Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X, and all related nouns and pronouns, appear courtesy of Square-Enix [formerly Squaresoft].
So, this stuff takes place in the interim two years between FFX and FFX-2. This bit is about Rikku reminiscing amidst some old childhood friends, and beginning to 'come to terms' with Auron's letter. The problem is that her feelings [and this narrative] are all jumbled. Go me. But there are still shades of Aurikku here and there. Please review; I love reviews too much.
Some of the dialogue is in Al Bhed. Find a translator if you need it.
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"CORRESPONDENCE"Inspired by Final Fantasy X
by Kairos27
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Bikanel Island was a hot, barren wasteland. It was also home to the Al Bhed Home...or what was left of it. But Home was Home, whether anything was left of it or not.
After Yuna's impassioned speeches to the people of Luca and Bevelle [yes, the poor girl had to say the same darn thing twice], she, Lulu, and Wakka returned home to Besaid to mourn, and to move on. But for Rikku, Besaid, the tropical island complete with palm trees and lovely beaches, was not truly home, though indeed the three Besaidians had become like family, and all a home really needs is a family. Being somewhat nationalistic, however, Rikku believed her home was with her people.
So to Bikanel Island she went.
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"RIIIIIIIKUUUUUUUUU!!"
An excited, welcoming shriek tore through the air. Rikku perked up and turned to see an Al Bhed girl, dressed in a dark blue tank top, shorts, and boots, with two guns slung at her hips, one on each side, bounding towards her. Following her was another girl, dressed similarly but in a muted burgundy color, jogging casually behind.
As per the Al Bhed genome, both had sunny blond hair and abnormally bright green eyes, but unlike Rikku's, which were green irises with swirled pupils [a mark of a pure Al Bhed bloodline], their pupils were normal, indicating their membership to a minor Al Bhed genetic pool. Despite the slight difference, though, there was no doubt that this second genome was fully Al Bhed, because of the nonexistence of truly green irises in Spira outside of the Al Bhed tribe, and therefore these 'normal-eyed' Al Bheds were treated as such, both by insiders and outsiders.
Anyway, the girl in front threw herself onto the former Guardian, kicking up a cloud of Bikanel sand as she did so. "E's cu kmyt oui'na cyva!" she yelled happily, swinging Rikku around crazily.
"Cdub dryd huf, Sesera," the other girl calmly chided as she walked up next to them.
With a sulk, the first girl, Sesera, released Rikku and stepped back. "Emie, oui'na cilr y byndo-buuban," Sesera pouted.
"Frydajan," Emie, the second girl, replied coolly.
Rikku had to blink for several moments before she really recognized whom these two girls were; she had been so lost in thought when she had come off the airship. "Sesera! Emie!" she gaped. She had forgotten all about them, and now that she remembered, she felt relieved that they had indeed survived the destruction of Home, but also guilty that they had been so far from her mind.
"You two...you're alive? How come I didn't see you?"
"Uh, Rikku...Fro yna oui dymgehk eh Spirah?" Sesera asked.
"Oh! Uh...E'ja paah cbaygehk ed vun duu muhk."
"That is all right," Emie said laboriously, her tongue working as she pronounced the words. "Sesera and I have been learned to speak Spiran, too. We do understand what you say."
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Sesera and Emie were two of Rikku's childhood friends. Sesera, a tall, lanky personality, was a loony character, full of beans, whereas Emie was a quiet, sensible intellectual. The three had played and plotted together regularly up until Rikku's thirteenth birthday, when she had volunteered for her first salvage mission.
When Rikku had gone off on that machina salvage expedition that ended up with her becoming a Summoner's Guardian, Sesera and Emie had remained at Home...but not for long. Soon enough, the restless Sesera had gotten the crazy idea to have an 'excellent adventure' around Spira, never mind the fact that Sin was still on the rampage and the Al Bhed still faced violent discrimination.
Sesera was an orphan; a machina explosion had claimed both her parents when she was an infant. Emie's immediate family had raised her, but even so she had no 'legal' guardian. Not that there was any such thing among the Al Bhed—everyone was family. Even so, Emie's family, and her friends and relations, tried to talk Sesera out of her plan. That didn't work. Soon, everything dissolved into a shouting match over whether Sesera should be allowed to start this 'excellent adventure'. Sesera then jumped up onto a table, yelled that Rikku, had gotten to go on a 'dangerous' salvage mission, and if Rikku did, she sure as hell had a right to. It was finally decided [though it was difficult because people were yelling over each other] that Sesera would be allowed to go, on condition that she did not go alone. Sesera said she would, but only ONE person could come with her. That made more people mad, but in the end, there was no stopping this affair. Emie, who had been the closest to Sesera throughout her life, was the obvious choice to be her companion, though Emie couldn't say that she really wanted to go.
Armed with guns [which, as luck would have it, were still illegal in Spira], ammunition, and pieces of gold Gil that Sesera had excavated from her own salvage missions [these were worth much more than the standard currency], the two set off on their 'excellent adventure': ready to get scalped, tarred and feathered, and to have some 'howling fine times'.
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Rikku had received word of their 'mad escapade', as her father put it, by comm-sphere while she was still out in the Submerged Ruins. "It's downright crazy!" Cid had ranted.
And she then she had never heard from Sesera and Emie any more. Some of the more pessimistic people assumed they were dead, but those who really knew Sesera didn't really believe she could be done away with that easily. ["She's like a cockroach!"]
Until now...they were standing right in front of her.
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Taking up Emie's practical suggestion to find a place more comfortable place to talk than in the burning hot sand, the three girls re-entered the huge airship, even as people were beginning to trickle out of the large vehicle. They ended up in a side room that contained exactly three chairs. Having sat down, Sesera resumed talking.
"We heard of your becoming a Guardian when we saw the marriage of Lady Yuna to that ugly blue-haired pycdynt of a Guado," Sesera explained. "We saw the guns pointed towards you. We worried very much for your safety."
"Sesera had got the crazy idea to try to find you and rescue you. As if our ytjahdina was not enough," Emie snapped.
"I know you did enjoy our ytjahdina, Emie—do not lie," Sesera shot back. Turning back to Rikku, she added, "We saw the sorry excuse for a synneyka on sphere video that was being shown in public. Then it got cut off. But you—you were ihsecdygypma."
Rikku nodded absently. She recalled the events of that day: Tidus was openly seething with jealousy, Wakka was looking confused about the whole proceeding, Lulu was staring straight ahead, her eyebrows arched in disbelief, and Auron...oh, Auron...he looked blank, as usual—how she wished he could have...she could have...they could have...
"...So you had defeated Sin," Sesera prattled on, not knowing that Rikku wasn't really paying attention to her anymore. "And we are all very glad. We saw Lady Yuna's speech, and then we decided to come back to Home."
"We knew it had been tacdnuoat—once again, we learned by comm-sphere—those things are very icavim—but we came back anyway because we knew that we shall rebuild the Home after what Lady Yuna said," Emie put in.
"Uh-huh," Rikku said vaguely.
Emie then realized that Rikku was not listening. Looking intensely at her expression, Emie then saw that Rikku had a very faraway look on her face; she was reminiscing. Sesera looked at Emie; they nodded to each other, and got up.
"We will not bother you, we will leave you now," Emie said quietly, patting Rikku's shoulder.
"Hu!" Rikku's eyes suddenly snapped back into focus. "Uh...I...uh, I mean, E...E fyhd oui du cdyo. Ed'c paah cu muhk. E tuh'd fyhd du..."
Surprised, Sesera and Emie plopped back down into their chairs. "Fryd?" Sesera asked.
Rikku looked away. "E tuh'd fyhd du muca dnylg uv oui kioc ajan ykyeh."
Emie's eyebrows shot up. "Fro?"
"Rikku, fryd yna oui dymgehk ypuid?" Sesera wondered.
Then Rikku turned her head, and glanced into Sesera's and Emie's green eyes, with those 'normal' circular pupils. Her long-lost friends.
"E maynhat cusadrehk vnus so xiacd. E maynhat dryd E cruimt hajan fycda desa fedr druca E muja."
At that, both her companions seemed to comprehend it all, and they nodded to each other once more. "We see it now, what you are saying," Emie continued in Spiran. "You do speak of what Lady Yuna said. She said, 'Never forget them'...I understand now what she meant."
Sesera agreed. "Yes. I do not fool myself when I see the cythacc in Lady Yuna's eye. She speaks of lost time. Lost love."
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Sesera and Emie were astute than she had given them credit for. At Sesera's stilted pronunciation of "Lost love," her thoughts [at first] immediately flitted to memories of the despair on Yuna's face as she looked into the misty heavens, but then re-drifted back to the thin pieces of cheap paper, covered with the writing of him who could have been hers, more precious to her than anything she could ever have imagined, now folded neatly and carefully in her shirt.
And she let out an unconscious sigh that sounded, oh God forbid, heartsick.
"Rikku?" Sesera suddenly sounded worried. She had heard the mournful overtone in that breath of air.
"Nothing! I, uh..." Rikku sighed. "Nothing. Hudrehk."
"Huhcahca! I do not believe it." Sesera sounded firm. "But...we will not speak of it, if you so wish." She got up and scratched the back of her head, and then added, "I suppose we shall just read of it when it comes out as a hujam, eh?"
"Sesera!" Emie rebuked a bit sharply. "There is no need for that. You sound almost ehcumahd!"
Taken aback, Sesera's shoulders dropped. "Cunno," she mumbled.
"Not to me, cdibet," Emie sighed. "To Rikku."
Sesera's shoulder dropped even further. "Rikku..." She scratched the back of her head again, nervously. "Was that an insult to you? E's cunno. I am a vuum eteud."
Rikku stared back up at the two girls. What an awkward conversation they'd been having! Working their way around words, trying to hide, trying to pry. They wanted to know, and she just wanted to be left alone, but she was scared that if she didn't try to spend this time with these two, who had once been so dear to her, one day, they would just up and leave...just as he did...without them ever understanding each other, the way they were now.
She didn't want to make that mistake again. Not with anybody, she realized. Not with her father, not with her friends, not even with Brother, who sometimes really deserved to be shut up in the loony bin.
Rikku sighed, a much longer sigh. The only way to go about fixing that was to tell nothing but the truth. A truth she would much rather dismiss, but was it worth losing this chance to reconnect, in this uncertain world where she realized anything could happen?
"No, you're right, Sesera. There is something...I haven't told you."
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The three girls later found themselves entering Rikku's room in the airship. Once they were all inside, Sesera and Emie plopped unceremoniously onto the bunk as Rikku began rummaging through her things.
The first thing that caught Sesera's eye was a large, somewhat orange-reddish metal contraption that Rikku briefly slid onto her arm, before removing it and placing it on the floor. Sesera was stumped, but Emie, having studied and read extensively, both at Home and during their 'excellent adventure', immediately recognized it.
"Y Makahtyno Faybuh!" Emie exclaimed, awed. "It is Kutryht! The Hand of God!"
Sesera's jaw dropped. "Naymmo?" she gasped, reaching forward cautiously to stroke the metal coat of the ultimate claw. "Rikku, you have really went to obtain a Makahtyno Faybuh?"
"It's right in front of you," Rikku said a bit wryly, smiling. "In fact, I have others. But of course, that's the most powerful. And legendary."
"You picked it up on your xiacd?" Sesera asked.
"Upjeuicmo."
A whistle escaped Sesera's lips as she withdrew her hand. "What a time you must have had!"
"Yeah," Rikku said. "I guess I did. But you guys, I heard, went off on your own quest."
"Yes, our 'excellent adventure'!" Sesera laughed. "We had fun..."
Emie groaned. "...But it was also quite buehdmacc. Not like yours, Rikku."
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Buehdmacc. Pointless. No, Rikku had to admit, their mission hadn't been pointless; if they hadn't done it, Sin, the Sin that had destroyed their livelihoods, would still be lurking, hiding, killing, rebirthing. Now Sin was gone, and there was a lot to be said for that.
But if so, why, then, did she feel so listless? She should feel glad, triumphant. She was alive. She was well on her way to revered fame, along with her companions. But something was missing.
Maybe if she retold the story, she would be able to pinpoint exactly why and what. She really didn't want to admit to herself that she might already know the answer.
"I joined the party when I was trying to kidnap Yuna..."
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Several hours later, Rikku finally fell silent. She had withheld nothing from them, telling every truth that she knew could not be hidden forever.
Sesera dashed a tear from her eye. "So that is what Lady Yuna spoke of. What and whom we should not forget."
"Yes." Even the normally reserved Emie looked more than a little touched. "Sir Auron, he did not tell you what he feel earlier?"
"I couldn't see it!" Rikku suddenly burst out, burying her face in her hands. "I only found out...at the very end, when it was too late."
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And at that moment, she realized what was missing; or at the very least, she was forced to admit it for the last time, what made it seem so pointless.
"Yunie must feel the same way," she realized. With Tidus, her sunlight, gone, the Calm Yuna had to go home to, the one she had helped bring to Spira, was really nothing at all. To the ignorant masses, the Calm would be a long-awaited godsend, and they would forever remember Yuna as being their heroine, but they would never sincerely thank her for what she had done. They all believed that Yuna had done it out of her own merit, on her own strength, and lived to tell about it—the thought would never cross their minds that she had had to pay a price. Yuna had given up her personal happiness, and her entire life, to give them theirs. The world would continue turning, the sun, moon and stars would continue their dance across space, people would continue their work and play under the eye of heaven, and celebrate their newfound 'undying' peace. But Yuna, the one who had led the quest to see it done, would be alone.
So would Rikku.
I don't have to feel this way! I didn't have to! I wouldn't have, if it weren't for the letter! Why the hell did Auron have to write me that letter? Why couldn't he have just taken it with him to the Farplane, and the hell with it all? Why? Why would he leave me with this feeling of empty loneliness? Doesn't he know that he...broke my heart?
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She must have said that out loud, because Emie's quiet voice cut in gently.
"Because he thought you would have need of it. Would you have rather not love, and never know the truth, or would you have the truth and yet sorrow because he tell you of his love?"
"No!" Rikku cried, and to her chagrin, tears began to seep out of her eyes. She tried to hide them, but for someone usually so candid, doing that was impossible.
A look of compassion washed over Sesera's face as she got down, knelt next to her friend and put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Rikku, Emie is right. I think he knew it would cause you hurt, but someday you will be comforted to know of it. I think Sir Auron believe that love may be a mistake, but it is a worthy mistake. He just want you to know that you were not unloved, that you were worth more than you think, and that you mean the world to him." One had to hand it to Sesera: she may not have been very book-smart, and she was rather foolish and impractical, but, when one considered her knowledge of the cruel world and her savoir-faire, she was very wise.
Emie followed suit, stroking Rikku's hair consolingly as the girl wept and at the same time tried not to, leading to strange combinations of sobs and coughs. "Ricr, ed'c ymm nekrd," Emie comforted. "Pameaja, yht ra femm nasyeh ymeja eh ouin tnaysc."
And at that—Sesera and Emie didn't seem to realize the truth of their words cut deeply into her heart—Rikku broke down entirely. She buried her face into Sesera's blue shirt, and her hand clutched Emie's.
"You save Spira," Sesera's kindly whisper drifted to her ears. "But you feel it was lonely and pointless without him. Is it not strange? He wrote only a letter to you, and it touch your heart so very deep."
"You never know, did you?" Emie added, resting the full length of her free arm on Rikku's shoulder, exerting a friendly pressure, while continuing to stroke her blonde hair. "You never know that you could have loved him." Tapping Rikku on her collarbone, she added, "You have space in your heart for him that you did not know. And he has space in his heart for you. He open up your heart, and you open his."
Rikku shuddered, as if she was sinking deeper into her melancholy, and more tears soaked Sesera's clothes.
Sesera hushed her, rocking her like a crying infant. "Ra femm fyed vun oui. Unlike Sir Tidus, we know where he is gone in passing; he is not lost, only gone before. And in the life to come, he will be healed of all his hurts and he will come to you, fight away your sorrow, and hold your hand evermore."
It was almost too much to hope for, as Rikku bawled, not caring that her face was becoming red and puffy with crying. Selfish, she knew, because she felt sure that Yuna was feeling the exact same way, and probably acting bravely, choking back the tears even when she was alone—while here Rikku was sobbing her heart out, and at the same time berating her weakness.
The downpour of emotions and confessions sapped Rikku of her strength, and when the tears finally stopped, she sat limply against Sesera, hiccupping like mad. Cred, but she was so stupid. Falling in love with the words on pieces of cheap paper, falling in love with the man whose rough hand had written them, when he was already gone...too late.
"Hold his memory close to your heart," she distantly heard Emie say. "Do not think that his love was only for the end, only to make you hurt. Believe rather, and remember what he did for you when he was still with you. Remember the way he were, and dream of him."
With that, Emie slowly lifted Rikku into her arms, like a baby [though Emie was Rikku's height, Sesera was particularly taller than they], and helped her lie down on the bunk. "You are tired," Emie said gently. "Anything else can wait until you are refresh."
Sesera nodded as she unclasped Rikku's hair and tucked her in. "We go to see what the others are doing. We will come back."
Noiselessly, Emie and Sesera retreated out of them room, as Rikku's tired eyes closed, welcoming this final respite from her mixed-up emotions.
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She dreamed of him, but he was different now—his eyes were both fully functional, without the scar, and he was clean-shaven. Still hurt by her emotional breakdown, she sat on the nonexistent ground and drew her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them, letting him come to her.
"I'm sorry," were his first words.
"How could you do this to me?" she shot back. "I don't understand."
She kept her eyes tightly closed—she did not want to look into his dusky eyes, and lose herself before she wanted to.
He sighed, and the richness of the sound fluttered her heartstrings as he sat down next to her.
"I didn't want to lie to you. I didn't want to take a lie to my grave."
She opened her eyes to glare at him. "I wish that you had lied."
His eyebrow lifted. "Really? And I thought you were the one who was trying to get me to open up."
"I don't need to hear this!" she screeched, and stood up, fully intending to turn around and walk away, but she hadn't taken more than two steps when she heard the rustling of clothes behind her and his arms winding themselves gently around her body.
Oh dear, now she was caught. Though she tried to act stiff and noncommittal, she failed terribly, seeing as he wasn't letting go and she wasn't trying to break away.
"Are you really here?" she hazarded.
"Yes and no. The Farplane is the land of dreams, and the land of souls."
She grumbled. "So much for asking."
"Then don't," he said, his voice lowering to a husky whisper. Rikku's skin broke out into gooseflesh. This was not getting any better. Worse, she didn't even mind, because she was leaning into his chest.
"Why, Auron?" she whimpered. "Just tell me why."
He sighed one more time, and this time, she felt his lips brushing the nape of her neck.
"Because I love you. If ever you believe anything, believe that I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes. But for now, all I want is...to see you happy. I want the world to see the sun shine in your heart, just like you showed me. Do that, and my heart will go with you always..."
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The vision dissipated like smoke from a campfire, but Rikku did not awake. Instead, she continued her slumber, one that, maybe, would restore her to herself.
Never again would she fall asleep, without praying for another dream of him to come—for when she awakened, the wound would always heal.
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FIN Part 2
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Postscript: This one took a long time. I mean a long time.
True to my form, I have introduced Original Characters, who are crucial to all my stories. They always are. Anyway, I am pleased that you all want me to continue, so here it is, for your pains. I also have a third part in the process, so look for it sometime soon. Hopefully. It will continue whether you like it or not, I suppose. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!