DISCLAIMER:  I do not own FFX, FFX-2 or any of the characters and locations affiliated with it.  I do, however, own the story "Silver Wings" and all references to dialogue not originated by Square-Enix.

DO NOT COPY MY STORIES!!

If anyone wants to post this story or "Silver Wings" anywhere else, please just ASK and then give me credit for writing it.  Email akksgurl@yahoo.com with any requests.

Author's Notes:  

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SILVER WINGS 2: 1000 CONFESSIONS

by akksgurl

Chapter Seventeen: Lies, Deceit, and a Headache in the Morning

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"So, are you happy to see me?" Lenne asked again, a flirtatious grin forming on her face.  Shuyin didn't know how to respond.  He hadn't expected this.  He thought that she'd be furious with him after the do-gooders told her of his plan.  He figured she'd come to stop him, not join him!

Shuyin saw in her eyes the love that he'd missed for 1000 years and he grinned broadly, "Absolutely." He replied, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, bringing her to him for a tight hug.  For a moment Shuyin thought he felt resistance in her small body, but Lenne quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips tenderly. 

"I love you." She whispered into his ear, trailing her tongue tenderly over the lobe. 

"I love you too." He replied, still holding on tightly to her.  He didn't want to ever let her go again and the couple stood together, wrapped in each others arms for several minutes before Lenne broke the connection.

"So, what can I do to help with this plan of yours?" she asked, sitting down on the dock where Shuyin had just been.  She lowered the zipper on her boots and removed them, letting her bare feet play in the clear waters that surrounded Zanarkand.

Shuyin joined her, putting an arm over her shoulders to pull her closer to him, "The plan doesn't even matter now.  You're here and that's what I wanted." He glanced at her and gave her a half-smile, "I'm just surprised that you're not angry at me."

Lenne laughed, "I was, trust me." she responded, "but I'm not anymore."

"How did you manage to get away from them?"

She seemed to struggle for an answer to that question.  It was almost as if she had rehearsed what she was going to say to him, and this question hadn't been practiced, "Um…well, that was the easy part." She said, "See…uh…I just told them that I was gonna…uh…find you and stop you.  They believed me."

He raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.  Something didn't sound right about that.  Those do-gooders wouldn't have let her just wander off by herself – especially not in Yuna's body, "Are you sure they aren't going to come looking for you?"

"How?" asked Lenne, "They don't know where I am."

Shuyin rose and walked quickly over to the boat she had arrived in.  Something in his gut was telling him that everything wasn't as it seemed.  Nobody – especially that Nooj person – would have let Lenne leave without making sure they knew where she was going.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.  Her voice sounded almost panicked to Shuyin's ears.  Was she hiding something or was she just concerned that he'd hurt himself by falling out of the boat? 

"I'm not sure yet." He replied, and he wasn't lying.  He didn't know what he was looking for.  Maybe it was a tracking device, maybe it was just Gippal hiding under a blanket.  He just knew that somehow she was being tracked.  The sun glittered on a small object partially hidden under a small board and he reached down to grasp it.  It looked like one of that whiz kid's commspheres and Shuyin saw a small tracking device on top of it.  He lifted it in the air for Lenne to see, "They were tracking you." He called to her, "I knew they wouldn't let you go so easily."

"What are you going to do with it?" she called back, taking a step toward him on the pier.

Shuyin thought for a moment before winding up and throwing the sphere into the farthest reaches of the water, "Let them track you down with the fish." He said with a smile, "I won't let them find us."

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"I've lost the signal to Lenne." Shinra announced to the room as he punched into the computer software that was set up in the conference room, "It looks like the comsphere was dropped into the water."

"Or thrown…" whispered Gippal, placing a tender hand on Rikku's shoulder, "I told you we shouldn't have let her go by herself.  What if she decided to join him?"

Rikku glared at him and shrugged his hand off, "Yunie…er…Lennie wouldn't do that." She replied smugly, "Besides, she has that radio on her.  She'll call in when she can."

"And what if she doesn't, Rikku?  We've got to think ahead!" Gippal retorted, following Rikku as the thin female stormed out of the room and down the hallway.  Opening the third door on the right, Rikku entered and slammed it back into Gippal's face.  Not to be put off, Gippal opened the door, "We're not finished!"

Her shriek practically rendered him deaf, "Get out Gippal!  This is the Ladies' Room!"

Gippal blushed a little at the realization that it was indeed the Ladies' Room.  Luckily there were no other females inside.  Gaining all of his courage, Gippal stood up straight and cleared his throat, "We're going to finish this discussion now."

She glared at him again, "Suit yourself." She replied, shuffling quickly into a stall and slamming it shut.  The sound reverberated  along the walls, "I'm not coming out until you leave."

He laughed, "Do you always hide from people on a toilet?"

Her green eyes peeked out from the crack between the door and the wall, "Maybe…what's it to you?"

"Come out of there, Rikku." Gippal ordered but when the female adamantely refused, he forced the door open and walked brazenly into the stall with her.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" she cried, pounding her hands on his chest until he grabbed her wrists and forced them down to her sides.  Without a word, Gippal pressed his lips against hers in a kiss that was gentle in its intensity.  He felt her relax almost instantly in his arms as he deepened the kiss, turning his head so that he had more access to her long neck.

"Gippal…" he heard her moan, but he was too focused on nipping at her collarbone to listen until she said it more firmly and accompanied it by her hands pushing him away, "Stop, Gippal."

He frowned and backed off, "Okay." He said, biting his lower lip in the annoying habit he'd had since childhood, "I guess you don't want me anymore like you did the other day."

Rikku laughed and wiggled past him and walked toward the exit of the ladies' room, "Gippal, when I was interested last time, were we in a bathroom?"

"No." replied Gippal with a little smile.

"Exactly." She answered with a wink as she let the door slam shut behind her.

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Lying with her in his arms again was a dream come true for Shuyin.  He and Lenne had taken shelter in the remnants of his house after a brief rainstorm had struck Zanarkand.  It was amazing how it felt as though nothing had changed when in reality, everything had changed.  Even the her steady breathing felt different coming out of Yuna's body, b ut he knew in his heart it was Lenne.  He'd know her anywhere.

"What are you thinking about, Lennie?" he whispers to her as he watches a few stray raindrops fall onto the windowsill. 

"Just about the last time we were here together."

"I'm going back to the frontlines tomorrow, Shu, and you can't stop me!"

"I'll just end up going after you again!"

"You just don't understand."

"You're right.  I don't understand!  I don't understand why you'll put your life at risk again!"

"I'm leaving in the morning.  Nothing you can say or do is going to stop me.  I bought this for you a few weeks ago.  It's the Zanarkand Abes symbol but it's also a locket.  I put a picture of us inside.  That way you'll have me with you even when I'm far away."

"Lenne…I could activate the machina that Bevelle has and…"

"Stop it!  I don't want to hear it anymore, Shuyin!  I understand that you don't want me to go, but the fact is I am going!  Get used to it!"

Shuyin frowned, "Don't think about that now.  We're together again and that's all that matters."

"If I hadn't been so stubborn…"

"If I hadn't been so stupid…"

Lenne turned slightly to face him, running a finger along his jawline, "I love you.  No matter what happens, never forget that."

Shuyin didn't want this intense conversation to ruin their time together.  Unhooking his arms from around her, Shuyin rose from the bed and wandered toward the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked. 

"I was going to see if I could find us something to eat.  I haven't checked the kitchen on the Celsius yet and if that fails then I'll just have to try my hand at fishing."

Lenne laughed, "Oh that should be interesting."

He stuck his tongue out in a playful manner, "Well then maybe I'll just find myself some food…"

She jumped up and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I'm sorry.  I'll be a good girl." She said with a seductive wink before wandering back to the bed.

"I'll be back soon." Shuyin said with a laugh.  It was strange holding Yuna's body but knowing that Lenne was the one that was feeling his touch.  It was also strange how quiet Tidus had been.  Shuyin figured he must have done one hell of a job of sending him back to sleep. 

As he made his way down Zanarkand's main street toward the Celsius, he tried to decide whether he wanted Lenne to join him when he talked to the fayth or not.  He knew that Bruttam would be happy to talk to Lenne, but he also thought that Bruttam might be less than pleased with what Shuyin was doing and by waving his near success in the fayth's face it might affect Bruttam's interest in helping him complete his plan.

Luck was on his side when he entered the Celsius kitchen.  Food was readily available so Shuyin grabbed a nearby box and threw various types and quantities of food into it, figuring that he and Lenne could decide what they wanted and then build a campfire outside to cook it.  He'd never been much into eating outside, but with Lenne by his side Shuyin felt like he could do anything.

It had begun to rain a little by the time he made it back to the road and Shuyin took off in a gallop toward his house and his Lenne.  As he opened the door, he almost called out to her but a sound from the bedroom stopped him.  Placing the box of food down, he closed the door quietly and crept to the room.

"He doesn't suspect anything."

"Well where is he now?"

Shuyin felt his heart harden as he recognized the voices.  His Lennie was talking to…Rikku.  He gripped his sword as he crept closer to the door which was opened just enough to let him see inside. 

"He's out getting food."

There was no one in the room with her and Shuyin thought for a moment he was losing his mind until he saw the radio that she held in her hand.  Anger boiled up inside of his stomach. 

"Gippal's anxious to end this, Lennie.  Should we send in the troops now?"

Lenne shook her head at her invisible partner, "No, not yet.  I still haven't found out what his exact plan is yet.  We need to know just in case he escapes."

"When do you think you'll know?"

"Soon, I hope." She replied, "But…I just hate doing this to him Rikku.  No matter how much he deserves it."

"I understand."

Shuyin didn't know what he was going to do.  He didn't want to hurt her.  The thought of hurting her made his gut ache, but what else was he going to do?  She was out to destroy him.  She had to be stopped.  His plan was to live happily ever after with Lenne, but his main goal was another chance at his life.  He wanted Lenne with him, but if that didn't work out there was nothing he could do about it. 

"I'll call back in later.  He'll be back soon."

"Okay.  We'll be waiting for your next call."

Shuyin knew he had to do something and quickly as he watched Lenne take the tiny radio and hide it in a dresser drawer.  He quietly pulled the sword out of its holster by his side and grip the handle, trying to think of the fastest way to kill her so that she'd feel little pain. 

But…

This was his Lennie.  He couldn't kill her.  He loved her too much.

Getting a sudden idea, Shuyin flipped the sword around so that he gripped the blade, letting it dig into his palms until it drew blood.  He carefully opened the door with his foot until Lenne turned around and smiled, "Hi there…" she began until she saw the blood dripping from his palms and the teary and painful look in his eyes, "Shu…what…"

"I heard you…" was all he said but it was enough because Lenne's eyes opened in sudden shock and fear, "I trusted you.   How could you do this to me?"

"Shu…I can explain." Lenne said, holding her hands up as it to ward off the impending attack.

"I love you Lennie." He said, "Really, I do, but I don't want to hear your excuses." And with a flick of his wrists, Shuyin slammed the handle of the sword against her skull.  Lenne's eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed, unconscious, on the floor. 

Reaching for the bedsheets, Shuyin tied her wrists to the headboard tightly to prevent her escaping and then made his way out to the dock where her boat was resting quietly.  He needed to talk to Bruttam and get his plan completed before things became even more out of whack.