Woohoo… okay, my general laziness has made me not write until now and I hope to finish this part TODAY. Unlikely, but hey, I can dream. Part two of chapter two is here, luvs! Celebrate!

I do not own Final Fantasy. Remember this; it will be on the quiz.

                                                                                                             ~*~

Chapter 2

The Witches Three

Pt. 2

It had stopped raining hard a few hours ago, but the sky still spritzed and the ground was covered in puddles. The ill-kempt roads of Besaid were full of potholes—and thus full of puddles. Yuna tried her best to avoid them but every so often would drive through a puddle and soak them both. She pulled to a stop in front of the theatre, where two guys were talking with their backs turned to them. Rikku scrambled with her helmet to take it off.

          "Hey! Hey, guys, I'm over here!" She called, waving to get hteir attention. Both Wakka and Tidus turned.

          "Hey, Rikku! We was worried, ya? Didn't know if you'd stood us up or not," the redhead joked. Rikku sniggered.

          "Nah," she joked. "I wouldn't do that to you… often."

          "So, uh… who's da friend?" Wakka nodded towards Yuna, who had not yet removed her helmet. She was holding the bike up with one leg and looking at the trio with her head cocked slightly to one side.

          "It's just my cuz—hey, take the helmet off!" Rikku demanded, fists on her hips.

          "Huh? Oh, yea… sorry," Yuna sounded a little absent and far-off. She bent her head down and pulled the helmet over her hair, which had flattened itself to her skull over the course of their trip. She looked from Wakka to Tidus, head still cocked to the side. She said nothing.

          "R-rikku," Wakka gulped. "You're cousin is Yuna? Yuna Bamarre?" He obviously had trouble believing it.

          "Yea… what of it?" Yuna asked in a monotone sort of voice. She put her hands on her hips and left her helmet with her bike—no one would ever dream of stealing from her so she didn't have to worry about it. "We're related so there's nothing we can do about it, but if there was something to be done about it, I'd've done it."

          Wakka now looked even more shocked than before. "Hey! You can talk!"

          "'Course I can," Yuna snapped.

          "But I mean… I always thought you was mute, ya? Cuz you never talk to no one at school. It's just… ah, ferget it."

          "Gladly."

          "Why don't we get a move on?" Tidus suggested. He'd been silent and they had mostly forgotten he was even there. Yuna sighed an inward sigh and was silently grateful for his timing. She was getting nervous talking so much. The boys took the lead, and a few paces behind them Yuna pulled Rikku over roughly by her arm.

          "Rikku," she whispered in a strained voice. "Rikku, ohh my God your friend is gorgeous!" She swooned slightly.

          "Who?" Rikku whispered back, trying to pry Yuna's death grip off of her arm before she amputated it. "Wakka?"

          "No… the other one. Who's he?"

          "Tidus?" Rikku asked, eyes going wide. "You like Tidus?" She grinned. "Oh, he's the new guy! He'd be sooo psyched if he knew a girl had the hots for him!" She pranced from foot to foot and giggled softly.

          "No! No, you don't. Don't tell him. Besides, I don't like him, I just think he's cute."

          "Cute?"

          "Hot." She supplied. "Gorgeous. Attractive. Hell, he's dead sexy!"

          "Aww… why can't I tell him?"

          "Do you enjoy living?"

          Rikku didn't answer.

          "Do you wanna be hacked up in a blender and buried in a shoebox?" She hissed.

          "No," her cousin replied meekly.

          "Then you won't tell him."

          "Ey! Rikku! C'mon, ya? Slowpoke!"

          Both girls trotted to catch up.

          Yuna couldn't sit still in the theatre. She kept twitching, and she was sitting next to Tidus which was not helping her any. She started to shiver, and eventually, she had to get up and leave to go outside and get a breath of fresh air. She'd never actually been this close to a guy she thought was cute before. It was not unlike being in the zoo, she decided, and admiring the tigers and lions from afar, but then being let into the cages and being face-to-face with the big carnivores.

          She wasn't sure how long she'd been out there, but the sun was peeking from behind the clouds and eventually she heard someone behind her and she figured that it was Rikku come to check up on her. That was, until the person spoke.

          "You okay?" The voice belonged to Tidus.

          "Oh!" She turned suddenly, hands on her heart, and took a couple of steps back. She said nothing else, and avoided his gaze, so he tried again.

          "Why'd you leave?"

          "Rikku sent you out here, didn't she?" Yuna asked. She sat on the curb, getting Rikku's skirt and her behind wet.

          "Not really," he replied, sitting next to her.

          "Whatcha mean, 'not really'?" She asked, turning to him suspiciously.

          "I mean she said that you'd left and wondered where you had gone, and Wakka was too scared to come out here and look for you, so I came," he explained.

          "Wakka was scared?" She couldn't help but grin.

          "Not in so many words but you can tell he's not readily gonna come out here for you."

          Yuna was out of replies, and they sat in silence for a few minutes and the bubble between them was getting bigger and bigger. Eventually, it seemed fortune had decided to take pity on her and present to her Lulu, who walked across the street looking ominous and threatening—like always. She wore a black dress and carried a fleecy gray bag around her neck and one arm. Yuna saw her and stood, giving a sharp whistle to get her attention. Lulu quickly came over.

          Tidus looked nervous, rightfully so, around Lulu. Her ominous presence gave a sort of… fear. She was an unknown. No one ever quite knew what to expect with her. She merely glanced from Tidus to Yuna and back again a few times before she finally said, "Qui est le blond?"

          "I'll explain later," Yuna said, having understood what her friend just told her. "Tidus, go tell Rikku I've gone with Lulu. And if you can avoid it, don't tell Wakka." She nodded quickly to him and trotted off, leaving him standing there confused.

          "Sure…" he trailed off.

          "Thanks!" Yuna called over her shoulder. She couldn't believe she had spoken so much to him, but then again, he didn't judge her and he didn't think she was a witch.

          After a few minutes, Lulu spoke, saying, "You look nice. Any occasion?"

          "Rikku made me do it," she replied softly, going to put her hands in her pockets until she remembered that she didn't have pockets to put them in. "It's making me nervous. I mean… what if I bump into someone that I maybe kinda sorta don't wanna bump into?"

          "Like who?"

          "Hello, ladies."

          Yuna winced and both of them turned to see Seymour Guado, a teacher from their school, standing there behind them, wearing a sinister smirk. Yuna gulped. Seymour had had a "thing" for her since he first laid eyes on her three years ago. Since then he had wormed his way into getting her in his classes every year. He hadn't ever dared to do anything more, because it would mean facing the wrath of Kimahri Ronso, and the prospect of it kept him at bay. But with her guardian now gone to Gagazet, Yuna was now a sitting duck, helpless, with her tail hanging out. Seymour seemed to know, as well, that he had a shot at her now that he didn't have before. He was a cruel-looking man, with snarled, frazzled blue hair and thin, reptilian lips, long hands and fingers and to top it all off, he had varicose veins in his face. It was disgusting to look at. His only good trait was his eyes—beautiful purple eyes and long eyelashes.

          "Hello, Mister Seymour," Lulu said bravely, keeping eye contact with the man as if to say, 'I'm not afraid of you. You can't hurt me.' She put herself between the teacher and her friend. Yuna in turn nodded politely to him, biting her lip so hard that she nearly broke the skin and bled.

          "Please, there is no need for formalities here… we have known each other long enough to be informal when in private," he said in his oily little voice. "Yuna, how are you? It is good to see you outside of school."

          Yuna felt the blood drain from her head and she felt lightheaded. She managed to squeak out, "I'm fine, thank you." She gripped Lulu's arm tightly, using her nails to dig into the skin. She gave her friend a look that begged for her to do something—anything—to get Seymour away from them. Lulu had an idea but it would involve leaving Yuna alone with the man, though just for a few seconds. The plan she had in mind would undoubtedly work, and give them a good laugh.

          "Excuse me," she said, backing away. "I'll be right back."

          The look that Yuna gave to her was one of total betrayal. Lulu shook her head and ducked behind a huge weeping willow, shielded by the drooping branches. She took off her bag and opened it up, allowing a bewitched magical doll to leap out, shaking like a wet dog now that it was roused from its' rest. The Moomba looked at Lulu, waiting for her instructions.

          "Moomba," she whispered. "You see that man over there with Yuna? The ugly one with blue hair?"

          The Moomba nodded.

          "Distract him long enough for Yuna to get away. I don't care how you do it, but do it! Make him make a scene and a fool of himself but whatever you do, don't be seen. When we're away, come and find me. I'll be at Yuna's house or at mine. Got it?"

          The enchanted doll nodded.

          "Good. Now go!" She loosed the doll in the streets and it made its' way over to Seymour, climbed up his back and into his rats' nest of hair, and began to claw and bite at him. Seymour immediately screamed, thrashing to get the creature off of him, but the Moomba was not visible. Yuna saw her chance and ran for it, Lulu running in her own strange way to catch up. Together, they made it away from the town, to Yunas' bike, and home just as a crowd gathered around Seymour.

          Later on, Lulu brought her a cup of tea, She was wrapped in a blanket and her eyes were red from crying. She hated Seymour. She hated him so much for frightening her like this. She resisted his advances but he just kept coming. She didn't know what to do. Lulu knew of this and wanted her to get help, but Yuna was stubborn and told her that no one would believe her word over his, as he was a highly respected man.

          "Yuna, drink something. You threw your guts up four hours ago and you need something in your system," Lulu commanded. Yuna took the drink and sipped it.

          "Thank you," she whispered.

          "You wanna hang out around here for a while?"

          "Please. If it's not too much trouble."

          "None. Although you should probably tell your uncle where you've gone—"

          "No! Just… I need to lay low. He can't know. I'll spin a tale, but please don't tell. You know I made you swear not to tell, so don't break that promise now!"

          "Or you'll put me in a blender and bury me in a shoebox?"

          "Exactly."

          Night fell outside, and a rapping at the window turned their attention to a tired-looking Moomba. It had probably gotten lost trying to find its' mistress again. Eventually, when Yuna was stable enough to drive her bike, she hopped on and left Lulu's home to go to her own, having thought of an excuse to tell Cid.

                                                                                                             ~*~

AHH! I'm sorry! It's been a little while, I know. I've bee busy because exams start at the END OF NEXT WEEK! But then I only have to go to school half a day, so I'll either no go to school until 10, or I come home at 10. Either way, I get home two hours early, too. Noon-ish. Whoo! Please tell me whatcha think of this chapter. Now, at least, it has some substance. The Seymour thing will be a MAJOR part of the Yuna-Tidus plot. But I won't give any spoilers unless you want 'em.

NEXT TIME ON, "NOT WHAT IT APPEARS":

Seymour learns something about Yuna and makes a deal with her that she can't refuse. The Witches Three have some fun on Halloween with their clothes, Tidus smells a rat on Seymour, and Wakka… well, Wakka's just Wakka.