Disclaimer: Nope, Final Fantasy X belongs to Squaresoft. sobs However, original characters (my summoner and her party) belong to me.

This is my first FFX fanfic and reviews are greatly appreciated. I've always thought that Auron was a closet romantic (especially when he was younger), but to reveal it would take so much away from his bad ass demeanor.

Sorry about the LOOOONG time between updates. You'd think I'd have more time to write now that the semester's over, but that little thing called work always seems to get in the way.

Also, this story will roughly follow the game up until Bevelle, but I won't be writing out each and every scene. The story will contain spoilers, so if you've beaten the game and/or don't care to be surprised, please read on.

Read and enjoy!

"Kiss From a Rose" Part Ten

Copyright 2003-2004 by Amie Martin

Rikku--Macalania Woods

I hated waiting. I wanted to get up, I wanted to go, I wanted to do something, anything, to end this boredom.

Absentmindedly, I fiddled with the clasps of my claw as I stared into the fire. Everyone was preoccupied with our discoveries in Bevelle and what would happen to Yuna's pilgrimage. It wasn't as if these thoughts didn't plague me, just that my point of view was so radically different from the others—I didn't see the situation like they did.

To me, Yevon had always been corrupt. The religion was a means of brainwashing and controlling the people of Spira, making it so no one could even think for themselves. The Al Bhed broke free from all of that, showing that life was possible without living in the shadow of Yevon. My people were hated, despised, for merely showing Spira a new way of life. I believed in my people, and I knew we'd survive no matter what Yevon threw at us. My father, Cid, rallied the Al Bhed together, and even with the destruction of our Home, we would not go quietly into the night.

But Yuna, Lulu, Wakka... the temple had been such an important part of their lives. Yuna was even ready to die for her beliefs. That one point of stability was gone for them now, just like when the Guado destroyed my Home. Where they—where the party—would go from here would decide everything for us.

Personally, I wished that Yuna would just give up her pilgrimage and go back to Besaid. I couldn't see my own cousin sacrificed just so the rest of Spira could be happy. Yuna deserved that happiness too, more than anyone in Spira. There had to be some way to defeat Sin forever with anyone having to die...

"Rikku, stop fidgeting," Lulu said, sitting beside me.

Pouting, I glanced over at the black mage, her pale face illuminated by the fire. "I can't help it," I answered glumly, resting my chin in my hands.

"Try to get some rest," Lulu suggested. Part of me expected her to scold me, but her voice was softer, almost sisterly. She seemed distracted, and I figured it probably had something to do with Yevon. Everything in Spira, it seemed, always led back to Yevon. "Who knows when we will be able to rest like this again?"

"I've got too much on my mind to be sleepy just yet." The flames danced before my eyes, the sparks flying up into the clear night sky. "What do you think Yunie will do about her pilgrimage?"

"I... do not know. It is Yuna's decision, no one else's." Lulu shook her head. "If I know Yuna, she will continue. This... has been her goal for so long now."

My face fell. "But Yunie will die," I whispered.

Lulu said nothing; it was a truth none of us wanted to admit, even to ourselves. There had to be some way to keep Yuna from dying in the Final Summoning, I just knew it. It was only a matter of time until we found it, but time was the one thing we didn't have...

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Auron and Lulu's aunt Katralina emerged from the woods to the left of the campsite. Both kept their heads down, and Auron's collar seemed to be covering more of his face than usual. He murmured something to Katralina that I couldn't quite hear before turning away and leaving her.

Katralina watched his back for a few seconds before approaching the fire, moving to stand beside where Lulu sat. "Lulu," she said to her niece, "you should talk to Wakka, make sure he's all right."

"Isn't Wakka on the first watch?" Lulu looked up, her face out of my line of sight, keeping me from seeing her expression.

"Auron's gone to take his place." Katralina's voice softened as she said Auron's name, something I hadn't expected, and I was surprised that she didn't call him Sir like everyone else. "You know more than anyone how recent... events have affected him. He'll need someone to talk to."

Lulu stood to face her aunt, and it was then that I really started to notice the similarities between the two. Everything had been so crazy in Bevelle that I honestly did not have the time to take it all in, including Yuna's newest guardian. Katralina and Lulu were the same height and shared the same dark hair, pale skin, and delicate facial features, but where Lulu's eyes were a smoldering red, Katralina's were a bright blue. Those blue eyes spoke of maturity and the weight of time, even more so than Lulu's did. Part of me felt as if I were intruding, witnessing a conversation that had nothing to do with me. It only served to emphasize how young I really was, and I wasn't sure I liked the feeling.

"Do you think it will help?" Lulu was asking as I snapped out of my reverie.

"He'll appreciate it, I'm sure." Katralina laid a hand on Lulu's arm. "Go to him. I'll still be here when you return."

Nodding in agreement, Lulu headed down the same path Auron had taken, lifting up the hem of her belted skirt as she went to keep it from dragging in the dirt. It took me a moment to realize that I was all alone with Katralina, guardian and black mage as well as a former summoner. What was I to say to her? The woman, like her niece, could be intimidating, and I was sure she knew it.

Adding another log to the fire, Katralina took Lulu's seat, staring into the flames. Even the way she sat seemed graceful, the folds of her blue dress and black coat draped to the ground. Vainly I wished I had that poise, that composure.

Finally, I blurted out, "Lulu looks like you," and mentally I wanted to smack myself for speaking without thinking. Wasn't there something better, more intelligent I could have said?

The older woman chuckled, and her smile seemed a little sad. "Hello to you, too, Rikku," Katralina said, shifting so that she sat facing me. "Lulu looks like her mother, and her mother and I look like our mother."

"She's never talked about her family." My anxiousness eased a little, and I grew more talkative. "What's her name? Lulu's mom, I mean."

"Sephi. Her name was Sephi."

Katralina grew quiet, the glow of the fire reflecting in her eyes. I knew in a flash what had happened, the same thing that happened to nearly everyone in Spira. "She was killed by Sin." It wasn't a question, because I already knew the answer.

She nodded. "Yes, Sin. Lulu was only 5, and I was 15. That day... changed everything."

I glanced over at her, a woman who was no longer so much as intimidating as she was guarded, a woman who had seen much and lived to regret most of it. "What did you do?" I didn't think Katralina would be mad at me for asking.

"What needed to be done, of course." The burden of time was inscribed in her eyes. "My brothers, my sister, and I—we took Lulu in, we raised her as our own. And I... I had the summoner's gift, and I vowed that I would use it."

"For a moment there, I forgot you were a summoner."

My comment made her smile, just a little. "I'd almost rather that you forgot," she said wryly. "I was a summoner for the wrong reasons. Destroying Sin... would not bring my sister back. It wouldn't bring me revenge."

"Then, what are the right reasons?" I gestured helpless towards the sky, searching for the right words. "Yuna is ready to die for her beliefs. She'll bring the Calm, and everyone will be happy, but she'll still be dead, you know? Summoners shouldn't be sacrificed like that."

"I agree, Rikku. But there's something else you have to realize as well." Katralina's voice was low but warm, without the harsh reprimand I might have expected from a former summoner. "When you become a summoner, you know what the cost will be. Yuna made that decision for herself, and no one can force her to change her mind."

A small tear streaked down my cheek, and I bit my bottom lip to keep from crying. "But... I don't want Yunie to die!"

"If there's a way to stop Sin and keep her alive, we'll find it, I'm sure of it." Katralina brushed the tear away from my face. "Yuna is very lucky to have guardians who know the road ahead. It's not the first pilgrimage for Auron, Lulu, Wakka, and myself, and you and Kimahri have knowledge of the world at large. We can defeat Sin... we just have to believe."

I shook my head. "I don't have knowledge of anything. I'm just a little kid who came along for the ride." On a whim, I added, "And Auron... is a big meanie! He's so gruff and stern and he has no idea how to have fun!"

Katralina burst out laughing, clasping a hand over her mouth. "I should tell him you said that."

"No, no! I don't want him mad at me!" I panicked for a moment before I realized that Katralina was joking. Surprised and relieved, I settled back in my seat as comfortably as I could.

Quieting a bit, Katralina reached up and tilted my chin up, so I was forced to look at her. "Rikku, your youth is your gift," she said softly "You and Tidus make us laugh when there's nothing to laugh about, and no matter what happens, you still manage to smile. That's a precious gift, so don't ever lose it."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

Our conversation was interrupted by the return of Tidus and Yuna, followed closely by Lulu and Wakka. Kimahri hovered behind, keeping a lookout over the campsite. Katralina stood to greet them, and, after nodding to her niece, turned to face Yuna. "Have you come to a decision?" the former summoner asked softly.

"Yes." Yuna seemed quiet but determined. "Where is Sir Auron?"

"He's on watch, ya?" Wakka answered, scratching the back of his head. "What did you decide?"

Yuna gazed over the campsite. Unconsciously, I held my breath, desperately hoping she'd chosen to go back to Besaid. Unlikely, but it didn't hurt to hope...

"We leave at dawn," she said, the breath rushing out of my lungs at the knowledge that the pilgrimage would continue. "Everyone... I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're not to blame for the corruption of Yevon," Katralina reassured her. Glancing at each of us, she said, "It's time for bed, I think, if we are to be rested for the morning."

As I set up my bedroll, I thought back to Katralina's words. I had spent most of our journey wanting to be more like Lulu—cool, calm, collected, mature. I saw my lack of experience as a hindrance, not a gift. Did everyone in the part see me this way? I wondered to myself. Or is it my Al Bhed heritage that made me feel this different? It was definitely something for me to think about in the days to come.

Looking up, I caught Katralina's eye and silently mouthed the words "Thank you" to her, hoping she would understand my gratitude. She showed me just one more side to the pilgrimage, and I wanted her to know that her efforts were appreciated.

I smiled as she mouthed "You're welcome" back.

A/N: A short section, yes, and perhaps not really worth the time it took for me to write it out. I intended to show some of what Rikku was going through during the journey, an outsider's opinion of Katralina (Rikku and Tidus are the only characters who did not have some knowledge of her prior to the pilgrimage, and Tidus' opinion has more less been shown already), as well as explain the idea of summoners sacrificing themselves. I'm not sure if I captured Rikku's personality as well as I could have.

Let me know what you think; reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated.