Notes: Ok, it's official; I'm in a complete FFX obsession. Not only did I buy Tidus' jewelry set, but also I decided to cosplay as Lulu AND made an FFX music video to "Losing my Religion" by REM. Yep, just can't wait to see what FFX-2 brings in November.
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Chapter 6 - Mirror to the Heart
Auron watched through borrowed eyes as Yuna flopped down on the grassy hill the group was standing on. She looked up to the sunny skies and smiled like she hadn't a care in the world, one of those innocent smiles that had been absent from her face ever since she became devoted to her task as summoner. Tidus joined her and that smile slowly turned from sheer happiness to a mixture of joy and love. The guardian watched as his summoner curled up next to Jecht's son; he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Yuna this happy. His odd inner monologue was being prompted by his desire to cut himself off from what his physical being was occupied with at the present moment. Chappu was apparently a very physical person in his life, and was making no attempt to change that fact even while using Auron's form. Auron had no business with how often he had his arms wrapped about Lulu's shoulders, or otherwise, he tried to obscure those feelings from his mind by keeping a constant dialogue running with himself about what else was going on with the party.
Kihmari seemed rather unconcerned with everything, neither Tidus and Yuna's frolicking nor Lulu and the supposed Chappu's innocent groping could annoy him. As long as Yuna was safe, he was pleased. Wakka on the other hand looked absolutely miserable, not only from lack of sleep but also from the inner turmoil he was going through with the return of Chappu. He had on his best carefree grin, however, in an attempt to hide it all, and so far it had worked pretty well. Now there was Rikku, the only person left that was semi-aware of the situation. She at least knew that it wasn't Chappu that was feeling up on Lulu every five seconds. Unfortunately, she thought that Lulu's suitor was himself...and apparently she was none too pleased that no one believed her. Luckily, Auron believed that was all to change that night once they were settled down. The plan was to manifest his spirit outside the body he currently shared with Chappu's spirit and communicate to Rikku in some way. He had a vague idea of how to will himself out of the current shell, but whether or not he could communicate without a vessel of some sort was another problem. Luckily, it was a new moon that night and the pull of the Moonflow wouldn't be as strong as it normally was, so out of body travel would be much less strenuous.
The nightly campfire was down to a few glowing embers as the party retired to their respective tents. Tidus and Wakka were lucky enough to have procured an extra tent from a nearby merchant so that Lulu and Chappu could have the one to themselves. As Chappu's focus moved on to other, more pressing matters, Auron took that opportunity to break free from the body and pass his spirit outside the tent. Unseen by all, he moved silently to the girls' tent where he found Yuna already asleep and Rikku sitting up taking the feather ornaments from her hair. He paused a moment as she shook it loose, letting the soft blonde strands float about her face. It was this moment that he saw a new side of Rikku. She was no longer the hyperactive child of the group; she had a more mature look to her. Suddenly, Auron realized what he was seeing; the look of worry that had gradually taken over her expression had made her lose her childlike innocence. It was an interesting development and it disturbed him in a way he couldn't quite put a finger on. Not as if he had one to put on anything at the moment, as his free spirit still floated inside the tent. When he finally came to realize that he couldn't communicate to her in his current state, he did the only thing he could think of. Slowly, he reached out and touched her shoulder while imagining he had a hand to do so. She shivered a bit and lay down to cover up, letting herself drift off quickly into sleep. He concentrated hard on assuming a physical form, any sort of body that could alert her to his presence. Auron's spirit surrounded her sleeping figure, lightly shaking her and trying to arouse any sort of response. Finally, he leaned his 'face' toward hers and attempted to whisper in her ear, but without a solid vehicle to come from, the words were lost to the wind.
Suddenly, his spirit felt a pull toward her body, similar to the Moonflow, but less aggressive, more of an invitation rather than a demand. Rikku shifted slightly and mumbled in her slumber. A dream. She had entered the state of dreaming and Auron knew that this was the time when humans were most open to outside influence of the mind. He slowly moved toward her, imagining laying his body next to hers as his will began to merge with her sleeping mind. Suddenly, he found himself back in a physical form identical to his own, standing in Macalania Woods. He walked through the forest to find Rikku sitting on a fallen tree trunk, looking quite peaceful. Auron walked over and sat next to her, placing a hand on either shoulder and turning her gaze toward him. "Rikku, you have to listen to me, this is very important. I-" She put a finger to his lips and silenced him, "I know...you don't have to say anything. I feel the same way as you do..." With that, she leaned over and kissed him gently. Shocked, he sat there for a second before recovering his original purpose, "Look, I didn't want to interfere with whatever dream you were having, but you must listen. I am Auron; that Auron that you see all over Lulu, that is Chappu, or rather, his spirit. His desire to return to Lulu and his brother caused his spirit to become restless. He chose my body to possess and he's using it now to be with Lulu and Wakka. I don't know how long he plans on keeping this up, but until I figure out how to get control of my body again, you have to believe that it's his spirit controlling it, and I have nothing to do with it." Rikku looked lost, "So, it's not you with Lulu? It really is that Chappy guy or whatever? You're not in love with her?" Auron shook his head, "No, it's Chappu's spirit that controls my body...you just can't see what the others do because you never met him. He's manipulating my body to show his own form, but only those that remember what he look like will see it that way. You don't see him, you see me, and that's why you're the only person who can help. You just have to keep remembering that I'm not the one making the moves on Lulu, I've never held her in that regard."
Rikku smiled a little and hugged him, "I believe you Auron...," she mumbled close to his ear. He sat there, not knowing what to do. It was her dream, wasn't it? Not reality...but then again, they say that dreams are sometimes windows into your true desire. Did Rikku really feel this way about him, or was it just because he happened to have intruded on a romantic dream? Either way, it made his opinion of her change more and more, especially as he returned the gesture by placing his arms about her shoulders and pulling her a little closer. Suddenly, he was violently slammed back out into the real world as her dream sequence ended and she stirred, shifting almost out of slumber entirely. His spirit manifested itself outside the tent to find a huge Chimera Brain rampaging through the tents. Kihmari, always on guard, was standing by with glaive in hand, ready to attack as Wakka and Tidus slept on, unaware of the danger. Auron looked back and found a half-asleep Rikku emerging with a near awake Yuna in tow. As for Lulu and Chappu, he didn't want to think about what he'd be interrupting if he returned to his body.
Kihmari did his best to hold the Chimera off as Rikku and Yuna groggily tried to equip themselves. Auron looked around for anything with any sort of fighting ability to possess...and found Lulu's moogle doll. Some sort of spell had enchanted it to life and it had a powerful handle on the black arts. It was also his only animate choice of attack at the moment, so he moved closer and took up residence in the soulless figure. Immediately, he snapped into motion and cast Fira on the fiend, causing it to reel in anger and charge. He was tossed into the air, but landed harmlessly as the soft, plushy body couldn't be damaged by a mere flight up and down. He righted his new form and cast a deadly Thundaga bolt to its backside, sending the Chimera running away in pain. The other three looked down at the small white doll in wonder. They had seen it move on its own before, but they always thought it was Lulu who controlled it, and she was preoccupied at the moment. Rikku walked over and picked it up, "I think...it wanted to protect us..." she muttered as she followed Yuna back into the tent. Kihmari returned to his guard as the girls went back to sleep, a newly animated moogle Auron tucked safely in the sleeping bag next to Rikku.
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Aww, ain't that last scene just the cutest picture?
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Chapter 6 - Mirror to the Heart
Auron watched through borrowed eyes as Yuna flopped down on the grassy hill the group was standing on. She looked up to the sunny skies and smiled like she hadn't a care in the world, one of those innocent smiles that had been absent from her face ever since she became devoted to her task as summoner. Tidus joined her and that smile slowly turned from sheer happiness to a mixture of joy and love. The guardian watched as his summoner curled up next to Jecht's son; he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Yuna this happy. His odd inner monologue was being prompted by his desire to cut himself off from what his physical being was occupied with at the present moment. Chappu was apparently a very physical person in his life, and was making no attempt to change that fact even while using Auron's form. Auron had no business with how often he had his arms wrapped about Lulu's shoulders, or otherwise, he tried to obscure those feelings from his mind by keeping a constant dialogue running with himself about what else was going on with the party.
Kihmari seemed rather unconcerned with everything, neither Tidus and Yuna's frolicking nor Lulu and the supposed Chappu's innocent groping could annoy him. As long as Yuna was safe, he was pleased. Wakka on the other hand looked absolutely miserable, not only from lack of sleep but also from the inner turmoil he was going through with the return of Chappu. He had on his best carefree grin, however, in an attempt to hide it all, and so far it had worked pretty well. Now there was Rikku, the only person left that was semi-aware of the situation. She at least knew that it wasn't Chappu that was feeling up on Lulu every five seconds. Unfortunately, she thought that Lulu's suitor was himself...and apparently she was none too pleased that no one believed her. Luckily, Auron believed that was all to change that night once they were settled down. The plan was to manifest his spirit outside the body he currently shared with Chappu's spirit and communicate to Rikku in some way. He had a vague idea of how to will himself out of the current shell, but whether or not he could communicate without a vessel of some sort was another problem. Luckily, it was a new moon that night and the pull of the Moonflow wouldn't be as strong as it normally was, so out of body travel would be much less strenuous.
The nightly campfire was down to a few glowing embers as the party retired to their respective tents. Tidus and Wakka were lucky enough to have procured an extra tent from a nearby merchant so that Lulu and Chappu could have the one to themselves. As Chappu's focus moved on to other, more pressing matters, Auron took that opportunity to break free from the body and pass his spirit outside the tent. Unseen by all, he moved silently to the girls' tent where he found Yuna already asleep and Rikku sitting up taking the feather ornaments from her hair. He paused a moment as she shook it loose, letting the soft blonde strands float about her face. It was this moment that he saw a new side of Rikku. She was no longer the hyperactive child of the group; she had a more mature look to her. Suddenly, Auron realized what he was seeing; the look of worry that had gradually taken over her expression had made her lose her childlike innocence. It was an interesting development and it disturbed him in a way he couldn't quite put a finger on. Not as if he had one to put on anything at the moment, as his free spirit still floated inside the tent. When he finally came to realize that he couldn't communicate to her in his current state, he did the only thing he could think of. Slowly, he reached out and touched her shoulder while imagining he had a hand to do so. She shivered a bit and lay down to cover up, letting herself drift off quickly into sleep. He concentrated hard on assuming a physical form, any sort of body that could alert her to his presence. Auron's spirit surrounded her sleeping figure, lightly shaking her and trying to arouse any sort of response. Finally, he leaned his 'face' toward hers and attempted to whisper in her ear, but without a solid vehicle to come from, the words were lost to the wind.
Suddenly, his spirit felt a pull toward her body, similar to the Moonflow, but less aggressive, more of an invitation rather than a demand. Rikku shifted slightly and mumbled in her slumber. A dream. She had entered the state of dreaming and Auron knew that this was the time when humans were most open to outside influence of the mind. He slowly moved toward her, imagining laying his body next to hers as his will began to merge with her sleeping mind. Suddenly, he found himself back in a physical form identical to his own, standing in Macalania Woods. He walked through the forest to find Rikku sitting on a fallen tree trunk, looking quite peaceful. Auron walked over and sat next to her, placing a hand on either shoulder and turning her gaze toward him. "Rikku, you have to listen to me, this is very important. I-" She put a finger to his lips and silenced him, "I know...you don't have to say anything. I feel the same way as you do..." With that, she leaned over and kissed him gently. Shocked, he sat there for a second before recovering his original purpose, "Look, I didn't want to interfere with whatever dream you were having, but you must listen. I am Auron; that Auron that you see all over Lulu, that is Chappu, or rather, his spirit. His desire to return to Lulu and his brother caused his spirit to become restless. He chose my body to possess and he's using it now to be with Lulu and Wakka. I don't know how long he plans on keeping this up, but until I figure out how to get control of my body again, you have to believe that it's his spirit controlling it, and I have nothing to do with it." Rikku looked lost, "So, it's not you with Lulu? It really is that Chappy guy or whatever? You're not in love with her?" Auron shook his head, "No, it's Chappu's spirit that controls my body...you just can't see what the others do because you never met him. He's manipulating my body to show his own form, but only those that remember what he look like will see it that way. You don't see him, you see me, and that's why you're the only person who can help. You just have to keep remembering that I'm not the one making the moves on Lulu, I've never held her in that regard."
Rikku smiled a little and hugged him, "I believe you Auron...," she mumbled close to his ear. He sat there, not knowing what to do. It was her dream, wasn't it? Not reality...but then again, they say that dreams are sometimes windows into your true desire. Did Rikku really feel this way about him, or was it just because he happened to have intruded on a romantic dream? Either way, it made his opinion of her change more and more, especially as he returned the gesture by placing his arms about her shoulders and pulling her a little closer. Suddenly, he was violently slammed back out into the real world as her dream sequence ended and she stirred, shifting almost out of slumber entirely. His spirit manifested itself outside the tent to find a huge Chimera Brain rampaging through the tents. Kihmari, always on guard, was standing by with glaive in hand, ready to attack as Wakka and Tidus slept on, unaware of the danger. Auron looked back and found a half-asleep Rikku emerging with a near awake Yuna in tow. As for Lulu and Chappu, he didn't want to think about what he'd be interrupting if he returned to his body.
Kihmari did his best to hold the Chimera off as Rikku and Yuna groggily tried to equip themselves. Auron looked around for anything with any sort of fighting ability to possess...and found Lulu's moogle doll. Some sort of spell had enchanted it to life and it had a powerful handle on the black arts. It was also his only animate choice of attack at the moment, so he moved closer and took up residence in the soulless figure. Immediately, he snapped into motion and cast Fira on the fiend, causing it to reel in anger and charge. He was tossed into the air, but landed harmlessly as the soft, plushy body couldn't be damaged by a mere flight up and down. He righted his new form and cast a deadly Thundaga bolt to its backside, sending the Chimera running away in pain. The other three looked down at the small white doll in wonder. They had seen it move on its own before, but they always thought it was Lulu who controlled it, and she was preoccupied at the moment. Rikku walked over and picked it up, "I think...it wanted to protect us..." she muttered as she followed Yuna back into the tent. Kihmari returned to his guard as the girls went back to sleep, a newly animated moogle Auron tucked safely in the sleeping bag next to Rikku.
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Aww, ain't that last scene just the cutest picture?