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Author's Notes: Some FFX dialogue in this one with some minor changes to fit the situation. It's two conversations that Yuna and Tidus actually did have but tweaked for me. Also a little bit of Rikku, Wakka, and Lulu which will explain the title a bit more I think.


TWISTED DESTINY
by akksgurl
Chapter Nine: Too Much Information

"Are you okay?" it was the 16th time in a half hour that he'd asked her that and Yuna was starting to get annoyed.

"Yes. I'm fine, Tidus."

"Are you sure?"

Yuna gritted her teeth in annoyance as she maneuvered his wheelchair over the makeshift bridge Shuyin had put together to close the gap between the boathouse and the street. It was just a piece of plywood but it served the purpose. It was incredibly thin, however, so she needed to be careful or else she'd dump Tidus into the water below…an idea that was sounding more and more appealing as the minutes passed, "Yes…I'm sure."

"It's just that damned Werner was so rough with you and you were so upset on the way back. I can't believe Shuyin and Lenne just went off by themselves without even making sure you were okay." He sighed, "You are okay, right?"

Shuyin and Lenne had left after realizing that Yuna was perfectly fine. They'd asked once and then had dropped the subject. Tidus, however, was attempting to create a new record.

Yuna just wasn't used to having someone worry about her. In Spira the only person to really worry about you was you. Everybody had to look out for themselves and protect themselves from Sin. And then when Yuna had become a Summoner, no one worried about her because her days were numbered. Now suddenly she had this perfect guy who she was completely crazy about driving her completely crazy because he was worrying too much.

She sighed as she pushed Tidus through the front door, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Yuna angrily kicked the door shut behind her and swept passed Tidus to storm into the middle of the room, "I'm fine! I've been fine since we left the restaurant! I'm going to keep being fine no matter how many times you ask me if I'm fine!"

He grinned at her as he surveyed her expression, "You are so beautiful…"

Yuna rolled her eyes, anger instantly fading to giggling adoration. He made her feel so ridiculously young and impetuous. It was like the difficulties in her life didn't matter. It was like they hadn't happened. She was finally given the right and opportunity to act her age.

"I still can't believe Shu and Lenne left, though. They should have stuck around for a while in case we ran into more problems."

"In Zanarkand?" she asked with a wry smile, "The only crazy people in Zanarkand are the ones who will try to kill Bevelle residents."

Tidus sobered and pushed himself forward using the wheels of his chair until he was situated to Yuna's right side. He pulled her down toward him with his hands and kissed her softly, "I just don't want anything to happen to you. That's all."

"Nothing's going to happen to me. I'll be fine. And so will Shuyin and Lenne. They just had to go and finish up a few things for Zaon and Yunalesca's party tomorrow night."

Tidus leaned back against his chair, "I've been meaning to ask you about them. You seemed kinda shocked to see Zaon when we met him a few days ago. Did you know of him?"

Yuna slipped her shoes off casually and kicked them into a corner. Sitting down quietly on the sofa nearest Tidus, she said, "I think you need to understand what it's like where I'm from first."

"Okay."

"Well…Sin kills and destroys at will and at random so everyone lives in fear all the time. Death is something that lurks around the corner for every resident of Spira all the time. For 1000 years we've searched for a way to destroy Sin and we've searched for heroes to keep our hopes alive. Zaon and Yunalesca are two of those heroes. Lady Yunalesca and Lord Zaon defeated Sin 1000 years ago…er…well…I guess to you it'd be in the future."

"They defeated Sin?" Tidus squinted in thought, "But…didn't you defeat Sin?"

Yuna nodded, "I did…they did…and so did my father before me. We all brought the Calm to Spira. That's what we do. Summoners sacrifice themselves for the good of Spira so that we can have the Calm."

"What's the Calm?"

"The Calm is a time of peace. It comes after a summoner defeats Sin, and
lasts until Sin reappears." Tidus's confused expression told Yuna that she needed to clarify, "Sin dies and is reborn."

Tidus cried, "I get it! I thought it was weird. Yunalesca and Zaon defeated Sin, right? But Sin was still around for you and your dad! Didn't make much sense at first. Wait..." Tidus frowned deeply, "If it just comes back..."

"Don't say it isn't worth it..." interrupted Yuna, "Because it is. Even for a little while...people can sleep in their beds without being afraid. That kind of time is worth anything. Don't say it isn't worth it."

Tidus could obviously tell how impassioned she was about her beliefs and he didn't utter a word of reproach about what she'd said. She was so grateful for that. He asked, "Why does Sin always come back?"

"Sin is our punishment for our vanity. And it will not go away until we've
atoned."

Tidus frowned, "How do we do that? What did we do that was so bad in the first place?"

"It was our reliance on machina that the Yevon priests believe was the culprit. We played all day and let the machina do all the work. Then Sin appeared."

"Wait, was that such a bad thing, really?"

She blinked her duel-colored eyes in thought. Nobody had ever asked her that question before. She doubted anyone in Spira had ever even thought it with perhaps the exception of the Al Bhed who were constantly questioning everything the Yevon priesthood set forth as truth. She grimaced, "It's funny... Ever since I was young, I never questioned it. But now that you ask me if it is that bad or not...I don't know. There are so many things I
don't know."

"Well then, let's talk about things you do know." Tidus leaned forward in the chair and gently touched her knee, "Why don't you tell me what you miss most about your Spira?"

"You mean besides my friends?" she asked with a grin and then a sigh as she leaned back to think about it. There were so many things she missed and yet there were so many things she loved about Zanarkand and didn't want to leave behind…like Tidus. Finally, she settled on the one thing she missed the absolute most, "I miss Besaid. My Besaid. I miss the quiet sunrise over the beach and how you could sit there and listen to the ocean waves and the chirping birds and feel totally at peace."

Tidus nodded, "It's kinda loud there now."

"Yeah…" she agreed with a grin, "I was shocked to see that casino there. In my Besaid it's a temple. That's where I got my first Aeon on my pilgrimage."

"What's Besaid like where you're from?"

"It's a quiet little town. Well…I wouldn't even call it a town really. There's only one store and about five little huts lining the dusty pathway. The temple is the main center of Besaid. That's the only reason anybody comes there anyway. The beach has a boating dock to travel to Kilika or Luca but that's about it." Yuna sighed absently, "I was so shaken up by Besaid that I opted against going to Kilika and went to Nagi instead that day. I didn't want to see what Kilika was. In my Spira Kilika was a tiny portside town. The temple wasn't even in the town. It was through the woods."

Tidus was grinning at her stupidly as Yuna rambled and she finally came to a stop when his grinning became increasingly annoying. When she stopped, he said, "I'm glad you didn't go to Kilika. I think you would have died of complete shock."

"What do you mean?"

"Nobody goes to Kilika at all." He said with a wink, "Unless they…want something…"

Yuna lifted a brow, "What do you mean?"

"Um…well…" Tidus began, obviously searching for the right words, "Kilika is a place where…um…friendly girls…go to…um…sell their…abilities…"

Yuna's jaw dropped and she felt a blush tinge her features, "Kilika is a…"

"A brothel…" Tidus finished her thought for her.

Yuna couldn't believe it. It was bad enough that Besaid was a resort town, but to know that Kilika's morals had been that low…it was hard to imagine. Then again…was it really? Yuna started to giggle at her own thought and when Tidus stared at her in confusion, she voiced her feelings, "See…the more I think about it the more I can see it. The clothing style in my Kilika was always a little…risqué. I mean…there was this Summoner from Kilika – Lady Dona – who was walking all around Spira with her bottom hanging out of her dress and she didn't think anything of it!" giggling happily now, Yuna sat forward, "And then Dona's guardian Bartello. Oh my. He was just wearing a pair of low slung pants! All over Spira he was walking around topless! And when we went into Kilika all the men and women were dressed like that. I always wondered where that came from because the rest of Spira tends to dress rather conservatively."

Tidus started laughing, "Her ass was hanging out the entire time?!" he let out a flurry of giggles until he had to stop and catch his breath, "I can't believe that."

"Believe it!" Yuna insisted with a grin, "We looked ridiculous standing next to each other. Her in her half-naked state and me covered from head to toe in Besaid-style summoning garb."

Tidus winked at her, "Well, personally I liked your summoning garb. It left quite a bit to the imagination. And trust me when I say, I imagined quite a bit…"

Yuna blushed deeply, "Oh really?"

"Yes, really." Tidus whispered to her, "And if you'll let me, when my knee is better I'll be happy to give you a demonstration."

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For almost a week Rikku had put off telling Wakka and Lulu what she'd seen. It just never seemed like the appropriate time. Wakka was too wrapped up in the Aurochs and Lulu was wrapped up in whatever it was that Lulu wrapped herself up in. They both were trying to focus on anything other than the painful realization that Yuna was gone and Rikku didn't want to remind them of it. Especially because of the horrible vision she and Gippal had seen.

Rikku still couldn't quite believe it. It didn't make any sense to her. She had gone back the day afterward and called forth others she knew who had died. She'd called Keyakku who had perished when the Guado had attacked Home that horrible day. He'd looked exactly as she had remembered him. She called her mother and several cousins. Everyone looked exactly as she had remembered. Everyone…except Yuna.

"I've gotta talk to them." Rikku decided. She knew for a fact that both Wakka and Lulu had lunch at Wakka's hut every afternoon. Rikku wondered briefly why they hadn't invited her and then realized it was probably because she didn't particularly like Besaid cuisine. It left too much of an aftertaste for her liking.

The door to Wakka's hut was closed tightly and Rikku peered into the window but the room inside was darkened. Were they even there? Well, even if they weren't Rikku decided she'd just wait for them. This needed to be discussed. She couldn't keep putting it off any longer.

Rikku quietly tried the handle to the door and found it unlocked so she slipped in quickly. The Besaid residents didn't particularly trust her although the Al Bhed were getting a better reputation because of Yuna. However, they would have immediately jumped her if they thought she was breaking and entering.

The room was horribly dark and she stood quietly waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness so she could hunt for the blinds to open without breaking Wakka's belongings.

"Shh…"

Rikku's ears perked up at the sound of someone hushing another. She turned toward the sound which was coming from the other side of a curtain Wakka had hung to cut off his bed from the rest of the house until he built a wall around it. Someone was in the house?!

Wakka had been having problems with kids breaking in to take something from the home of the illustrious guardian who had also broken an Aurochs 10 year losing streak to defeat the Luca Goers.

Rikku's eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness to see the rope to one of Wakka's blinds nearest to the curtain. Rikku tiptoed quietly toward it, gripping it in her right hand and silently taking part of the curtain in her left. She counted to three silently in her head and on that final number pulled on both as quickly as she could to surprise the intruders.

Rikku was the one surprised.

She let out a horrified squeal, spinning on her heels, "My eyes!! My eyes!! I'm going blind!! My eyes!!"

Try as she might, the image was going to be forever ingrained in her mind. Wakka and Lulu…in a compromising position. Clothes strewn hither and yon on the floor behind the curtain. Both of them with their hands on the other's mouth to keep them silent.

At least Rikku now knew the real reason they never invited her to lunch…

The bed creaked behind her and Rikku heard shuffling for several minutes until Lulu put a hand on her shoulder. Rikku jumped and them blushed a deep red. Lulu just shook her head, "Honestly Rikku. You should have knocked first."

Rikku gaped at Lulu, "I didn't think you'd be doing…that!"

"Well now you've learned that you never do know for sure." Lulu continued with a reproachful look, "So you'll knock next time."

"At least we had the curtain drawn, ya!" Wakka cheerfully interjected as he slipped his shoes on.

A chill of terror went down Rikku's spine at the realization that she could have in fact walked in on something much worse if the curtain had been pulled back. Or…horrors…if she'd been a few minutes sooner.

Lulu sighed, "So what did you need, Rikku? Obviously it was pretty urgent if you stole into Wakka's house without knocking."

"How long have you guys been doing this…?" Rikku asked. She'd barely heard Lulu's question. Her mind was traveling a mile a minute as she wondered just how long this little fling had been going on. And if Yuna had known…

"About a month, ya." Replied Wakka with a grin, "Right about the time we started havin' lunch together."

And here Rikku was thinking they actually were having lunch. Never before had she felt so … so naïve.

"What did you need, Rikku?" Lulu asked with more force this time, gripping the smaller girl's shoulders and forcing her to look into her eyes.

Yes…Rikku did have something to talk to them about. Uncomfortable situation be damned. Rikku needed to tell them about this. They were Yevonites. Maybe they'd know what was going on and if they didn't then they might know someone who would.

So she spilled her guts. She told them about going to the Farplane – going into far too much detail about why the Al Bhed don't go there in the first place. She said that Gippal was the one who noticed it first even though he'd never seen Yuna. She described the old woman who had appeared when she called Yuna. She said that she'd been back recently to call others and they all looked fine. It was just Yuna.

It was the looks on Lulu and Wakka's faces that told Rikku that something was wrong with the situation. Up until then she'd managed to convince herself that somehow she was calling wrong and that the woman that kept showing up wasn't Yuna. But Lulu and Wakka seemed confused…horrified even. Something was wrong.

"So you're saying when you remembered Yuna, she appeared as an old woman?" Lulu asked again, squinting her eyes as if trying to clarify the information in her mind.

Rikku nodded, "Yes. I had my eyes closed and when Yuna appeared Gippal asked me why she looked 60 and that's when I opened my eyes and saw her."

"That's weird, ya." Wakka muttered to himself before looking at Lulu, "I thought the image shown is the one of you when you die."

"It is…"

"Then…why…?"

"I don't know, Wakka."

Rikku bit her lip, "Do you think having Gippal there messed something up. I mean…he doesn't know Yuna. Never did. Do you think he might have screwed it up when I called her?"

Lulu shook her head, black braids falling over her shoulders, "No. His memories wouldn't have gotten mixed up with yours. You called Yuna so she appeared to you as she looked when she died…but we all know she didn't die as an old woman." She stood and paced back and forth, "This doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe we should ask somebody." Rikku suggested. She really wanted to talk to an expert on the subject but she doubted one existed. She just needed to talk to someone up on Yevon clergy. Her eyes brightened, "Gippal said he was in the Crimson Squad with someone named Baralai who wanted to be a priest. We could ask him!"

"He's not a priest yet, is he?" asked Lulu.

"I don't think so."

The black mage frowned, "Then I doubt he'd be of much help. Unless he researches a lot like that old scholar we kept meeting up with."

Wakka made a face, "Maechen?"

"That's it." Lulu nodded, "I think we should ask him. He seems to know quite a bit."

"I think he's a kook." Wakka said, still making that odd face.

Lulu frowned again, "If you keep making that face it'll stick like that, you know."

"No it won't." Wakka fired back, "For a smart lady, you're kinda dumb."

"You want to repeat that?!" Lulu hissed angrily.

"Guys! Guys!" Rikku jumped between the two of them and held her arms out to fend them off, "You can kill each other later. Right now we have to figure out what's going on with Yunie."

Lulu composed herself. Rikku was actually quite surprised Lulu got angry at all. She was such a stoic person. Perhaps it was because Lulu really did like Wakka…maybe even love him. Rikku stifled a grin. At first the prospect disgusted her, but the more she considered it, the more she decided that the two of them made a good couple. A stoic person with a flamboyant person might just meet a happy medium.

Or might just end in a double homicide…

Either way, Rikku liked the idea.