Well, here I am—once again, I have no clue as to the direction of this chapter but hopefully by the time I finish my Author Notes, I'll have one. Anyway, I think I'll be winding this story down to a close soon, and then I'll start on Uptown Boys (see my profile for more information about that one) like Deplora has been so anxious for me to do. So now I've come to the end of this long authors' note, and I still don't know where I'm'a go with this chapter. Ah well. C'est la vie. (Kitty would be proud of me for that.)
Disclaimer: Bugger off! (sob)
Chapter 15
Action
"MacLeod, this is serious business," the police chief looked over the claim that Yuna had made with Aurons' help. Auron nodded. It had taken him nearly two weeks to persuade Yuna to write the claim up and then another week and change to actually get it done. It was the mid-May, and time was running out before Yuna graduated and would not longer be under the protection of the laws covering student-teacher relations.
"I know it is," he replied angrily. He had gone through four people before ending up talking with the chief about Yunas' claim. He was beginning to get very tired of reciting this over and over again. "I've done a background check, and the name Seymour Guado came up in three charges of molestation, statutory rape, and manipulation—all with teenage girls. He either tricked them or forced them into a relationship, and they were all the quieter, shier girls that either no one knew or no one would believe. The first two charges were dropped because Seymour was respected man. Then the third girl exposed him and he was no longer allowed to teach in Guadosalam. Then he came here."
"You say that this Yuna girl—she's a good girl?"
"Yes. Why would she lie about something like this? What would she have to gain?" Auron growled.
"Attention, perhaps," the other man said. "Maybe he gave her a bad grade and she wants to get back at him. You realize, of course, that this is an extremely serious charge and it is not taken lightly. That is common knowledge. The sexual molestation of a minor is taken extremely seriously around here and in most places, and that is a well known fact. Could it be that this girl knows that Seymour Guado could be jailed for years? And she wants her revenge on him?"
"If you don't mind, could we refer to her as 'Yuna' or 'the young lady'?" Auron sounded irritable. "I know Yuna. She's a good girl and she would never do anything to hurt someone and she would not fabricate a story like this. She has no reasons to and she knows that the consequences for spinning such a tale are almost as extreme as if the tale were real; trust me, sir, she is not lying and I would like action taken. If something happens to her she could be hurt, both physically and psychologically."
The chief sighed. "All right. I'll warrant it. But before I do I would like to have a talk with the young lady, if you don't mind?"
"She's in school right now. I can tell her the next time I see her."
"Bring her around as soon as possible, MacLeod."
"Whatever you say, sir." Auron then walked away, leaving the station. He'd have to tell Yuna very calmly that the chief wanted to talk to her. He was afraid that the poor girl would go absolutely insane and maybe even take back everything she said. He sighed. He'd definitely have to make sure that she'd be okay. Maybe Tidus could come with them.
"Hey, Yuna, d'you think you could stop by my house later?" Tidus asked, standing in front of Yuna with his hands braced on the doorframe, keeping her from entering the classroom. "I've got something for you. I didn't wanna bring it to school because I didn't want it to get stolen."
Yuna raised her eyebrows. "All right," she said hesitantly. She had no idea what he could be talking about. "Maybe I'll just let Rikku take my bike home and then I'll get a ride with you."
"That works," Tidus said, and winked. The bell rang and Yuna slipped underneath his arm to get to her class. Tidus sighed—he was late. Again. Maybe he should just stop the class. It was Chemistry—he didn't even like the class all that much except that he sat in the back and could sleep if he wanted. He ended up falling asleep with his head on his fist, leaving a red imprint of his knuckles in his cheek before the final bell rang and they were free to leave school.
Yuna was waiting outside for him in the front of the school, twirling a set of keys in her fingers. She looked impatient. She didn't see him right away, and he went to stand next to her without her knowing. She was still absently twirling what he recognized as the keys to her bike when he decided to let her know that he was there.
"Come here often, honey?" He slipped an arm around her shoulders and she jumped and turned to him with wide eyes, frightened. When she saw who it was, her eyes went narrow and she scoffed.
"Tidus, you can't do that to me. I get so jumpy and nervous," she said, leaning against him.
"When I get nervous, I usually just pee," he said. Yuna pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to try not to laugh. She had never really been one for stupid bathroom humor but she supposed there was a time and place for it.
"I just have to give my keys and then we can get moving."
"Okay," he said. "I hope you don't mind this is pretty last-minute. I wanted to tell you this morning but I didn't see you."
"I know, I hadda go upstairs and order some stuff for Miss Amí because she couldn't leave the classroom." She glanced at her watch. "If she's not here in five minutes, I'll leave my bike here and come get it later and Rikku can walk home!"
"Man, are you like this with just Rikku or are you like this with other relatives, too?"
"Pretty much everyone with ties to my DNA," she admitted. "I've never been much of a people-person, you know that. Family I can offend and get away with it."
"I'm glad I'm not related to you, then."
Yuna grinned. "If you were related to me, I would not be doing this," she stood taller so she could reach his lips to hiss him, but she hear a familiar voice.
"Ooh, sorry, Yunie, am I interrupting?"
She stopped and closed her eyes and put her forehead gently on his chest. "Rikku, I love you but you have such a nasty sense of timing."
"Yea, you were interrupting," Tidus snapped, covering the younger girls' eyes with one hand and gripping Yuna with the other and giving her a quick kiss. "That's better."
"Rikku," Yuna tried to maintain herself without blushing. "Here, take my keys and take my baby home. I'm going home with Tidus so don't wait up."
"Brother's gonna be mad, you know. You said you'd come right home today," Rikku said.
"Well, forget Brother, then," Yuna said, sounding slightly aggravated. "It's not like he can make me do what he wants."
"Yea, but you realize that if you don't show up, I'm the one who's punished and has to live with him thinking up the absolute worst cast scenarios?" Rikku demanded. "And what if he tries to call the police?"
"Unplug the phone, then," she was losing her patience. "Look, I gotta go. Brother will just have to deal with it, okay?"
"You owe me."
"You've got my bike, Pypa."
"Yunie—"
"I'm leaving now!" She and Tidus began walking away and Rikku was still standing, trying to argue Yuna into staying with her.
"You can't just abandon me like this!"
"Ignore her," Tidus said.
"I am. Walk faster so she doesn't gain on us."
"Yunie, I'm still behind you! I can hear everything you're saying!"
Yuna sighed and turned around. "Rikku, I'm going to count backwards from five and if you aren't gone by 'three,' your teeth will be back home before you are. Comprende?"
"Yes ma'am…" she backed away slowly.
"Now I'm really glad we're not related."
After they got away from Rikku and managed to escape from the school parking lot, Tidus pulled into his driveway and was very relieved to notice that Auron was not yet home. It was a little less complicated. Yuna stepped inside as Tidus held the door open and almost broke her neck trying to step over two rapidly-growing kittens and two fully-grown cats.
"Please, cats," Tidus picked them all up and shooed them away. "My lady friend did not come to see you!"
"Auron let you keep the kittens?" She asked. "I thought you said he wanted them out.
"Only these two because they got too attached to the house and they didn't want to leave," he said.
"In other words you don't wanna see them go?"
"I got attached! Hell, they sleep with me!" He paused. "You probably think I'm weird now, don't you?"
"Why would I think that? I have pets, too, remember? They sleep with me. But Ursa takes up way more room in bed than I do, so I end up with very little space." She snickered. One of the kittens rubbed her ankles. "What did you end up naming them?"
"I call the black one Hermes and the tabby is Marid. They're little monsters." He picked up both kittens and plopped them on his shoulders. Then he remembered why he had asked her over and he reached into a cabinet that was blocked with two bricks. Yuna looked confused as to the purpose of the bricks. "I told you they're little monsters. They learned how to turn on the lights, the showers, flush the toilets, and get into most of the cabinets." He handed her a box. "I had part of it made for you when we were at Gagazet, and the other part I had Rikku get your size for. It just got here."
"You didn't have to do this, you know," she said.
"I know, but I wanted to."
Yuna carefully opened the package, revealing an undyed muslin poet shirt and a suede bodice with an intricate pattern of beads like ivy all across the front and shoulders and back.
"Tidus, where did you get this?" She asked softly, running her fingers across the beadwork.
"I told you—Gagazet. I had Weetam do it. I asked Rikku to get your measurements and got the shirt from a place that sells Renaissance costumes." He paused and added sheepishly, "I dunno if it'll fit, though."
"I can go put it on, but that's just your way of saying that you want to see me in a bodice." She grinned as she went into the bathroom and changed, slipping the flowing shirt on and then pulling the neck down, leaving her shoulders bare. She tied the strings at the wrists and around her shoulders before putting the bodice on and lacing it up the front and tying it securely. She looked at herself in the mirror and bit her lips to keep from laughing audibly. It all fit well but, like all of the bodice or corset-like clothing she'd ever worn it pushed her bust up and forward. At least the shirt covered her and she wasn't spilling over the top of it. She rolled her t-shirt up and stuck it underneath her arm. She stepped out of the bathroom and saw Tidus dive past the door to catch a runaway cat which held something shiny in his mouth.
"Get back here you little heathen animal, you!" He yelled, finally cornering the cat between the kitchen cabinets and picking him up and taking the necklace out of his mouth. It was the symbol for the Zanarkand Abes, the silver necklace on a heavy chain that he always wore.
"Trouble?" She asked, leaning on the wall next to the bathroom door.
"He stole my necklace right from around my neck! He's a monster!" He picked up the kitten and turned around. When he got a glimpse of her, she stood away from the wall and spun around slowly.
"Whatcha think?" She asked sheepishly.
He didn't even know he was staring with his mouth open until he went to close it. She looked damn good in that thing. He hadn't even noticed that she was wearing fitted jeans until she took off that t-shirt that was about a million sizes too big…
"You okay, Tidus?" She'd walked right up to him and he hadn't even noticed.
"Yea, I think so. Just… wow." He shook his head to clear it.
Yuna was smiling widely. She wrapped her arms about his waist and moved up to kiss him when the front door opened and an annoyed yell came from the front hallway as Auron tripped over two cats. The pair sprang apart and looked around to see what had happened.
"We now have more cats than I have feet!" Auron yelled. "We are not getting any more!"
"A simple 'I'm home' usually does the trick," Tidus yelled.
"I just talked with the Chief and he said that we'd have to bring Yuna around so he can talk to her—" he rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw Yuna standing there and he backed up a step from shock. "Sorry, Yuna, I didn't know you were in. I didn't see your bike."
"I had Rikku take it home for me," she said. She was nervous, now. She knew she'd probably have to go see the chief eventually but she just didn't know when—or what she'd say. Auron noticed the fear in her eyes quickly.
"There's nothing to be afraid of and we don't have to go today, but he does want to speak with you to assure that you haven't fabricated any of this."
"Why would she've done that?" Tidus asked.
"I said the same thing and he gave me a list of reasons, but none of them sound like something you would do, Yuna. He just wants to make sure. Is that all right with you?"
She said nothing for a moment or two while she thought of it. "I'd rather I didn't do it but I know that I have to. There's really nothing I can do about it right now. I'll go."
Auron nodded. "You're braver than Tidus is. Once I had him talk to the chief where I worked in Zanarkand, just to keep him busy while I went to pick up some files, and he went all to pieces."
"I was twelve!" Tidus yelled in his own defense. He saw Yuna put her hand over her mouth in an effort not to laugh out loud, and suddenly he felt better, being able to make her laugh even though she was frightened. "It'll really be nothing, Yuna," he assured her. "In, out, and on with life."
Yuna nodded. Auron spoke again.
"We can leave now. The chief wants to see you as soon as possible."
"Best to get this over with as soon as we can."
"Good choice, Yuna."
The phone rang and Brother picked it up. "Hallo? Who calls, please?" He asked. He and Rikku were awake but Yuna was still upstairs, fast asleep. It was the first chance she'd gotten to sleep in for over two weeks and she had warned everyone that she was not going to waste it. The voice on the other end of the phone line answered.
"Hi… is this… Brother?" Tidus asked skeptically.
"Yes… who calls? This is Tidus, no?"
"Uh… yea. Is Yuna there? I need to talk to her right away. Tell her it's important."
Brother fumed. "You will not take Yuna! You blonde boy-play, you! Yuna is mine! You not take her from me! I love her! She is not to be with you for any more time!" He slammed down the phone.
"Brother! What the hell was that for?" Rikku yelped, appalled at her older brother's manners and lack thereof. "Who was on the phone?" She had a good idea but she decided to give her brother a chance to answer.
"He will not have her!"
"You hung up on Tidus again?" Rikku snapped. "Brother, he's Yuna's boyfriend! Face it! You aren't it! You won't have her! She's not interested in you!" She huffed.
"But I love her."
"You're a horny bastard!" She turned and went upstairs to call him back and see what he'd wanted at the ungodly early hour of nine on a Saturday morning. She took the cordless phone into her bedroom and dialed Tidus.
"Hello, Rikku," Tidus said right away.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"I knew you'd call back after Brother hung up on me. You always do."
"He's such a butt," Rikku said. Then she paused. "So what's up? It must be pretty important if you called before you knew Yuna would be awake."
"It is! Could you go get her up for me?"
"What're you? Nuts? I'm not gonna get her up!"
"Rikku, seriously, this is important."
"So is my life."
He sighed into the phone. "All right, then tell her I'm coming over. I gotta talk to her like now. It's important, so just tell her that I'm gonna be over in about ten minutes, okay?"
"All right," Rikku said, and hung up. She figured it probably was important if Tidus was telling her to get Yuna up before she was damned well ready for it. She nervously reached for the doorknob and was shocked to see Yuna sitting upright in bed, pulling a shirt on over her head.
"Hi, Rikku," she murmured.
"Yunie, what's up? Why're you getting up?"
"I heard Brother yelling at the phone downstairs and I guessed it was probably Tidus. What'd he want?"
"He said he's coming over. He's got something really important to tell you. Good news. Any idea what it is?"
She shrugged. "Not really. It's probably major, though, because he wanted to wake me up."
"He said he'd be ten minutes. You think you'll be able to shower before he gets here?"
"Probably not, but I wanna talk to Brother before he gets here. We gotta get him to stop hanging up whenever Tidus calls."
"I tried, he doesn't listen," Rikku growled.
"Not to you but he might to me," Yuna suggested. "I'll have a talk with him. If worse comes to worse I'll bribe him."
"I can't spare any more underwear, Yunie."
Yuna shook her head and wandered downstairs to where Brother was waiting by the phone, ready to pounce on it at a moments' notice. He was obviously waiting for Tidus to call again so he could yell at him. She sighed. This was annoying.
"Brother?" She asked. He turned and his expression promptly turned soft.
"Yuna, that blonde boy called the house. He want you! I will not let him have you, so don't worry. I chase him away for you. He is up to no good with you. I can tell. I know the brain of men."
Yuna counted to ten before she began to talk. "We need to talk, Brother," she said. "This has to stop. You can't just yell and hang up every time Tidus calls. He's called a lot since we started going out and every time you answer the phone, you hang up on him! He doesn't like it but he won't say it but it's also annoying and embarrassing to me," she explained. "You've gotta stop it, okay? I like Tidus, and he likes me, and we're dating, whether you like it or not."
Brother began to say something but Yuna interrupted him.
"And even if we weren't dating there would be no chance that I would be with you. You're my cousin, and as such the only thing we have in common is DNA. I don't like you like that, Brother and I never have and I never will."
Brothers' eyes went wide. Luckily for Yuna, the doorbell rang and she leaped up to answer it before she had to see her cousin cry. She couldn't stand seeing other people cry, especially when she made them do it. She opened the screen door, letting herself and Ursa out to meet Tidus on the front step, where he stood with a huge smile on his face and he didn't even mind when Ursa knocked him back onto the concrete stoop to say hello.
"Ursa! Get off!" Yuna yelled, pulling on the collar so that Tidus could get up. He dusted himself off and then trapped her in an enormous hug.
"Yuna, it's over! They've got him and they're making him leave the school and they're gonna try him and everything! They've come up with a string of alleged cases against him and they've got enough dirt to make him leave the school!"
It took a solid minute before Yuna realized what he meant. Seymour Guado.
"He's gone?" She whispered.
"Yes, he's gone. And they're making sure he won't get you."
It hit her all at once, like a piano dropped on her head. Her knees suddenly felt very weak and she had to sit down, staring ahead with a dazed look on her face. Gone. Seymour Guado was not going to be able to do any harm to her. He wouldn't be able to blackmail her or stalk her or spy on her or anything. Four years of fear and pain and a proverbial thundercloud following her everywhere was finally over. She took a shuddery breath and tried to calm herself down. The years worth of fear at him exposing her for a halfblood and the last four years of hatred, fear, and insecurity about herself bubbled to the surface as tears, and as the bubbles reached the surface they popped, leaving her feeling lighter. It was all over.
"I told you it was good news," he said quietly as he slipped his arm around her shoulder and let her cry into his shirt until she was completely dry of tears.
You realize of course that I am not letting Yuna get away from him that easily. There'll be things that happen. I'm not telling you what, though, so you'll have to keep reading. The next chapter will probably be the second-to-last, plus and epilogue. I can probably make the next chapter the last one if I make it super-duper long. Which do you guys want? Extra-long chapter and an epilogue or two chapters and an epilogue? It's your choice but lemmie know before I write again. And I am deeply sorry for the delay in posts. Shit happened. A lot of it. All at once. Consequently, I think this chapter really sucks. Or else it's not my best work. It's also a little cliffy but I do actually know where the next chapter will go so it shouldn't take me too terribly long to get it out. Stay tuned!