Author's Note: So the first episode seemed to turn out pretty well, I guess I will get on with the second. Enough drama yet? I'll deal with the prior stuff in this episode, and see what comes of it! Be kind, please rewind... sorry, wrong thing. Review! I do realize that some characters were not in the last as much, but certain episodes will deal with some characters more than others. (PS- starting with the next chapter this will be rated R... you'll get it when you read this chapter lol)

Episode 1.2: Inspiration

Cast: Baralai, Gippal, Yuna, Tidus, Shuyin, and Rikku, with a special appearance by Lulu

Yuna set down her glass and stared at the man across from her. Shuyin leaned in close and softly kissed her cheek, his hand running across her exposed stomach, his fingertips inching inside hem of her skirt. As her breath caught in her throat he closed his mouth over hers.

A hand shot to the back of his head, fingers curling in his shaggy hair, pulling him closer, pressing him harder against her, and driving his hand further down into her skirt. Her own hand fell on his chest, gliding easily beneath the fabric of his bright yellow and red shirt. Her head pulled back for a breath while his lips drove into her neck, kissing and nibbling at the tender flesh.

"Shuyin..." she panted, grabbing her skirt with one hand and pushing it down onto her upper thigh, exposing black lingerie.

Hunger filled his eyes, desire and passion urged him to jump into it, but he knew her better than that. Yuna liked her foreplay. He would do whatever she wanted as long as he got what he wanted in the end.

She pressed her hips to him, telling him with her body that she was ready, that he could go for it, what he wanted. This was a good night, she was still feeling the rush from performing on the stage, she would comply with his needs more than usual. It stirred in him a mix of joy and uneasiness. He loved her partly because she could be difficult, and the lust for the hunt was what enthralled him almost as much as obtaining what he was going for.

"Tonight was so... amazing," she said as he practically ripped the lingerie off her prone body. He tugged her halter off the top of her body, rendering her completely naked except for the necklace that she refused to take off. He had pushed once for the story behind it but she would never give him the story. She had turned bitter and distant, the complete opposite of what he wanted from her.

He removed his clothing as quickly as possible, showing his wonderfully shaped chest and abs, his strong arms, and his nearly smooth, toned legs. Falling on top of her, he kissed her roughly on the mouth as he thrust himself into her, getting a satisfactory gasp from her mouth, which he swallowed in his own.

Nothing was more important than making her yell in ecstasy at that moment, and nothing could have stopped them if they had tried.


The party was over and the two girls collapsed on the couch in exhaustion. Everything was covered in trash and empty glasses, chips, and other assorted nothings. They were so tired after a day of preparation for the concert, and then hosting this party afterwards, which Yuna and Shuyin did not even bother to show up at – surprise, surprise.

Rikku figured that the two lust-bunnies would run off to have sex, and on one level she was mad while on another she was jealous. To have scored someone such as Shuyin after breaking it off with Baralai, damn! She was one slick bullet that was for sure. The chipper blonde looked over to her Goth counterpart, who was busy staring up at nothing on the ceiling. Some of her black braids had come undone and her hair was slowly turning into a frizzy mess.

Looking around the wreck of an apartment, Lulu silently decided that the clean-up could wait until morning, and something told her that Rikku would completely agree. It was way too tiresome to do it now.

That, and being the new big pop stars can wear you out.

Of course, Yuna probably had not worn down yet. Lulu could see her bumping and grinding in her mind and wished she did not have so vivid an imagination.

The two sat in silence, thinking the same thing, about Shuyin's spectacular body and how it must look naked. They locked eyes with each other and realized what the other was thinking.

"I think we need to get to bed," Rikku said quickly.

"Yeah," Lulu agreed, before Rikku had a chance to finish.

They darted off in opposite directions to their rooms.


It took a moment for Tidus to realize where he was. Sunlight hit his face in a jagged slash. He rose up, the towel from the day before sliding off his waist, and he slammed the curtains back into place.

Standing nude, he thought back to the dream the sun had wrenched him from, a wonderful fantasy world where he was himself, where he could be himself. There has been a sense of completeness that was ruined by the opening of his eyes and the reawakening of the "real world" in which he only wanted to escape.

Wakka was gone.

That much he remembered from yesterday.

"Fuck," Tidus whispered. He stumbled to the closest mirror and took a good look at himself. His hair had lost its life from his glory days of high school when Shuyin was only second-best at Blitzball and it hung in stingy waves. His eyes had lost their entire luster and were reduced to two dull gems in his pale face with hollow cheekbones.

He had not always been this way. In fact, this drastic change occurred steadily over the last year and a half. He was nothing now because of a break-up he had with the now-popular singer Baralai. Never had he once thought that one relationship would change him this much, this horribly, but he had been wrong. Too wrong. Way too wrong.

"Why did you do this to me?" he asked, reaching towards a box on the top of the dresser. He pulled it close to him, propping the top open slightly. Flicking it all the way off, he reached inside and withdrew several pictures from its depths.

Pictures all, of him and Baralai, or just Baralai. He had been happy once, and he had been happiest with that man. The pictures ranged from the two of them on the beach or in the woods to naked pictures of them that they had taken one night when Baralai had bought a new camera. That was when he was just getting popular.

Tears stung his eyes as he tossed the pictures back into the box, shoving the cardboard things away from him. It hit the wall with a hollow thunk and bounced once, then stopped, still.

Grabbing some dirty clothes off his unmade bed, he started tugging them on. He needed to go out for a walk.


Baralai was pissed.

Gippal knew that, and could do absolutely nothing about it. How was he supposed to know that the "new band" Nooj was introducing was Yuna's? He had stayed back after Baralai had left and watched as the new pop trio made their amazing debut.

The three were really good. They knew what they were doing.

That did not help the fact that he had betrayed Baralai. There had to be something he could do, but his friend did not want to see him at the moment.

When Gippal had gone to his home, Baralai had refused to talk to him, telling him to "Get the hell out".

Now he did not even know where Baralai was. He had given him a night to cool off, but now as he stood outside his apartment door, he did not know where his friend was. Not only was there no answer when he shouted into the room, there was no sense that anything was moving around.

Damn you Baralai, he thought, and moved back down the hallway.

By the time he reached the street he was regaining his perky composure, determined not to let his friend's attitude bring him down. Maybe he would go home and call Nooj, see if he could get that Rikku girl's number? He could tell she was an Al Bhed, and so wanted a piece of that. A smile broke across his lips as he thought about where he could take her.


There was nothing in this park, he thought, as he made his way through the paths in the forest. Baralai had needed to get out, to get out into the open, into the quiet. But nothing here appeased him, nothing here struck out at him. Nothing came to him, to inspire him or lift his spirits.

Seeing Yuna up on that stage and then seeing her in the arms of Shuyin was nearly impossible to grasp all at once. It took him aback, his breath leaving him.

She had been happy. Happier than she had ever been with him. Now she was in a real relationship where she could let loose and be herself, and he was nothing to her anymore. Just like the nothing that hung in the trees all around him.

Spinning, he let his hand sail through the air, slamming mercilessly into the bark of a tree. The rough surface cut and scraped his hand and a thin trail of blood ran from his ragged knuckles.

He heard whimpering from a little ways over. Odd how he noticed that before the sharp pain in his hand exploded. "Damnit," he whispered tersely, clasping his hand in the other.

Who was crying? He wondered, moving to get a closer look. He was never one to have sympathy for such public displays, cries for attention, and never one to just not care, either. His was a strange life.

Beyond the veil of leaves he saw a flash of bright yellow and sandy blonde hair, hanging limply around a frail face. The person was hunched over, crying and shaking softly, his face buried in his hands. Slight drops of water collected at the base of his palms and slid down his wrist before dropping onto his pants.

Tidus.

No one had to tell him who it was that was crying across the trees. Baralai sat on the ground, losing him from sight, and listened.

He remembered Gippal speaking to him the night before, "Oh, there's something you need to know..." and then seeing Yuna flying into Shuyin's welcoming arms. No way.

Something came over him as he sat there. It began in his heart and spread outwards across him, filling him with an uncontrollable urge to write, to have to write.

He jumped up from his spot and ran back to his apartment; fairly certain Tidus never knew he was there.

At home in his darkened writing room, he began the song.

(A/N- p.s. sorry it took so long, the next episode should be up Tuesday!)