Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X, and all related nouns and pronouns, appear courtesy of Square-Enix [formerly Squaresoft].
I LOVE MY REVIEWS. I am SO grateful to you all. I'm going to continue, definitely.
Now, herein begins a move into a prelude [of sorts] leading into FFX-2. I have decided that I will indeed post a FFX-2 companion piece to 'Correspondence'...but that'll have to wait till this one is fully finished. [So don't get too excited.] And, if you haven't familiarized yourself with my Original Characters, go back and read Part 2. They are very important. Their English [Spiran] is a bit queer because they're newer to it than Rikku is; so there.
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"CORRESPONDENCE"Inspired by Final Fantasy X
by Kairos27
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Rikku walked down to 'ground zero', that is, what was left of Home, and for a moment, just stared at the salvagers and the builders pottering about on the foundation, shouting to each other and pointing to sheets of blueprints that were scattered here and there. Home had been a large monument to the advancement of technology, and it was going to take a long while before everything was the way it used to be, considering that Cid had cockamamie plans to make New Home, as he put it, "a hundred times better and bigger than the old one!"
Well, she couldn't blame her father; Cid had always been quixotic. Besides, Home had not been entirely destroyed, so there was still enough to work off of, and they had machinery to help them. Salvage missions were still underway, even during the rebuilding.
Tents were strewn here and there around the construction site, and people were scurrying around, going in and out as they pleased. Everyone seemed busy.
"Rao drana! Rikku!" Emie called, jogging easily towards her. She was holding something that looked like a wrench, and her face was smudged. Apparently, she'd been occupied, too. "Come over, and please to help us lift the beam."
Emie motioned to a spot a few yards away, where a group of Al Bheds was struggling to carry a steel beam. Once they had Rikku's help, the beam slid easily into place on the mechanical crane, which lifted the beam up to the desired spot.
"Frana'c Sesera?" Rikku asked, when Emie put down her wrench and wiped her forehead.
Emie smiled. "Would you believe, she went off on her own crazy cymjyka secceuh! Leave a note when I wake up. So she is not here." She looked at Rikku. "And how are you? Fine?"
Rikku opened her mouth to utter a noncommittal 'Fine', but his voice from her dream returned to her thoughts:
{"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..."}
"I'm doing great, actually," Rikku said cheerfully. "I figure that's better for everyone concerned, you know?"
"Indeed," Emie said thoughtfully, scrutinizing Rikku's sudden optimism. "I am glad."
Rikku nodded energetically. "So, what now, now that Sesera's not here? Do you have any idea what she's going for?"
"I don't know, really. Sesera does the most unexpected things...I remember our ytjahdina, she would do anything short of being killed when she wanted to do something. I hope she will keep safe."
"I think so; she seems hardy—and milgo—enough," Rikku joked.
Emie smiled indulgently, and they walked a little ways from the construction site. Once they were out of earshot of the nearest person, Emie whispered. "I see you have no more sadness. You are better?"
"Yeah..." Rikku looked down at her boots. "I dreamed about him."
"Ah, you see what we say before?" Emie said kindly, patting her on the shoulder. "Ymm oui ryja du tu ec pameaja...yht ra femm lusvund oui eh ouin tnays. Oui caa, ra cdemm mejac uh."
They were cut off by someone shouting, "Emie! Kad ouin pidd pylg rana! Ec Rusa kuehk du napiemt edcamv?"
Emie rolled her eyes. "Fryd y zang," she mumbled. She squeezed Rikku's shoulder, said, "I will speak more with you later," and retraced her steps.
Rikku watched as she went, and decided at that moment to go find her father.
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She found Cid standing in what used to be the east wing of Home, shouting directives at the workers there. His baldhead was shining with sweat from the Bikanel sun.
"Pops?"
Cid turned to see his daughter standing at his elbow. "Ah, Rikku! Where were you all afternoon yesterday? Brother told me he'd seen you go into the airship and you hadn't come out since."
"I was getting reacquainted with Sesera and Emie, Pops." Rikku toyed with her glove.
"Sesera? Yalek's daughter?" Cid almost laughed. "The kid made it back from her fanatical venture in one piece, did she?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "We talked for a long time, considering we haven't seen each other for almost three years."
Cid sighed. "Anyway, that silly brother of yours is begging me to let him go on a salvage mission with his friends. I told him that he could expect not to go, until our little Yuna makes sure that the new society will treat us right."
"Um," Rikku said vaguely.
"Speaking of which, Rikku, I've got big plans for New Home. I've told you, correct? It's going to be fabulous. This Eternal Calm—well, you can feel it in the air, can't you? No more fear..."
He put his arm around her, in a rare exhibition of fatherly love. "And I have you to thank for it," he added, giving her a little squeeze. "You know...what you did was worth it. But you had me worried for a while."
Rikku looked up at her father, his usually 'tough' gaze softened, and for a fleeting instant saw sorrow—a feeling that seemed alien to Cid—flit though his eyes. For a brief moment, her heart deluged with love for her father, and she jumped into his surprised arms.
"Cunno, tytto," she whispered.
"Now, now..." he said gently, patting her back, "don't blubber. You're my sunshine, Rikku...I don't want to see rain coming down on you, you hear? No one does."
Releasing him, she nodded. Cid ruffled his daughter's hair. "Smile." With that he turned back to the workers [some of whom had stopped to watch this touching scene] and yelled at them to keep moving.
No one wants to see me sad. Rikku mulled this thought over and over as she walked back towards the airship.
It was true. She had always been the happy one on Yuna's quest, and if she were downhearted, the others would have been, as well. Fine. For the world's sake, she would be happy, the way the populace wanted her to be, and how they would remember her.
When she got to her room, she saw a piece of paper neatly taped flat against her door, so that when the door slid to and fro, the paper would not get lost in the cracks. She took down the letter, surprised that she did not notice it before. When she had come out of her room, she had not looked back as the door closed, which was why she missed it.
The handwritten note was from Sesera, written in Spiran. [Interestingly, Sesera's writing was better than her speaking.] It ran thus:
Rikku,
It was pleasant seeing you again after such a long time's absence; I am sorry that I rushed away so quickly. Emie will tell you, if she has not already, why I have gone, but I shall come back very soon, hopefully. I left her a note. Hopefully you two will have nice times while I am gone, but when I come back you may expect that I would like you to take us to meet Lady Yuna in Besaid.
Until then, stay well, and everything will be all right.
–Sesera.
P.S. I am thankful that you confided your secret in us. I realize that it was a very sensitive topic, and that is caused much pain for you to utter of it. I hope you are not still sad; it is not your nature, and sadness does not fit you. Be assured that we will guard your secret well.
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That evening, Emie and Rikku were back in Rikku's room on the airship, talking—Emie insisted on practicing her stilted Spiran. Emie was describing their 'excellent adventure'; saying that her version of the story was bound to be more factual than the overenthusiastic Sesera's, and the one that Rikku should listen to first.
"Sesera say we go just for the fun of it. We do nothing really useful, though we did learn a lot along the way. But I envy you. I never think that you would defeat Sin and look for the Makahtyno Faybuh," Emie was saying admiringly. "I at first think that they are not real, they are makaht. But now I see they are real."
"Yeah." Rikku stretched. "At first, when I got Godhand, I thought it was too good to be true."
Emie laughed. "On our ytjahdina, Sesera and I, we travel all over Spira, but we never find new weapons like you—we keep our machina—our guns. Two to each." Emie pointed to her belt, which was similar to Sesera's. It had two holsters—one on the left, one on the right. Each held a streamlined pistol, glinting with steel. Rikku hadn't looked at them this closely before, and she had to admit that they looked pretty cool.
"Wow..." Rikku breathed. "Can I hold one?"
"Sure...don't shoot me," Emie said, as she withdrew one pistol and handed it to Rikku. Rikku turned it over and over in her hands before giving it back. "I've seen plenty of machina, but those are really nice. How did you get them?"
"Ah." Emie held up her finger. "It is part of what we call a 'dress-sphere'. We took the gun, and do not use the rest."
"What's a 'dress-sphere'?"
Emie blushed. "It was supposed to be secret. You will not tell that I tell?"
Rikku, too curious to care about making promises, quickly agreed. "Course."
"My little brother Shinra, he invents the system. You have a sphere—" here Emie took out a small sphere—"if you activate it, it will dress you up into a new battle costume." Emie sighed. "Shinra, he is a little boy genius. It is amazing to see how they work. I give him some treasure sphere, and he makes them into dress-spheres. But Sesera and I, we do not use them often, if at all; just the guns. This mine."
"Wow," Rikku breathed, as Emie handed her the sphere. "What kind of outfit is it?"
"It is called Gun—ah, be careful!" Emie exclaimed as Rikku accidentally activated the sphere. A gentle flash of light accompanied the event, and, before one could say "Yevon" the deed was done, and Rikku was dressed in...well, to say the least, racier clothes: a very tight-fitting t-shirt that was cut off at the midriff and had an extremely low neckline; followed by very short blue shorts and a queer, long piece of ruffled fabric that hid most of her left leg and flapped in the air; and the costume was topped off by a pair of thigh-high boots.
"It is called 'Gunner'," Emie finished lamely, as Rikku stared down at herself, half-horrified and half-excited. "We use the guns, but not the costume...you see why. Very...ah, najaymehk."
"Oh, gosh," Rikku said. "Wow. Just...wow."
"Uh, Rikku, you can deactivate it now," Emie said quickly. Reluctantly, Rikku deactivated the sphere, returning to her normal attire, and gave the sphere back to the somewhat embarrassed Emie.
"So you fought fiends with the...machina? Even though they were...illegal?"
"Oh yes. When we out in the open, no one see us, then it is fine. But when we go into big cities, we had to hide them. Also we had to hide our eyes."
"Um," Rikku nodded, remembered when she had had to do that with Wakka.
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Conversation languished a little. Finally, Emie stood up. "I going to sleep," she said apologetically, "I am tired from the work."
"Oh! Of course...don't let me keep you up!" Rikku jumped to her feet, ready to see Emie off.
"Rikku," Emie asked, "You will remember not to tell about the dress-sphere? Because Shinra will be very mad if he knows."
"Of course not! Cross my heart!"
"Good, good." Emie hugged her briefly, and turned to go. "You sleep too...sweet dreams." Winking playfully, Emie exited the room, leaving a confused Rikku behind.
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That night, however, Rikku couldn't sleep. She must have gotten too much sleep last night. Even when all was quiet, meaning that everyone who cared to be asleep was asleep, she was still awake in her bunk, staring at the ceiling.
She mulled over what Emie had told her. Emie and Sesera had traveled the same roads, fought the same fiends, and faced the same hardships that Yuna and her group had. Only Sesera had gone for the fun of it, and dragged Emie along. Emie had even confided that Sesera had five long, deep gash scars across her back, scars that would never heal—memoirs of a fiend who had tried, and failed by only the smallest margin, to kill the willful Al Bhed. Sesera would have bled to death that night, had she been anyone else but Sesera, strong-willed, mischievous, and resilient. Emie herself had battle scars, long dark red lines drawn across her arms and upper back.
Scars. Rikku had many. Save for burn marks on her arm that were barely noticeable, a memory of the thunder spell that had struck her so many years ago, all of them she had received in the past two years, during the salvage mission and her quest with Yuna. She sighed and pulled the covers over her head.
Sleep would still not come.
Irrationally, as it happened before she fell asleep, her thoughts drifted from her wounds to those of her cousin. Yunie's main scar must lie in her soul; she had always regretted that she could not do much to help the party when it came to brute strength, but emotionally, she bore more painful wounds that any of them combined...
Except maybe Auron.
Oh cred. Rikku winced and let out an involuntary whimper as she burrowed deeper into the sheets, curling up into a ball, trying to dampen the agonizing feeling of remorse and heartsickness that welled up in her stomach and traveled up to her chest and threatened to pour out of her eyes in the form of hot, large, salty tears.
She buried her head in the pillow, and cried. So much for being everyone's happiness. I can't do this, Auron. I can't smile, tytto. What am I doing to myself? Why can't I stop this sadness?
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A brief flash of light startled her out of her tearful reverie. Jerking up in bed, wiping her eyes, she looked around.
It was a pyrefly; a lone pyrefly. Wide-eyed, she watched as it darted around her room, giving a gentle glow wherever it alighted. How had it come here? Had someone died in the night? Or was there a ghost, perhaps? Rikku shivered, and pulled the covers closer.
The pyrefly flitted easily up to her, and though it was nothing but a spot of light as far as she could see, it lit up her green eyes, making a virtual Eden shine out of them. Such was the magic of a pyrefly, for she knew [Yuna and Lulu had told her] that the light within a pyrefly is part of a human soul, which is the substance of true life.
She cupped her hands around the pyrefly, and it rested there, so it looked as if he held pure light in her hands. Its presence suddenly sent a feeling of comfortable warmth through her body, as if someone was embracing her from behind. Rikku shuddered despite the warmth; she knew the feeling too well now. However, when she looked behind her, no one was there.
Suddenly, the pyrefly flew out of her hand and paused, flitting in midair, and in a split second flew into Rikku's body, making contact with her sternum. Rikku gasped as she felt a slight pressure in her chest, but it soon faded.
She felt...comforted, all of a sudden. Everything that she had cried about, all her grief and fears and angers, melted away, leaving no trace.
Rikku lay down, and let out a huge sigh as her eyes closed.
As long as she lived, she never knew exactly where—or whom—that pyrefly came from, but maybe, her spirit knew all too well; for though she did not dream of him as vividly as she had before that night, it seemed that, from then on, her body, her soul, and her spirit pulsed with the cadence of his heartbeat, a sound she had never heard when they were together, but recognized all the same.
Being happy suddenly didn't seem so hard after all, not after being touched by a pyrefly.
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FIN part 3
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This was actually shorter than most of my chapters, and perhaps the least Aurikku-ish of them. But I had to somehow explain the transition between 'sad' and 'happy' Rikku, so there you have it. I will continue, but MORE reviews would be much appreciated! [I'm such a pig.]