few good laughs now and then and that Auron CAN make Lulu laugh! _ (tee hee!) Oh yah this chapter also includes Auron's past...in my mind anyway! ^_^
It's down to this
I've got to make this life make sense
Can anyone do what I've done
I missed life
I missed the colours of the world
Can anyone go where I am...
'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun again
Away from the sun again
Away From The Sun by 3 Doors Down
~...she knew that eventually, a new life would be born and eventually it would be her.
Chapter 8 - Away From The Sun
A long rest was what she needed, a place where she could just forget the past and look forward into the future, but here she was. She was back to the beginning, back to who she was, instead of looking forward to who she will truly become. She laid in bed, thinking, scratching every memory about that night away from her head, but try as she might, his face, that was once full of life, beamed in her mind- now pale with death and decay. There were times she wished she was never born or wished that 'he' never existed to ruin her life. Any of those would be good for her, then she wouldn't have to worry about anything. But she knew that eventually, a new life would be born and eventually it would be her.
She didn't know how long she cried in Auron's arms, nor how long she was wrapped in his embrace, but all she knew that she found comfort in him. Now he knew everything. There was no escaping from the truth anymore.
"Lulu?" The storm was dying away, but they could still hear it strong in the distance. All they could hear was each other, as they moved away from their long embrace. She looked up, embarrassed by her actions and stepped a little more away from him. A man with good intentions, who was gentle enough to embrace a woman with his arms, yet dangerous enough to kill a monster with his sword, stood there, staring at her. Sometimes, she could not understand Auron and his 'intentions,' on why he was doing what he was doing. Why was he a Guardian? Why was he wasting time and night to comfort her instead of sleeping during the storm?
Lulu turned away from him and looked out the window. The night was failing her this time. The moon had begun to glow brightly through the dark room and shining upon her hidden face, showing her true self. She missed living a normal life, where there were no worries to think about. She missed it all. She missed being with Yuna when she met her as a child- the Summoner, eleven, while she was at a youthful age of sixteen. Though only young, she held a frown that made her look older. People always told her not to frown, because she was still really young, but Lulu ignored that. She didn't care. That's who she was. "I apologize for that."
Auron shook his head slowly. He watched her form move from the window, away from the light and back into the darkness that masked everything about her and sat down on the bed. He wasn't sure what to do next. He stupidly stood there, unsure what to say at that point. He had to say something to her. He had to tell her that she didn't need to apologize. He took a deep breath, getting ready to say something, until she beat him there first.
"I guess you're wondering what I was talking about?" She looked up, her face still marked that frown that made her look even older than twenty-two. Lulu stood up and looked back out the window. The wind died too, just like her. "I have so many things that no one, not even Yuna and Wakka know about," she said, not giving Auron a chance to answer. "I had a father- a man who forced me to do everything by hitting me across the face or kicking me in the stomach. My mother couldn't do anything of course, because she was just too weak to fight him off. She tried everything she could to comfort me, but it didn't help me from the pain... emotionally. I was emotionally scarred this whole time and I knew that if I get away from this place, I would forget everything. I did... for a while, until Kai came for me. He brought back all the memories- all of me that I had forgotten all those years ago... ones that I wanted to forget."
The tall swordsman watched her face. There were no tears as she continued to explain her whole life story.
"Everything that I said... about self-defense, it was because I killed my father." The moment of truth. Lulu looked up and stared into Auron's eyes. Auron approached her slowly, but stopped just before Lulu felt more uncomfortable. He knew not to be close, even when she doesn't tell him. She turned her eyes away from him suddenly and once more put her eyes back out the window. The house was still there, of course. She explained to him everything, about what he did that night, about her using her powers and about her mother burying her father's body in the backyard. She also explained to him that her mother told her to run away... somewhere far away. "But I didn't know where to go."
"So you stayed home that night, pretending that nothing happened?"
Lulu nodded, surprised by how Auron was catching up so fast. "Besaid was the only place I could turn to. It was my only salvation to the guilt I was holding in my heart. It was the only place I knew I could get accepted, even though it was many miles away. People began wondering what happened to my father and my mother and I just told them that he had gone for a long hunt and no one suspected a thing. Except Kai. He knew what happened that night, but he kept the secret to himself and when I left that morning for Besaid, I said no good byes to him and went on my way. Kai must have been angry. He must have felt betrayed because he kept the secret just for me, just for his love and all I did was turn away from him." No longer able to handle it any longer, Lulu wept, burying her face in her hands.
Auron approached her this time and with courage, he wrapped his arms around her once again. "You were sixteen. You were scared and you didn't know what to do," he whispered in her ear.
Lulu said nothing and continued to wept.
"You weren't the only one who made mistakes in the past. I killed a bird with a slingshot and this bird was Jecht's favorite bird that he even brought in as a pet. He usually lets it out and it would come back to him and when it didn't come back, he was out for hours looking for it. I didn't tell him that I had accidentally killed his bird, instead I told him that he had found a female bird and flew away with his mate. Jecht grew up believing that."
The woman looked up with tear-stained face. "What does that have to do with anything? That's different."
Auron smirked. "Well, yeah it is, but I found it really funny really." Lulu's face went pale. "No, no, funny in a good way. The bird was not dead after all. I thought I killed a bird that looked like Jecht's when really it was just a stuffed toy that some kid put up on a tree out of boredom." He looked at her, grinning.
Lulu was confused. What was he trying to do? Make her laugh? "If you're trying to make me laugh, it's not working."
He shrugged. "Eh, it was worth a shot."
They stared at each other. Awkward moment #3...
And then-
They both began to laugh, something that the others would find odd for the two most serious people to do. Lulu has never laughed for years, not even when Wakka hit his head on a pole while trying to catch the blitzball, not even the moments when Tidus slipped and fell while trying to avoid water on the floor. Auron hasn't either. It was odd really to be laughing, yet it felt great. "My stomach is starting to hurt," Lulu spoke suddenly. That statement made them laugh harder.
Meanwhile, uknown to them, Clyre and Mira Mirkie stood outside, listening to their conversation. They heard them laugh. Clyred turned to his wife. "What are they laughing about?"
Mira shrugged. "Something about a bird....?"
"What's so funny about that?" Clyre said.
**************************
"Hey lady, that guy is the reason we're here right now!" she yelled, stepping in beside her. Cess looked at her and frowned. "Our friends are missing because of him!" Rikku fished out two bombs from her belt and glanced at the man staring at them with a smirk on his face. Cess sighed. She couldn't do anything about it now. No matter where she went, they were always there. Besides, she can always find time to create her potion while they distracted him.
"Wow, Cess I never knew you had friends!" Kai proclaimed, gripping his staff tighter. He was getting irritated with all of them. He wanted to kill them right away, but what was the fun in that? Torturing them would be much better so he could show Lulu that he would do 'anything' to get her back. All four of them glanced at him, their minds now set on their goal to kill him. Kai smirked. How brave of them to think they could kill him that easily with their pathetic weapons. "And such a brave group you've become! Bravo!"
"Shutup!" Cess yelled. "Hey, kid," she whispered behind her, not looking at who she was talking to.
No on answered, until Wakka turned to Rikku. "Rikku, she's talkin' to ya."
Rikkku furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the older woman. "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes."
The blond girl frowned. "I am not a girl..."
"It doesn't matter what you are, just as long as you listen to me. Could you distract him for a while?"
Rikku glanced at Wakka, then turned her attention back to Cess. "How do we know we can trust you? You ran away before... how do we know you won't run out on us again?"
"You'll know once I kill him," Cess replied simply.
"Whispering is not going to work...GIRL!" He lifted up his hand, yelling out Ice and aimed it straight towards Rikku's direction. Cess pushed her out of the way, the ice hitting her square in the shoulders. The woman cried out in pain, lifting up her sword and casting her own Ice his way. Kai dodged that easily than she had. Rikku broke her fall as the woman stumbled backwards.
"You look terrible Cess!" Kai exclaimed, laughing. He ran a hand through his dark hair and smirked.
Cess stood up quickly, ignoring her pain. "Now do you believe me?" she asked Rikku.
Rikku nodded.
"You are one of Auron's friends and getting you killed is the last thing I want to do." She glanced over her shoulder and gave the young girl a small smile, before turning her attention back to the madman.
Rikku smiled back. "I gotcha!" She fished another bomb and glanced at Wakka and Kimahri, who both noticed her. "Let's go help her out boys!" She gripped her bomb tightly in the palm of her hands and ran forward, followed by Wakka and Kimahri. Cess watched them as the three bravely faced Kai, with their weapons tightly clutched in their arms and hands, ready to finish off Kai. The woman quickly fished inside her trouser pocket and took out a potion. She then uncorked the green bottle and poured the content into another bottle, which was half full that she took out from another pocket. When she poured all of the contents into that bottle, she shook it, to mix both contents together and looked back up. The young girl managed to cut Kai across his right leg with her knife and when she attempted to make another slit across his other leg, Kai was able to use his Thunder, shocking the poor girl. Rikku closed her eyes in pain as she went slowly down on her knees. Kai lifted up his staff to cast another spell on the girl, but Wakka smashed his weapon against Kai's back, forcing the brown haired man to turn around to the Blitzball star.
"You know, you are really starting to irritate me!" Cess heard Kai say. While Kai's eyes weren't turned on her, Cess made her way cautiously around Kai and slowly opened the bottle. Rikku was able to recover from the pain and continued to attack Kai with all her might. Kimahri was slashing his spear close to Kai's face, but Kai dodged that quickly. Cess could feel her own wound conflicting pain from the previous attack. She placed a hand on her shoulder for support and ran quickly, yet silently all the way around until she saw Kai's back. With one swift move, Cess poured the content on his back. The green and yellow substance oozed down his back, like acid, eating away at his clothes and skin. Kai stumbled back in surprise and screamed in pain. He turned and saw her standing there with the bottle in her hand. "What-? What have you done to me?!"
Cess lifted up the bottle to show the man. "This is acid, Kai. Don't worry, it's not going to kill you. Though it will hurt for a couple of seconds, this substance will only trap you inside its shell. This is a special magic that captures ALL Black Mages used years ago when men wanted to capture these special Mages so they could take their power away. This special magic is called Stonewall. No one can break through it."
The yellow substance began to harden around Kai's body. Kai tried to move, but it was no use, the Stonewall had hardenes his legs and arms. It was spreading across his body and heading towards his face. "If you struggle, Kai, then it will spread faster," he heard Cess say. Kai looked up and noticed her smirking. No! It wasn't over! He couldn't go yet! He had to marry Lulu and be his wife! She belonged to him!
"No! I will not give up! I will marry Lulu! No one can stop me from marrying her! NO!" The substance now reached his face, enabling Kai to speak. Before long, the Stonewall had reached its destination, freezing the Black Mage altogether. Rikku, Wakka and Kimahri watched in amazement as the Stonewall completely stoned him.
"It's over," Cess spoke. "It's time to carry him back to prison." She turned to Kimahri and Wakka. "Will you two help me?"
Wakk and Kimahri nodded. They followed her to Kai and stood around him. Wakka put his arms around Kai's waist, while Kimahri reached for the legs. Cess decided on taking the bottom once the two lifted Kai off of his feet.
Suddenly, Kai began to glow. Kimahri and Wakka looked up shocked. Cess was in even more shock than the two. They quickly dropped him and ran to Rikku's side, away from Kai. The hard substance, for some unknown reason began to melt in front of their eyes. "No..." Cess murmured. "That's impossible!"
Wakka turned to her. "What are you talking about? What's happening?"
"He knows how to break through the Stonewall!" she whispered.
Rikku looked at her, shocked. "Say what?"
The substance began to glow brighter. It blinked twice around Kai and then it shattered into millions of pieces. All four covered their heads and their faces with their arms and when all the debris had landed, they turned their eyes back towards Kai. They heard his laugh and when they did, it ran chills down their spine.
Wakka looked at Cess. "I thought you said that no one could break through the Stonewall?"
Cess frowned. She knew it! She knew it was too good to be true. That spell that was given to her was useless all along. She believed everything the man said to her. How could she have been blind? She was betrayed! "NO!" She slammed a fist into her palm and gritted her teeth in irritation. "This cannot be! That man has deceived me!"
"What man?" Rikku asked, taking two bombs from her belt.
Kai stood there, smirking as he listened to their conversation.
"The one who gave me the spell. He said it would work! This cannot be!"
"Hah hah! I thought you would be smarter than that, Cess? I mean, you are, after all the one to assasinate me! So, do you like my little drama I did there? Hah hah! No magic will work against me, Cess. Even if you have Lulu with you, she will never be able to defeat me. I can live as long as I want and still find a chance to meet Lulu! Right now, I guess all you have to do is catch me if you want to kill me!" He backed away a few steps and looked below him, then smiled. "See ya!" He fell backwards off the cliff. All four gasped in shock as the Black Mage disappeared. Before they could decide on looking to make sure he was dead, the same large monster that attacked the Al Bhed ship whizzed pass them and flew into the air, with Kai riding on its back. He turned and smirked, saluting them and waving good bye and he disappeared behind the clouds.
"Damn! He got away again!" Wakka swore.
Cess frowned. "No matter, we will capture him from the ship," she said.
Rikku clipped off her PHS and dialed her father's number in the Al Bhed ship. "Hello, dad?" All she heard was a silent static, then it got louder and louder.
"Ri...kku...? We.... Stuck...."
"Hello?! Dad?! HELLO!"
She heard the same soft hiss and then, after that, she heard nothing. Rikku looked up and frowned. "No use, I can't reach them. The Al Bhed ship is probably in the middle of the storm and who knows how long we have to wait until we can reach them."
"Then we wait here," Cess commanded.
"Hey, who left you commander, ya?" Wakka asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"All right, what do you suppose we do, commander?" Cess said sarcastically, turning her head towards the tall man.
Wakka thought for a moment, then sighed. "All right...we stay."
***************************
Cid turned the PHS off and frowned. "Dammit! I can't get hold of Rikku and the others." He looked up and noticed the storm getting stronger, forcing the ship off balance for a few seconds. "Hold on!" He yelled through the noise, turning his head towards his crew. The ship titled into an angle, forcing the people on board to slip from their spot. Yuna held on tightly to Tidus, while he held on tightly to the safety handle on the wall. Cid grasped his arms around the seat of his pilot.
"What's going on?!" Tidus yelled, looking out the window. They saw nothing, but grew clouds and wind blowing them further away from their destination.
Cid looked over his shoulder at the young blond. "We must have flown into the wrong place at the wrong time. I had no idea Storm Season was this strong around these parts! Giron!" He patted Giron on the shoulder. The young man looked up at his Commander. "I want you to go lower, maybe try to avoid the storm clouds."
"It's impossible!" Giron yelled back. Something hard hit the metal at the side of the ship. Giron pointed to the Grid Map in front of him. "It says here the storm is much stronger at lower altitude that higher altitude. If we go down, then the ship will be carried away and we'll crash for sure!"
"Shit!" Cid swore under his tongue. It Rikku was here, she would be slapping him at the back of his head. He knew how much Rikku hated it when he swore. "Use the alternative then! We can push ourselves faster through the storm and stop just in time above the destination we want to be in! Use the Solar Rockets!"
"But, sir! If we use that, then we'll run out of fuel!"
"DO IT!" Cid hissed.
Giron gulped and nodded. "Activating Solar Rockets!" he yelled in Al Bhed. He reached out to push a round, green button on the console. The ship slowed down for a bit and after a clicking sound was heard, the ship suddenly went faster. Giron held tightly at the side of his seat, while Cid gripped his arms much harder around the seat. Yuna and Tidus were thrown off balance from the sudden impact and they landed on the ground hard, though Tidus was able to put his arm around Yuna's head to protect her from the fall. The two went flying about, Yuna screaming into Tidus' ears.
"Hang on, Yuna!" Tidus yelled. As they were falling, he looked up and reached out his hand to a bar that was nearby. He grabbed it quickly and managed to hang on, while Yuna fearly hung on to Tidus' waist. The ship suddenly went off course and changed direction. It abruptly began to dive down. Tidus and Yuna went flying the other direction.
"What's going on?! We're falling!" Yuna yelped, closing her eyes.
"Sir!" Giron yelled, quickly turning his head towards his leader. "The wind must have blown us off course while using the Rockets!"
"So? What does that mean?" Tidus yelled.
"It means..." Cid turned to all the crew members, especially even the two who were hanging on for dear life. "We're going to CRASH! HANG ON!!!!!"
Yuna and Tidus closed their eyes. Tidus wrapped his arms around his beloved and prayed to Yevon that somehow, somewhere, they were going to survive this. What was he thinking? He was going to survive this! Him and everyone else! They were going to survive this!
And, by the time they heard the crash of the ship, the last thing he and Yuna was saw was darkness.
**********************
They both felt it and it hit them like a slap on the face. He woke up with aching muscles. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He turned to see her there, their hands entwined, while her body was on the floor beside him. Tidus quickly went to her side and lifted her up. "Yuna!" he called. She responded by opening her eyes. To his relief, she was breathing right. He inhaled and wrapped his arms around her tightly, hoping it wasn't a dream and when he felt her there, he knew he wasn't.
Yuna looked around wearily. No one else was around. It was only darkness that surrounded them. "Where-? Where is everyone else?" She looked up into his eyes, hoping for an answer, but all Tidus could give her was a shrug and a simple, 'I don't know,' before he helped her up on her feet. The young Summoner brushed off dirt from her skirt and frowned. "We have to find them."
"Of course," Tidus replied. "But right now, we have to stay inside. The storm out there is much too dangerous for us to go looking for them."
The girl turned to look at him, curiously. "What are you talking about? Where are we?"
Tidus rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "We're kind of trapped inside a cave right now."
Yuna's eyes glowed. She turned her head back straight ahead and looked out. She could hear the howling wind outside. The hollow sound of their voices told her that they were indeed inside a cave. But what do they do now? What if the storm doesn't disappear? What if the others are out there? She found somewhere safe to sleep for the night."
The girl turned around to face him and nodded, smiling. "You're right. I shouldn't worry too much."
Tidus nodded. "Right! That's the spirit." He sat down on one of the large rocks around a small fire, indicating that someone must have been here already. He looked around, curiosity taking over him and moved his hand behind that rock. He felt something soft and small. The blond boy turned and lifted up the object and found a moogle doll. "Uh...Yuna?"
Yuna looked up from her concentration of prayer and focused her eyes on Tidus, holding a very familiar looking doll. "That's...!"
Tidus nodded, smiling and winking at her. "It's Lulu's doll! That means they were here before! That means they're alive!"
The girl smiled. "Yes they are!"
"See? I knew they would never abandon us like that! I knew they would have found a way to survive!"
"I knew it as well and...!"
A blast from the distance interrupted their conversation. Yuna and Tidus looked outside, a form of reaction that something out there blew up, even though they couldn't see anything. "What was that?!" Tidus asked, standing up, both his and Yuna's eyes still trained outdoors.
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Awkwardness...yes that was the word that kept her from telling everything more about herself. That night they talked about life. For hours on end, he told everything about himself, while she told of her story as a child. They were both connecting, but it wasn't what Lulu wanted. Auron was the type of man who would eventually listen to anyone, despite the context of the story- how boring or how pathetic it was. To her, he was just her friend. She learned everything about him, about him and Cess, about his family, though he had no one, because he was an orphan and how he became a swordsman. He told her that he was rasied by a swordsman who taught him how to defend by a sword and how to fight with it. She agreed with him how the man told Auron that the world was a tough place to live in. Reality itself was a difficult task to handle and it was even more difficult if you try to leave it. Both ways, we relied on reality, yet we hate it. That was why she liked the darkness. In the darkness, there was no worries. The darkness was her own reality... her own place of comfort. Some say that if you keep hiding away from the daylight, then there will be no other ways to live. To her the sun was a constant reminder of her life with Chappu. When he came along, he built a light around her that made her feel safe, and when he died, that wall crumbled right before her eyes, revealing the darkness again. Her ears remembered what she heard of Auron's words before they departed. "If you keep hiding from the darkness, then there will be no comfort for you for the rest of your life. You will only keep to yourself and hurt others around you."
She shook her head to herself. Lulu stared out the window. Auron was there, practicing his sword with a lonesome tree. Hurt others around me? she thought. She wasn't hurting anyone by keeping to herself. If she got out of it, then she will only hurt more people. Look at what's happening! The past has come to haunt her- the past that buried her emotions deep inside that she never wanted to see again has opened it up and look at the results! It hurt people! It was hurting her friends! She didn't want this! She didn't want the whole world to know the real her. She just wanted to live a normal life and be hidden from view. She glanced out the window again. Auron was making a parry with his sword, moving from one place to another as if the tree itself was attacking him. Auron was the first person to ever tell everything about his life. He was the only person who kept things hidden from everyone else...just like her. He was right about them being the same. They were the same, but she still admired him for being so strong. She was still weak. Still pathetic. Still the target of a man whom she betrayed all those years ago. Lulu looked behind her to the bed where he sat, while she sat in this very spot she was sitting in now, talking to him about her life.
"If I could go back in time," she told him. She looked up, noticing how attentive Auron was. This was the first time anyone has ever listened to her. "If I could go back in time, I would thank Kai for being so kind to me."
Auron had shook his head then. "You wouldn't want that. Destiny enabled you to say anything. Eventually, you and him would become enemies."
Lulu looked out the window, back to Auron, opening her mouth as if she was back to the time they were speaking to each other. "I knew that," she said outloud, remembering what she had replied to him then.
"Destiny is not about having to feel guilt. Destiny is having to accept everything that has been given to you."
Lulu sighed. "So it was Chappu's destiny to die and to leave me alone?" she asked, without any emotion. She knew she had to be strong. Crying was her weakness. She promised this time she would not shed a tear.
Auron didn't know how to answer that, she could tell, by the way he had his eyes wandering somewhere else.
"You don't have to answer that," Lulu continued. She couldn't let him...wouldn't...because she already knew the answer. Indeed, it was his destiny to die so she could leave the world she has known all her life and begin to journey to her own destiny...to be a Guardian to the young Summoner. Lulu said nothing. She felt him get up and leave the room without a word. Lulu hoped he would stay longer, but she knew she couldn't pursuade him. He was a man of independence and so was she.
"It was also my destiny to leave that place," Auron replied, he said before leaving the room completely.
Lulu watched the door closed, curiously. There was something else he didn't tell her, but it was not her job to ask.
Back to the present time, Lulu looked out the window again, expecting Auron to be parrying still with the tree, but to her surprise, he was just standing there, staring at the moon that stood bright into the night. She watched him. He looked mysterious, yet very handsome with his gaze towards the light of the moon. His green eyes gleamed with brightness, while hers hid from view behind the curtains. She watched him much longer, examining him, wondering what he was thinking about. There, even surprising herself, as he stood like a statue, she was able to read him for the first time, as if he was telling her outloud. He was in pain. The missing pieces which he failed to tell her were the pain and the suffering he beheld a long time ago that no longer existed now. It faded like the night when the sun is rising in the distance. He was thinking about his past. Suddenly, she noticed a single tear flow from his right eye, as he raised his sword again to parry with the tree once more. No other person would have noticed it and Auron might have thought no one did, but she did. She noticed the single drop that fell from his face and was the first water that connected with the dry earth. Lulu continued to watch him, noticing the change in his moves. He became more agitated and distraught before the tear flowed from his eyes. His concentration was nowhere on the tree, but on somewhere else. It was on his past.
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A small butterfly...
So innocent...
So free...
But when captured, it no longer has the innocence.
The innocence and the freedom has been raped from its wings...
It was chosen to be a prisoner in a world where there was no sunlight
"Am I that butterfly, mother?" her son asked, looking up with sad eyes.
She stroked her son's dark hair, the dark streaks fading into lighter brown as he grew. "You are...But if you let your emotions take over you, then you are no longer free. It was a mistake for me to marry him..."
"Mother?" he looked at her, curious.
Her eyes were glowing with anger and hate. "You and I are free now, my love. You and I can go out into the world and have a freedom of our own. Is that what you want?"
He smiled and nodded. "Yes."
The scene changed from darkness to sunlight. The moon became the light to those on Earth. He watched them take her away. He watched them pry her away from him. He didn't know what to do. He just watched...
And watched...
And watched...
Until the vehicle disappeared from his sight.
He wasn't an orphan. Those who took her away took him to a place. To his Uncle and Aunt, who cared nothing for him. His family was rich and all they wanted from him was the money, the millions of Gil that his father owned before he 'disappeared.' They abused him, threatened him, beat him, asking him where it was, but he didn't know. His father must have hidden it somewhere. But they insisted that he told them. For almost everyday, they pursued him, left him with no food, asking him many times where the money was. And when suspicions finally lay on them from their neighbours, they pretended to love him. He couldn't do anything, couldn't stand up for himself. They would point at him, whispering to each other that he was a demon child, a child of a woman who murdered her own husband. They were considered the 'perfect' parents for their orphaned nephew. So he ran away...
Away from them...
Away from the turmoil he was facing...
There he found 'him.'
The man who raised him as his own son.
The good man who did not care about his fortune.
He wanted to raise him as a good man as well.
And so he grew up to be one...
He grew up to be a swordsman like him. But he left too. He left him all alone. Master Roshu died in Auron's arms as an old man. But he stayed there, whispering that he would come back to him. "You promised!" he yelled to his teacher. He promised he would live. Auron grew up believing that, but when he was old enough to understand his Master's fate all those years ago, he had the courage to move on with his life, to find a new adventure.
And so he came to Besaid, a secluded Island where there were no worries. Auron left his painful memories back in Numra and the happy ones in Misham and allowed his life anew. He had forgotten about it...until now.
Auron frowned. He didn't want the past again. All that came back to him just by talking to Lulu. He was a butterfly, yes...but he was a butterfly caught in a spider's web- a prey ready to be devoured by the past. No matter how many times he slashed the tree with his sword, the images of him as a boy kept coming back. It was a mistake for him tell Lulu everything.
"Are you all right, Sir Auron?"
Surprised, Auron turned to find her standing there, all clean and fresh, dressed in her usual attired...all fixed. Even the belts that were considered gone were back around the skirt of her dress, but her hair still held no pins that kept it up. It flowed down her back like silk. Auron turned slowly and nodded. "I am fine. I see your clothes are back to normal."
Lulu smiled a rare smile and nodded. "Yes. I came out here to bring you this." In her hands, that Auron did not notice before, she held a black bag.
"What is it?" Auron asked, looking at the bag curiously.
"Your red coat that was tattered and torn has been fixed as well," Lulu explained.
Auron took the bag from her hand gently and opened it, to reveal his red coat, just as she had said, stitched and brought back to life. "Thank you," he said, putting it around him, hiding the white tank that revealed his muscles.
Lulu shook her head. "Do not thank me..." she said. She looked over her shoulder at the front door, as if someone was there. "Say thanks to Mira for fixing it for you."
"I will," he simply said, before turning away from her.
"Sir Auron..." Lulu attempted to take a step forward, but paused, unsure whether it was the right moment to comfort him. After all, he comforted her, so it was her turn to do so.
Auron paused, turning his head slightly towards her. "Yes?"
"If you need someone to talk to... you can talk to me," Lulu spoke with so much compassion that even she couldn't believe she was saying it.
Auron nodded slightly and turned his face back to the moon. "Thank you," he spoke deeply. "But I do not believe it is necessary." The last person he confided in was Cess and look where this brought them. More agony and pain for both of them. The more love they had for each other, the more secrets they said of each other. With those secrets, Cess and him became emotionally involved with one another. But that broke when his cold self broke him free from her grasp, a personality he has grown quite accustomed to. He didn't want to love Lulu. He didn't want. He might end up hurting her.
Lulu nodded with disappointment. "It was just an offer."
Auron nodded. "Then thank you again. When I need someone to confide in...I will turn to you," he said, turning to glance at her quickly.
Lulu smiled slightly and turned around to walk back into the house. Auron watched her from the corner of his eye and when she was gone, he sighed. He had lied to her. He would never confide in her. He chooses not to. If he did, he will hurt her. Because of the past, he had grown cold and unemotional. Would Lulu be able to handle a man like him? Auron lifted up his gigantic sword and stabbed the tree, cutting the tree in half. Dammit! What has gotten into him? He promised he would never get involved with another woman!
GoodGurl: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH another cliffhanger! Heh heh! Hey I know Auron isn't cold, but he's not the type of man who would be emotional either! So I think that would be considered cold. So, he thinks Lulu won't be able to stand him because of his personality? We'll see! Hah so you guys already know his past! Just my thoughts so don't blame me and its been a long time since I played Final Fantasy X! See ya! ;)
It's down to this
I've got to make this life make sense
Can anyone do what I've done
I missed life
I missed the colours of the world
Can anyone go where I am...
'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun again
Away from the sun again
Away From The Sun by 3 Doors Down
~...she knew that eventually, a new life would be born and eventually it would be her.
Chapter 8 - Away From The Sun
A long rest was what she needed, a place where she could just forget the past and look forward into the future, but here she was. She was back to the beginning, back to who she was, instead of looking forward to who she will truly become. She laid in bed, thinking, scratching every memory about that night away from her head, but try as she might, his face, that was once full of life, beamed in her mind- now pale with death and decay. There were times she wished she was never born or wished that 'he' never existed to ruin her life. Any of those would be good for her, then she wouldn't have to worry about anything. But she knew that eventually, a new life would be born and eventually it would be her.
She didn't know how long she cried in Auron's arms, nor how long she was wrapped in his embrace, but all she knew that she found comfort in him. Now he knew everything. There was no escaping from the truth anymore.
"Lulu?" The storm was dying away, but they could still hear it strong in the distance. All they could hear was each other, as they moved away from their long embrace. She looked up, embarrassed by her actions and stepped a little more away from him. A man with good intentions, who was gentle enough to embrace a woman with his arms, yet dangerous enough to kill a monster with his sword, stood there, staring at her. Sometimes, she could not understand Auron and his 'intentions,' on why he was doing what he was doing. Why was he a Guardian? Why was he wasting time and night to comfort her instead of sleeping during the storm?
Lulu turned away from him and looked out the window. The night was failing her this time. The moon had begun to glow brightly through the dark room and shining upon her hidden face, showing her true self. She missed living a normal life, where there were no worries to think about. She missed it all. She missed being with Yuna when she met her as a child- the Summoner, eleven, while she was at a youthful age of sixteen. Though only young, she held a frown that made her look older. People always told her not to frown, because she was still really young, but Lulu ignored that. She didn't care. That's who she was. "I apologize for that."
Auron shook his head slowly. He watched her form move from the window, away from the light and back into the darkness that masked everything about her and sat down on the bed. He wasn't sure what to do next. He stupidly stood there, unsure what to say at that point. He had to say something to her. He had to tell her that she didn't need to apologize. He took a deep breath, getting ready to say something, until she beat him there first.
"I guess you're wondering what I was talking about?" She looked up, her face still marked that frown that made her look even older than twenty-two. Lulu stood up and looked back out the window. The wind died too, just like her. "I have so many things that no one, not even Yuna and Wakka know about," she said, not giving Auron a chance to answer. "I had a father- a man who forced me to do everything by hitting me across the face or kicking me in the stomach. My mother couldn't do anything of course, because she was just too weak to fight him off. She tried everything she could to comfort me, but it didn't help me from the pain... emotionally. I was emotionally scarred this whole time and I knew that if I get away from this place, I would forget everything. I did... for a while, until Kai came for me. He brought back all the memories- all of me that I had forgotten all those years ago... ones that I wanted to forget."
The tall swordsman watched her face. There were no tears as she continued to explain her whole life story.
"Everything that I said... about self-defense, it was because I killed my father." The moment of truth. Lulu looked up and stared into Auron's eyes. Auron approached her slowly, but stopped just before Lulu felt more uncomfortable. He knew not to be close, even when she doesn't tell him. She turned her eyes away from him suddenly and once more put her eyes back out the window. The house was still there, of course. She explained to him everything, about what he did that night, about her using her powers and about her mother burying her father's body in the backyard. She also explained to him that her mother told her to run away... somewhere far away. "But I didn't know where to go."
"So you stayed home that night, pretending that nothing happened?"
Lulu nodded, surprised by how Auron was catching up so fast. "Besaid was the only place I could turn to. It was my only salvation to the guilt I was holding in my heart. It was the only place I knew I could get accepted, even though it was many miles away. People began wondering what happened to my father and my mother and I just told them that he had gone for a long hunt and no one suspected a thing. Except Kai. He knew what happened that night, but he kept the secret to himself and when I left that morning for Besaid, I said no good byes to him and went on my way. Kai must have been angry. He must have felt betrayed because he kept the secret just for me, just for his love and all I did was turn away from him." No longer able to handle it any longer, Lulu wept, burying her face in her hands.
Auron approached her this time and with courage, he wrapped his arms around her once again. "You were sixteen. You were scared and you didn't know what to do," he whispered in her ear.
Lulu said nothing and continued to wept.
"You weren't the only one who made mistakes in the past. I killed a bird with a slingshot and this bird was Jecht's favorite bird that he even brought in as a pet. He usually lets it out and it would come back to him and when it didn't come back, he was out for hours looking for it. I didn't tell him that I had accidentally killed his bird, instead I told him that he had found a female bird and flew away with his mate. Jecht grew up believing that."
The woman looked up with tear-stained face. "What does that have to do with anything? That's different."
Auron smirked. "Well, yeah it is, but I found it really funny really." Lulu's face went pale. "No, no, funny in a good way. The bird was not dead after all. I thought I killed a bird that looked like Jecht's when really it was just a stuffed toy that some kid put up on a tree out of boredom." He looked at her, grinning.
Lulu was confused. What was he trying to do? Make her laugh? "If you're trying to make me laugh, it's not working."
He shrugged. "Eh, it was worth a shot."
They stared at each other. Awkward moment #3...
And then-
They both began to laugh, something that the others would find odd for the two most serious people to do. Lulu has never laughed for years, not even when Wakka hit his head on a pole while trying to catch the blitzball, not even the moments when Tidus slipped and fell while trying to avoid water on the floor. Auron hasn't either. It was odd really to be laughing, yet it felt great. "My stomach is starting to hurt," Lulu spoke suddenly. That statement made them laugh harder.
Meanwhile, uknown to them, Clyre and Mira Mirkie stood outside, listening to their conversation. They heard them laugh. Clyred turned to his wife. "What are they laughing about?"
Mira shrugged. "Something about a bird....?"
"What's so funny about that?" Clyre said.
**************************
"Hey lady, that guy is the reason we're here right now!" she yelled, stepping in beside her. Cess looked at her and frowned. "Our friends are missing because of him!" Rikku fished out two bombs from her belt and glanced at the man staring at them with a smirk on his face. Cess sighed. She couldn't do anything about it now. No matter where she went, they were always there. Besides, she can always find time to create her potion while they distracted him.
"Wow, Cess I never knew you had friends!" Kai proclaimed, gripping his staff tighter. He was getting irritated with all of them. He wanted to kill them right away, but what was the fun in that? Torturing them would be much better so he could show Lulu that he would do 'anything' to get her back. All four of them glanced at him, their minds now set on their goal to kill him. Kai smirked. How brave of them to think they could kill him that easily with their pathetic weapons. "And such a brave group you've become! Bravo!"
"Shutup!" Cess yelled. "Hey, kid," she whispered behind her, not looking at who she was talking to.
No on answered, until Wakka turned to Rikku. "Rikku, she's talkin' to ya."
Rikkku furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the older woman. "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes."
The blond girl frowned. "I am not a girl..."
"It doesn't matter what you are, just as long as you listen to me. Could you distract him for a while?"
Rikku glanced at Wakka, then turned her attention back to Cess. "How do we know we can trust you? You ran away before... how do we know you won't run out on us again?"
"You'll know once I kill him," Cess replied simply.
"Whispering is not going to work...GIRL!" He lifted up his hand, yelling out Ice and aimed it straight towards Rikku's direction. Cess pushed her out of the way, the ice hitting her square in the shoulders. The woman cried out in pain, lifting up her sword and casting her own Ice his way. Kai dodged that easily than she had. Rikku broke her fall as the woman stumbled backwards.
"You look terrible Cess!" Kai exclaimed, laughing. He ran a hand through his dark hair and smirked.
Cess stood up quickly, ignoring her pain. "Now do you believe me?" she asked Rikku.
Rikku nodded.
"You are one of Auron's friends and getting you killed is the last thing I want to do." She glanced over her shoulder and gave the young girl a small smile, before turning her attention back to the madman.
Rikku smiled back. "I gotcha!" She fished another bomb and glanced at Wakka and Kimahri, who both noticed her. "Let's go help her out boys!" She gripped her bomb tightly in the palm of her hands and ran forward, followed by Wakka and Kimahri. Cess watched them as the three bravely faced Kai, with their weapons tightly clutched in their arms and hands, ready to finish off Kai. The woman quickly fished inside her trouser pocket and took out a potion. She then uncorked the green bottle and poured the content into another bottle, which was half full that she took out from another pocket. When she poured all of the contents into that bottle, she shook it, to mix both contents together and looked back up. The young girl managed to cut Kai across his right leg with her knife and when she attempted to make another slit across his other leg, Kai was able to use his Thunder, shocking the poor girl. Rikku closed her eyes in pain as she went slowly down on her knees. Kai lifted up his staff to cast another spell on the girl, but Wakka smashed his weapon against Kai's back, forcing the brown haired man to turn around to the Blitzball star.
"You know, you are really starting to irritate me!" Cess heard Kai say. While Kai's eyes weren't turned on her, Cess made her way cautiously around Kai and slowly opened the bottle. Rikku was able to recover from the pain and continued to attack Kai with all her might. Kimahri was slashing his spear close to Kai's face, but Kai dodged that quickly. Cess could feel her own wound conflicting pain from the previous attack. She placed a hand on her shoulder for support and ran quickly, yet silently all the way around until she saw Kai's back. With one swift move, Cess poured the content on his back. The green and yellow substance oozed down his back, like acid, eating away at his clothes and skin. Kai stumbled back in surprise and screamed in pain. He turned and saw her standing there with the bottle in her hand. "What-? What have you done to me?!"
Cess lifted up the bottle to show the man. "This is acid, Kai. Don't worry, it's not going to kill you. Though it will hurt for a couple of seconds, this substance will only trap you inside its shell. This is a special magic that captures ALL Black Mages used years ago when men wanted to capture these special Mages so they could take their power away. This special magic is called Stonewall. No one can break through it."
The yellow substance began to harden around Kai's body. Kai tried to move, but it was no use, the Stonewall had hardenes his legs and arms. It was spreading across his body and heading towards his face. "If you struggle, Kai, then it will spread faster," he heard Cess say. Kai looked up and noticed her smirking. No! It wasn't over! He couldn't go yet! He had to marry Lulu and be his wife! She belonged to him!
"No! I will not give up! I will marry Lulu! No one can stop me from marrying her! NO!" The substance now reached his face, enabling Kai to speak. Before long, the Stonewall had reached its destination, freezing the Black Mage altogether. Rikku, Wakka and Kimahri watched in amazement as the Stonewall completely stoned him.
"It's over," Cess spoke. "It's time to carry him back to prison." She turned to Kimahri and Wakka. "Will you two help me?"
Wakk and Kimahri nodded. They followed her to Kai and stood around him. Wakka put his arms around Kai's waist, while Kimahri reached for the legs. Cess decided on taking the bottom once the two lifted Kai off of his feet.
Suddenly, Kai began to glow. Kimahri and Wakka looked up shocked. Cess was in even more shock than the two. They quickly dropped him and ran to Rikku's side, away from Kai. The hard substance, for some unknown reason began to melt in front of their eyes. "No..." Cess murmured. "That's impossible!"
Wakka turned to her. "What are you talking about? What's happening?"
"He knows how to break through the Stonewall!" she whispered.
Rikku looked at her, shocked. "Say what?"
The substance began to glow brighter. It blinked twice around Kai and then it shattered into millions of pieces. All four covered their heads and their faces with their arms and when all the debris had landed, they turned their eyes back towards Kai. They heard his laugh and when they did, it ran chills down their spine.
Wakka looked at Cess. "I thought you said that no one could break through the Stonewall?"
Cess frowned. She knew it! She knew it was too good to be true. That spell that was given to her was useless all along. She believed everything the man said to her. How could she have been blind? She was betrayed! "NO!" She slammed a fist into her palm and gritted her teeth in irritation. "This cannot be! That man has deceived me!"
"What man?" Rikku asked, taking two bombs from her belt.
Kai stood there, smirking as he listened to their conversation.
"The one who gave me the spell. He said it would work! This cannot be!"
"Hah hah! I thought you would be smarter than that, Cess? I mean, you are, after all the one to assasinate me! So, do you like my little drama I did there? Hah hah! No magic will work against me, Cess. Even if you have Lulu with you, she will never be able to defeat me. I can live as long as I want and still find a chance to meet Lulu! Right now, I guess all you have to do is catch me if you want to kill me!" He backed away a few steps and looked below him, then smiled. "See ya!" He fell backwards off the cliff. All four gasped in shock as the Black Mage disappeared. Before they could decide on looking to make sure he was dead, the same large monster that attacked the Al Bhed ship whizzed pass them and flew into the air, with Kai riding on its back. He turned and smirked, saluting them and waving good bye and he disappeared behind the clouds.
"Damn! He got away again!" Wakka swore.
Cess frowned. "No matter, we will capture him from the ship," she said.
Rikku clipped off her PHS and dialed her father's number in the Al Bhed ship. "Hello, dad?" All she heard was a silent static, then it got louder and louder.
"Ri...kku...? We.... Stuck...."
"Hello?! Dad?! HELLO!"
She heard the same soft hiss and then, after that, she heard nothing. Rikku looked up and frowned. "No use, I can't reach them. The Al Bhed ship is probably in the middle of the storm and who knows how long we have to wait until we can reach them."
"Then we wait here," Cess commanded.
"Hey, who left you commander, ya?" Wakka asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"All right, what do you suppose we do, commander?" Cess said sarcastically, turning her head towards the tall man.
Wakka thought for a moment, then sighed. "All right...we stay."
***************************
Cid turned the PHS off and frowned. "Dammit! I can't get hold of Rikku and the others." He looked up and noticed the storm getting stronger, forcing the ship off balance for a few seconds. "Hold on!" He yelled through the noise, turning his head towards his crew. The ship titled into an angle, forcing the people on board to slip from their spot. Yuna held on tightly to Tidus, while he held on tightly to the safety handle on the wall. Cid grasped his arms around the seat of his pilot.
"What's going on?!" Tidus yelled, looking out the window. They saw nothing, but grew clouds and wind blowing them further away from their destination.
Cid looked over his shoulder at the young blond. "We must have flown into the wrong place at the wrong time. I had no idea Storm Season was this strong around these parts! Giron!" He patted Giron on the shoulder. The young man looked up at his Commander. "I want you to go lower, maybe try to avoid the storm clouds."
"It's impossible!" Giron yelled back. Something hard hit the metal at the side of the ship. Giron pointed to the Grid Map in front of him. "It says here the storm is much stronger at lower altitude that higher altitude. If we go down, then the ship will be carried away and we'll crash for sure!"
"Shit!" Cid swore under his tongue. It Rikku was here, she would be slapping him at the back of his head. He knew how much Rikku hated it when he swore. "Use the alternative then! We can push ourselves faster through the storm and stop just in time above the destination we want to be in! Use the Solar Rockets!"
"But, sir! If we use that, then we'll run out of fuel!"
"DO IT!" Cid hissed.
Giron gulped and nodded. "Activating Solar Rockets!" he yelled in Al Bhed. He reached out to push a round, green button on the console. The ship slowed down for a bit and after a clicking sound was heard, the ship suddenly went faster. Giron held tightly at the side of his seat, while Cid gripped his arms much harder around the seat. Yuna and Tidus were thrown off balance from the sudden impact and they landed on the ground hard, though Tidus was able to put his arm around Yuna's head to protect her from the fall. The two went flying about, Yuna screaming into Tidus' ears.
"Hang on, Yuna!" Tidus yelled. As they were falling, he looked up and reached out his hand to a bar that was nearby. He grabbed it quickly and managed to hang on, while Yuna fearly hung on to Tidus' waist. The ship suddenly went off course and changed direction. It abruptly began to dive down. Tidus and Yuna went flying the other direction.
"What's going on?! We're falling!" Yuna yelped, closing her eyes.
"Sir!" Giron yelled, quickly turning his head towards his leader. "The wind must have blown us off course while using the Rockets!"
"So? What does that mean?" Tidus yelled.
"It means..." Cid turned to all the crew members, especially even the two who were hanging on for dear life. "We're going to CRASH! HANG ON!!!!!"
Yuna and Tidus closed their eyes. Tidus wrapped his arms around his beloved and prayed to Yevon that somehow, somewhere, they were going to survive this. What was he thinking? He was going to survive this! Him and everyone else! They were going to survive this!
And, by the time they heard the crash of the ship, the last thing he and Yuna was saw was darkness.
**********************
They both felt it and it hit them like a slap on the face. He woke up with aching muscles. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He turned to see her there, their hands entwined, while her body was on the floor beside him. Tidus quickly went to her side and lifted her up. "Yuna!" he called. She responded by opening her eyes. To his relief, she was breathing right. He inhaled and wrapped his arms around her tightly, hoping it wasn't a dream and when he felt her there, he knew he wasn't.
Yuna looked around wearily. No one else was around. It was only darkness that surrounded them. "Where-? Where is everyone else?" She looked up into his eyes, hoping for an answer, but all Tidus could give her was a shrug and a simple, 'I don't know,' before he helped her up on her feet. The young Summoner brushed off dirt from her skirt and frowned. "We have to find them."
"Of course," Tidus replied. "But right now, we have to stay inside. The storm out there is much too dangerous for us to go looking for them."
The girl turned to look at him, curiously. "What are you talking about? Where are we?"
Tidus rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "We're kind of trapped inside a cave right now."
Yuna's eyes glowed. She turned her head back straight ahead and looked out. She could hear the howling wind outside. The hollow sound of their voices told her that they were indeed inside a cave. But what do they do now? What if the storm doesn't disappear? What if the others are out there? She found somewhere safe to sleep for the night."
The girl turned around to face him and nodded, smiling. "You're right. I shouldn't worry too much."
Tidus nodded. "Right! That's the spirit." He sat down on one of the large rocks around a small fire, indicating that someone must have been here already. He looked around, curiosity taking over him and moved his hand behind that rock. He felt something soft and small. The blond boy turned and lifted up the object and found a moogle doll. "Uh...Yuna?"
Yuna looked up from her concentration of prayer and focused her eyes on Tidus, holding a very familiar looking doll. "That's...!"
Tidus nodded, smiling and winking at her. "It's Lulu's doll! That means they were here before! That means they're alive!"
The girl smiled. "Yes they are!"
"See? I knew they would never abandon us like that! I knew they would have found a way to survive!"
"I knew it as well and...!"
A blast from the distance interrupted their conversation. Yuna and Tidus looked outside, a form of reaction that something out there blew up, even though they couldn't see anything. "What was that?!" Tidus asked, standing up, both his and Yuna's eyes still trained outdoors.
****************************
Awkwardness...yes that was the word that kept her from telling everything more about herself. That night they talked about life. For hours on end, he told everything about himself, while she told of her story as a child. They were both connecting, but it wasn't what Lulu wanted. Auron was the type of man who would eventually listen to anyone, despite the context of the story- how boring or how pathetic it was. To her, he was just her friend. She learned everything about him, about him and Cess, about his family, though he had no one, because he was an orphan and how he became a swordsman. He told her that he was rasied by a swordsman who taught him how to defend by a sword and how to fight with it. She agreed with him how the man told Auron that the world was a tough place to live in. Reality itself was a difficult task to handle and it was even more difficult if you try to leave it. Both ways, we relied on reality, yet we hate it. That was why she liked the darkness. In the darkness, there was no worries. The darkness was her own reality... her own place of comfort. Some say that if you keep hiding away from the daylight, then there will be no other ways to live. To her the sun was a constant reminder of her life with Chappu. When he came along, he built a light around her that made her feel safe, and when he died, that wall crumbled right before her eyes, revealing the darkness again. Her ears remembered what she heard of Auron's words before they departed. "If you keep hiding from the darkness, then there will be no comfort for you for the rest of your life. You will only keep to yourself and hurt others around you."
She shook her head to herself. Lulu stared out the window. Auron was there, practicing his sword with a lonesome tree. Hurt others around me? she thought. She wasn't hurting anyone by keeping to herself. If she got out of it, then she will only hurt more people. Look at what's happening! The past has come to haunt her- the past that buried her emotions deep inside that she never wanted to see again has opened it up and look at the results! It hurt people! It was hurting her friends! She didn't want this! She didn't want the whole world to know the real her. She just wanted to live a normal life and be hidden from view. She glanced out the window again. Auron was making a parry with his sword, moving from one place to another as if the tree itself was attacking him. Auron was the first person to ever tell everything about his life. He was the only person who kept things hidden from everyone else...just like her. He was right about them being the same. They were the same, but she still admired him for being so strong. She was still weak. Still pathetic. Still the target of a man whom she betrayed all those years ago. Lulu looked behind her to the bed where he sat, while she sat in this very spot she was sitting in now, talking to him about her life.
"If I could go back in time," she told him. She looked up, noticing how attentive Auron was. This was the first time anyone has ever listened to her. "If I could go back in time, I would thank Kai for being so kind to me."
Auron had shook his head then. "You wouldn't want that. Destiny enabled you to say anything. Eventually, you and him would become enemies."
Lulu looked out the window, back to Auron, opening her mouth as if she was back to the time they were speaking to each other. "I knew that," she said outloud, remembering what she had replied to him then.
"Destiny is not about having to feel guilt. Destiny is having to accept everything that has been given to you."
Lulu sighed. "So it was Chappu's destiny to die and to leave me alone?" she asked, without any emotion. She knew she had to be strong. Crying was her weakness. She promised this time she would not shed a tear.
Auron didn't know how to answer that, she could tell, by the way he had his eyes wandering somewhere else.
"You don't have to answer that," Lulu continued. She couldn't let him...wouldn't...because she already knew the answer. Indeed, it was his destiny to die so she could leave the world she has known all her life and begin to journey to her own destiny...to be a Guardian to the young Summoner. Lulu said nothing. She felt him get up and leave the room without a word. Lulu hoped he would stay longer, but she knew she couldn't pursuade him. He was a man of independence and so was she.
"It was also my destiny to leave that place," Auron replied, he said before leaving the room completely.
Lulu watched the door closed, curiously. There was something else he didn't tell her, but it was not her job to ask.
Back to the present time, Lulu looked out the window again, expecting Auron to be parrying still with the tree, but to her surprise, he was just standing there, staring at the moon that stood bright into the night. She watched him. He looked mysterious, yet very handsome with his gaze towards the light of the moon. His green eyes gleamed with brightness, while hers hid from view behind the curtains. She watched him much longer, examining him, wondering what he was thinking about. There, even surprising herself, as he stood like a statue, she was able to read him for the first time, as if he was telling her outloud. He was in pain. The missing pieces which he failed to tell her were the pain and the suffering he beheld a long time ago that no longer existed now. It faded like the night when the sun is rising in the distance. He was thinking about his past. Suddenly, she noticed a single tear flow from his right eye, as he raised his sword again to parry with the tree once more. No other person would have noticed it and Auron might have thought no one did, but she did. She noticed the single drop that fell from his face and was the first water that connected with the dry earth. Lulu continued to watch him, noticing the change in his moves. He became more agitated and distraught before the tear flowed from his eyes. His concentration was nowhere on the tree, but on somewhere else. It was on his past.
***************************
A small butterfly...
So innocent...
So free...
But when captured, it no longer has the innocence.
The innocence and the freedom has been raped from its wings...
It was chosen to be a prisoner in a world where there was no sunlight
"Am I that butterfly, mother?" her son asked, looking up with sad eyes.
She stroked her son's dark hair, the dark streaks fading into lighter brown as he grew. "You are...But if you let your emotions take over you, then you are no longer free. It was a mistake for me to marry him..."
"Mother?" he looked at her, curious.
Her eyes were glowing with anger and hate. "You and I are free now, my love. You and I can go out into the world and have a freedom of our own. Is that what you want?"
He smiled and nodded. "Yes."
The scene changed from darkness to sunlight. The moon became the light to those on Earth. He watched them take her away. He watched them pry her away from him. He didn't know what to do. He just watched...
And watched...
And watched...
Until the vehicle disappeared from his sight.
He wasn't an orphan. Those who took her away took him to a place. To his Uncle and Aunt, who cared nothing for him. His family was rich and all they wanted from him was the money, the millions of Gil that his father owned before he 'disappeared.' They abused him, threatened him, beat him, asking him where it was, but he didn't know. His father must have hidden it somewhere. But they insisted that he told them. For almost everyday, they pursued him, left him with no food, asking him many times where the money was. And when suspicions finally lay on them from their neighbours, they pretended to love him. He couldn't do anything, couldn't stand up for himself. They would point at him, whispering to each other that he was a demon child, a child of a woman who murdered her own husband. They were considered the 'perfect' parents for their orphaned nephew. So he ran away...
Away from them...
Away from the turmoil he was facing...
There he found 'him.'
The man who raised him as his own son.
The good man who did not care about his fortune.
He wanted to raise him as a good man as well.
And so he grew up to be one...
He grew up to be a swordsman like him. But he left too. He left him all alone. Master Roshu died in Auron's arms as an old man. But he stayed there, whispering that he would come back to him. "You promised!" he yelled to his teacher. He promised he would live. Auron grew up believing that, but when he was old enough to understand his Master's fate all those years ago, he had the courage to move on with his life, to find a new adventure.
And so he came to Besaid, a secluded Island where there were no worries. Auron left his painful memories back in Numra and the happy ones in Misham and allowed his life anew. He had forgotten about it...until now.
Auron frowned. He didn't want the past again. All that came back to him just by talking to Lulu. He was a butterfly, yes...but he was a butterfly caught in a spider's web- a prey ready to be devoured by the past. No matter how many times he slashed the tree with his sword, the images of him as a boy kept coming back. It was a mistake for him tell Lulu everything.
"Are you all right, Sir Auron?"
Surprised, Auron turned to find her standing there, all clean and fresh, dressed in her usual attired...all fixed. Even the belts that were considered gone were back around the skirt of her dress, but her hair still held no pins that kept it up. It flowed down her back like silk. Auron turned slowly and nodded. "I am fine. I see your clothes are back to normal."
Lulu smiled a rare smile and nodded. "Yes. I came out here to bring you this." In her hands, that Auron did not notice before, she held a black bag.
"What is it?" Auron asked, looking at the bag curiously.
"Your red coat that was tattered and torn has been fixed as well," Lulu explained.
Auron took the bag from her hand gently and opened it, to reveal his red coat, just as she had said, stitched and brought back to life. "Thank you," he said, putting it around him, hiding the white tank that revealed his muscles.
Lulu shook her head. "Do not thank me..." she said. She looked over her shoulder at the front door, as if someone was there. "Say thanks to Mira for fixing it for you."
"I will," he simply said, before turning away from her.
"Sir Auron..." Lulu attempted to take a step forward, but paused, unsure whether it was the right moment to comfort him. After all, he comforted her, so it was her turn to do so.
Auron paused, turning his head slightly towards her. "Yes?"
"If you need someone to talk to... you can talk to me," Lulu spoke with so much compassion that even she couldn't believe she was saying it.
Auron nodded slightly and turned his face back to the moon. "Thank you," he spoke deeply. "But I do not believe it is necessary." The last person he confided in was Cess and look where this brought them. More agony and pain for both of them. The more love they had for each other, the more secrets they said of each other. With those secrets, Cess and him became emotionally involved with one another. But that broke when his cold self broke him free from her grasp, a personality he has grown quite accustomed to. He didn't want to love Lulu. He didn't want. He might end up hurting her.
Lulu nodded with disappointment. "It was just an offer."
Auron nodded. "Then thank you again. When I need someone to confide in...I will turn to you," he said, turning to glance at her quickly.
Lulu smiled slightly and turned around to walk back into the house. Auron watched her from the corner of his eye and when she was gone, he sighed. He had lied to her. He would never confide in her. He chooses not to. If he did, he will hurt her. Because of the past, he had grown cold and unemotional. Would Lulu be able to handle a man like him? Auron lifted up his gigantic sword and stabbed the tree, cutting the tree in half. Dammit! What has gotten into him? He promised he would never get involved with another woman!
GoodGurl: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH another cliffhanger! Heh heh! Hey I know Auron isn't cold, but he's not the type of man who would be emotional either! So I think that would be considered cold. So, he thinks Lulu won't be able to stand him because of his personality? We'll see! Hah so you guys already know his past! Just my thoughts so don't blame me and its been a long time since I played Final Fantasy X! See ya! ;)
