Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X, and all related nouns and pronouns, appear courtesy of Square-Enix [formerly Squaresoft].
Note: While writing my FFVIII series 'At The Last', I got an inspiration to write yet another FFX story. I've written some before, but they all crashed and burned before I could post them, or they simply fell flat and were left to rot, so I deleted them. Now, here we go again, and this time I'm committed to make this thing work. [I think.]
This piece might, or might not be, multi-chaptered. I don't mean for it to be, because I have other projects to work on, but if you, my dear readers, want this story to continue, I will try to accommodate you. If you wish for it to continue, tell me in your reviews. So, enjoy.
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"CORRESPONDENCE"
Inspired by Final Fantasy X
by Kairos27
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"Rikku?"
The Al Bhed girl, lying facedown on her bunk, didn't move or respond. She merely sighed and closed her eyes, listening to the rumbling of their huge airship as it traveled, painfully slowly, towards Luca.
"Rikku, I know you're in there. May I come in?"
It was Lulu's voice. Of course it would be her; Yuna was probably still too miserable with heartache to talk to anybody right about now. Not that anybody blamed her. No one did. If there was any blaming going on, it was probably directed towards Tidus, though everyone knew in their hearts that he couldn't have done anything different. He would have disintegrated into the ocean mist anyway, even if he hadn't done that theatrical leap off of the airship.
To say the least, Rikku was drained. Emotionally. So much had happened in only a few hours—well, not so much, but it sure felt like it. Tidus' departure had shaken them all to the core, even more so than Auron's had. After all, Auron was already in his thirties, and was a legend among Guardians. Thus he seemed almost detached from this world, so it seemed almost fitting for him to leave their world the way he did.
But Tidus? Tidus had been Auron's foil; so foolish, so daring...and so alive. He had opened up the most sensitive part of Yuna's heart, a part that had closed off when her father died and she made her resolve to become a Summoner: the part that governed the well of tears and sorrow. And he had taken her heart, and then he had gone as mysteriously as he came.
It all wasn't fair. Rikku had seen it, Lulu had seen it, Wakka had seen it—hell, and even Cid had seen it, though he had been at a distance. They watched Yuna, alone and trembling, sit there on the edge, staring straight ahead into the mist.
Everyone's heart broke, just a little.
Wakka had carried Yuna back inside, and she had retreated into one of the rooms and had not come out since. Rikku, too, holed herself up in another room, trying to digest the storm of emotions.
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"Rikku," Lulu said, "I'm not leaving until you open up. I have something important for you."
Rikku rolled over. She wanted to be left alone right now, but curiosity is as curiosity does, so she got up and unlocked the door.
"There you are," Lulu said, a bit reprovingly. "You don't look too happy to see me right now, so I'll make this quick. Here." She handed Rikku several small, wrinkled pages with writing coating both sides. "It was addressed to you," she added, pointing to the name printed boldly in black ink on the side of one paper. "Trust me, I didn't read it."
"Where'd you find this? Whose is this?" Rikku asked, as she took the papers, which crackled as she opened them.
"As you know," Lulu said solemnly, "Auron had Masamune with him when he left. But his other katanas are still here. He left them here for Yuna, for all of us. Wakka and I went to take them to Yuna, along with..." Lulu paused, "...along with Tidus' swords. As we were doing so, I found this wrapped around the handle of Auron's original Katana. I recognized his handwriting, and your name."
"Thank you, Lulu," Rikku said softly.
The older woman merely nodded and left, and closed the door gently behind her.
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"Why would Auron want to write to me? Why not to Yunie?"
This was the thought that now throbbed through Rikku's brain as she flopped back down onto the bunk and opened the pages. Auron's handwriting was firm, but not smooth. The whole thing was done in black ink, on cheap paper.
It was written in Spiran, such writing as one found in Bevelle or Luca. Although her ability to read Spiran was not as smooth as it should have been, it was still outstanding compared to that of her father and brother, or even the entire Al Bhed populace. She turned the light on a little brighter and began to read.
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A word of warning.
If you, traveler, are reading these lines, and are not the person whom I desire to read this, I can only hope that you are truthful and honorable enough to turn these papers over to Rikku, daughter of the Al Bhed chieftain Cid, and not read any further. If she is no longer in the mortal world, then I charge you, traveler, to burn these papers and cast the ashes to the four winds, and never speak of it again. If you continue to read of this regardless, then I pray that the curse of the Unsent will strike you down and inflict misery upon you until the end of your days.
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Rikku smiled a little bit. In writing, he could be just as melancholic as he had been in real life.
A line drawn in red ink separated the above preface from the actual body of the letter. She settled back in the bunk and continued her reading.
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To Rikku.
If you are reading this, then that means that I am gone, because I would never leave my Katana in anybody else's care if I was there with you. I shall say this once again, to remind you: I am dead, Rikku; I have been for most of Yuna's lifetime. I am an Unsent.
You are probably wondering why I am writing to you; I should be writing to Yuna. After all, I was her Guardian, and I should be expected to leave a few pearls of wisdom for her. I have written to her; she should receive that letter too. But you are equally deserving of a letter.
Why? Because you are young, Rikku, and your heart is in the first flower of blossom. Yes, this is an awkward subject, but from what I know of your father, Cid is not the kind of man who will sit down and tell you this, praiseworthy and loving though he is. He will try to protect you from this topic rather than discuss it with you. Tidus and Wakka do not understand, perhaps Lulu does, but it will bring too much pain to her to speak of her first love, as it ended in tragedy. Yuna is in the same boat as you, so she will hardly be in a position to explain to you, either.
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Rikku blushed slightly. Here was Auron turning all father-like. Again.
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I can see it in Yuna's eyes as she sits by the fire. After our short sojourn at Macalania, her eyes have become brighter everytime she looks at Tidus. It is love, I know. Something happened between them. I will not speak of that here any further, for this is not her letter; it is yours.
But I will add that I fear for Yuna's heart. I know that Tidus comes from a dream world that may or may not be real. Jecht was from the same place, but he seemed real enough, what with him becoming Sin...but what of it? If Jecht—Sin—dies, as we hope he will, this will break the link between the dream Zanarkand and Spira. And Tidus—what will happen to him when the link does break? If he is lost, I dare not think about what will happen to Yuna.
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"He's already lost, Auron," she said sadly.
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Rikku, I want you to help Yuna for me. She is strong; but this blow, if it should ever happen, strikes at the heart. That is worse than any physical injury, you well know. I cannot be there for you physically anymore, but for my sake, be there for her, and I will be there as well.
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"Auron seemed to know everything in advance," Rikku thought aloud. "If he did, why didn't he tell?"
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In the end, however, I do not want to jump to conclusions. I can only wish the best for Yuna. And here is the point I have been making thus far: Love, Rikku, is a saving grace and a dying curse.
With that said, now herein begins the more awkward stage of my letter. I have hemmed and hawed over this page, trying to find the correct words, trying to phrase it correctly so that there will be as few misunderstandings as possible.
When I was young, before I met Lord Braska, I was a warrior monk in the ranks of Yevon. I was highly favored in the eyes of the Maesters, so much so that they offered the hand of one of the priest's daughters in marriage, to me.
But I was young. I was stubborn and hotheaded. I did not love the girl, though she was indeed beautiful and kind. There was not the least outwardly imperfection on her. But she had one fatal flaw: I did not love her, and that was that. So, for my vehement refusal, I was stripped of my title and banished. Wes Kinoc took my place, and you know the rest. I remember the high priest saying to me: "If you do not ' love' my daughter, then you will never love anybody."
He lied. I have. What did he know?
You remember the Thunder Plains? When we dragged you from pillar to post, amidst your screaming and begging? I had never seen you so frightened in the short time I had known you. And it unnerved me, truly it did.
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Rikku's eyes nearly popped out of her head. He had never been this personal before. And she had a premonition of where this was going.
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You are so cheerful, so sunny, that it almost hurts just to look at you; I, who have lived in darkness, if you can call it living, for thirteen years. Even Tidus, in his youth, was less spirited than you, having been deeply depressed by hatred of his father and sorrow for his mother. Perhaps you, too, keep bitter secrets, but for now, I would like to believe that you do not. I know you will grow into a beautiful young woman, daring and childlike, when I am gone. Things that once frightened you will frighten you no longer. You will be honored, as a Guardian should.
But when heartbreak comes, Rikku, never deny your inner feelings. Never hide your fear, your grief, or your anger, as I often wished you would do. For now, as we draw close to the end, I can see that it only makes your character more deep and meaningful than I had wanted to admit.
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Here Auron's handwriting became a little hesitant.
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Once Sin is defeated, I will leave this earth, for there is no reason that an Unsent should remain. The dead must never trouble the living—I broke that rule, and now it is time for me to rest. I will miss everyone, but a secret part of my heart, in the Farplane and beyond, will yearn for you most of all—that secret part of my heart that was touched once, and only once...by you. Something that even the high priest's daughter, in all her beauty, could never attain even though I know she greatly desired it. But I gave it to you, even though it was far too late for me...for us.
I will never be able to say these words to you, to your face, but I pray that you will hear them in your heart. One day we will meet again, and I promise you this: I will show you, with all my soul, what you have awakened in me.
Until then, live life the way you always have: cheerfully and without reservation. Let the sun in your heart shine through. Find that special man who will stand by your side forever, and love without holding back. Continue to dream with everything you have, because, as Tidus is a fine example, dreams may be fleeting, but they are a solid rock in times of turmoil.
Because that is how you drew me to you. That is why everyone loves you, but I hope you will understand that 'everyone' does not necessarily include me...because I want you to know that I feel something far more different, far deeper, than what they feel.
In my heart, in my secret universe where the flowers bloom and the stars shine, you are there, my one and only, forevermore.
Auron
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The thin papers fell gently from Rikku's hand as she realized Auron's final, underlying message. Tears pooled in her emerald eyes.
"Auron, why didn't you tell me?" she whimpered.
Even if they had...if she had known, it would have never worked out, wouldn't it? He was an Unsent, in his thirties; she was barely sixteen. Besides, she had always considered him standoffish yet reliable, and appreciated it, but had she been so blind as that?
She realized that she would have never been able to see his emotions, because of his tinted glasses, which hid every emotion from her sight. And of course, he had remained comfortably aloof up until his disappearance. He never once looked, or acted, in any way that would have betrayed what he had confided to her in his letter. He treated her like a daughter, just as he did to Yuna. Never like a lover.
How long had he felt this way? Not for very long, she knew, but still...
Rikku turned over to look, with blurry eyes, at the closed door. Somewhere in the airship Yuna was grieving for a vanished love. Everyone was feeling her loss. But would they know that Rikku, too, mourned for someone gone?
She looked out the tiny porthole in her room. The sky was smothered with gray clouds. Cold, frozen rain rapped softly against the transparent material of the window.
Out there somewhere, Tidus had vanished.
And so had he.
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That night she dreamt of him, for the first time, of snuggling deep into his red coat and running her hands through his coarse, silver-shot hair, stroking his stubbled cheek, and knowing that he was returning her caresses, planting kisses in her sun-golden hair, and stroking her face and lips with smoothly-calloused fingers. Gone were his tinted lenses, no longer hiding the single auburn iris, whose burnt ocher glow made her breath catch in her throat and her young heart to tremble.
If ever she had doubted that he could have ever loved her, if ever she had questioned the words that he wrote to her, this dream always banished her uncertainty. Never mind the thin red line between life and death that parted them, never mind the twenty years that separated them, never mind their regret for not taking a chance to close the distance between them before it was too late—for in dreams, such barriers do not exist.
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And afterwards, when pyreflies danced before them in all their glory, while Yuna and Lulu gazed at the iridescent dashes of light and wept silently for the loves they had lost, Rikku closed her sorrowing eyes and envisaged that sweet vision again...of what could have been, of what should have been.
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FIN
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Postscript: My first Aurikku. Though I'm a bit more of a Rikku x Gippal [Rippal?] shipper, I like this pairing. It's nice and sweet.
By the way, when I said this story might be multi-chaptered, I'm not intending to make this into an Aurikku epic romance. Sorry guys. It's going to be more of a collection of Aurikku vignettes more than anything else, focusing on Rikku alone. That is, if it continues at all. I'm still not convinced I should carry on with this bit, although I do have a tentative second part in the works. Looks like I'll be continuing it anyway, but I do want feedback. Thanks.