Hi people! This is my first fanfic so if its really bad, please don't flame too much. Oh, by the way, this story is set after X but before X-2.And before you complain about the story, yes, I have gotten the good ending when beating X-2 and Rikku thinks some strangely dumb things and Shuyin isn't in this story, it's the Tidus shadowing thing Yuna sees on the Farplane in X-2. By the way, its really emotional.Anyway, enjoy!
It was quiet, but you'd expect that traveling the Moonflow at night. The only person on the road was a young, Al Bhed girl no older than sixteen.
Rikku had just been dropped off by her brother an hour ago. He protested, saying he would have to salvage machina all by himself but in the end she won.
She was very tired, but she knew she had to keep going. She needed to know if something was true and she had to make sure of it.
(Flashback)
They were standing on the airship deck with Yuna, her cousin, as she sent her aeons. She looked at the boy, the dream of the Fayth, and her dream as well, as he began to disappear. Yuna looked at him and shook her head. "No." said Yuna, her eyes watery. He spoke," Yuna, I have to go."" I'm sorry I couldn't show you Zanarkand." "Goodbye!" he began walking towards the edge of the ship. Rikku's eyes began to well with tears. "Hey!" yelled Wakka, another one of her cousin's guardians. "We're gonna see you again…?" whispered Rikku trying to fight back the tears. "Yuna" shouted another guardian, Kimahri, for Yuna had ran to the young man set on embracing him but ending up running through him. Everyone gasped. Pyreflies erupted from his body and as Yuna stood up she spoke the three words to him that broke Rikku's heart." I love you".
Tears now freely flooded Rikku's face. She turned around so no one could see her as she wiped them away. She had to act as though nothing was wrong. She turned around, jumping and waving as though he was just going on vacation. Then, after turning back one last time, he sprinted off the airship never to return. The one person she had ever loved but hadn't loved her back, the Zanarkand Abe, Tidus.
(End of Flashback)
She would never forgive Yuna. Rikku knew it wasn't Yuna's fault but she still felt she loved Tidus much more than her. She tried to avoid her bi-colored eyed cousin as much as possible. The only reason Rikku would go see her cousin was to ask if she had found anything about him and every time the reply was "no'. Rikku prayed every morning and every night, hoping that maybe he'd come back and that, maybe, just maybe, he loved her instead of Yuna. Then she'd cry herself to sleep.
That's when Rikku had an idea. 'What if he's on the Farplane' she thought to herself causing her to drop the machina parts she was carrying into the water after her five day salvaging mission in the Moonflow bay. Brother was furious but the young Al Bhed managed to calm him do enough to ask him a little favor. That's when she told him to leave her there and come back in a day or so.
She didn't tell him why, though. The thought of her brother thinking she was in love with someone, especially a dream boy, would make him think that she was crazy and would take her home, saying she was sick.
Just as she turned down the path towards Guadosalam, a wild Tonberry blocked her way. "Get out of my way" she yelled at it. The Tonberry didn't seem to care and took a step closer. "Fine," said Rikku pulling out her Godhand weapon," I'll get you out of the way instead". She took a swipe at the Tonberry but it did little damage. Then, the Tonberry stabbed her in the hip. "Drain!" screamed Rikku in pain and she recovered. The Tonberry took another step closer.
'Damn, this isn't working', thought Rikku,' I guess I'd better finish him'. "Protect" yelled Rikku and a barrier of light appeared in front of her as the Tonberry waddled over to stab her. She dodged and tried to attack but missed, narrowly avoiding the Tonberry's extra sharp knife. Catching it off guard, Rikku attacked with a smoke bomb covering the area with a dark cloud of smoke which vanished only a moment later. Now, the Tonberry was only a few feet away. " This is my only chance" whispered Rikku. "Holy!" she shouted. White light surrounded the Tonberry and attacked with holy orbs causing a massive explosion.
"Yeah!" cheered Rikku but she had cheered too soon. Without a moments notice, Rikku let out a scream of pain for the still alive Tonberry stabbed her in the chest. She fell onto her knees, blood gushing out of her body. The Tonberry looked pretty bruised. Blood still gushing out of her, Rikku grabbed her weapon a few feet away and chucked it at the Tonberry. It was a direct hit to the head and a second later, burst into pyreflies. Rikku smiled in relief and then began to cough up blood. She laid down, the amount of blood flowing out of her now weak body increasing quickly, her vision getting darker by the second. "No", whispered Rikku," It can't end like this" and she blacked out.
Tidus watched this, submerged under water. Yes, he had disappeared but now that he had the dirty blond haired man somehow had the ability to see and hear things or people back in Spira. Sometimes, it was just random people going about their day but other times it was Yuna crying and calling for him or maybe Wakka, saying he missed Tidus, but most of all, Rikku. Tidus had loved Yuna for a short time but he realized he didn't love her like that but that he loved her like a sister and he'd never told her but Rikku was different. Rikku, the happy, hyper, cute, Al Bhed thief. It wasn't until the day he disappeared that her realized he loved her. But, he'd never get to see her again and what if she didn't love him? Tidus had seen Rikku with another man, Gippal, which made him sure, she didn't love him.
Rikku awoke in a small bed in a room with blue stone walls. She sat up, surprised by the fact she was alive and able to move. The room had a very dusty exterior and several sheets covering old furniture. A basement. She sat up. and noticed a sickening smell pass her nose. She knew that smell. Blood. 'Its probably from my injury' thought Rikku noticing the place where she had been stabbed was bandaged. " I must be in Guadosalam" muttered Rikku excitedly.
Just then the door open and in came a young and spacey looking woman with long, black hair and blue, misty eyes. "Your awake" she said blankly. "Yes" said Rikku and then adding," Who are you?" She paused for a moment, looking at the blond haired girl "I am Lentera," she said," and you must be Lady Rikku, one of the High Summoner's guardian". Rikku looked at the ground and then looked away. "Righto" said Rikku sadly. She didn't like when people talked about Yuna as the "High Summoner" or "the summoner who defeated Sin". Lentera walked to one of the many sheets and pulled a old, wooden chair out, set it down and sat down in it, staring at the ground.
"I must say", said Lentera still staring at the ground, "I am surprised you are still alive after an attack like that". "I found you passed out just down the road from Guadosalam as I was on my way home and you were bleeding quite a lot". "Tell me," Lentera asked looking up at Rikku," what injured you?" "It was a Tonberry," mumbled Rikku, "and I tried to kill it but I couldn't". Lentera looked at her sympathetically for a moment but then her expression changed to a scolding look. "And why where you out at such a late hour," scolded Lentera in a motherly tone," You, one of the High Summoner's guardians of all people, should know its very dangerous at night". Rikku looked away. She didn't want to let the truth out. "I had to go somewhere to check something." She choked back a tear. "Was it someone you love," asked Lentera," Perhaps, on the Farplane, maybe?" Rikku was so surprised by this comment she guessed that Lentera must have had the same experience. Sorta, considering the fact that the person Rikku loved was a dream. 'I guess I could tell her the truth, just a bit of it' thought Rikku. "Yes, the person I'm looking for, he…. disappeared, I can't find him but I have to go to the Farplane to see if he's there".
Lentera stood up. " Do you feel well enough to go" she asked. Rikku swung her feet over the edge of the bed. Her wound still hurt a lot but she didn't want to waste any more time here. With all the strength she could muster, she stood up, wobbly at first but as she took a few steps her shaky legs became stronger. She faced Lentera. "I am" Rikku replied shortly, nodding her head.
Tidus watched these new images in horror and shock. Rikku fighting a Tonberry. Thinking she won and then getting stabbed by it. Throwing her weapon at it and killing it. Blood everywhere, spilling out of her fragile body. Blacking out. Waking up. But what surprised him most of all, Rikku saying there was someone she thought might be on the Farplane and that he "disappeared" and saying she loved him. Was it him? What about Gippal? Maybe, she didn't love Gippal. Maybe, just maybe….
After saying goodbye to Lentera, Rikku walked to the Farplane. As she approached the gate to the other world, she paused. Her dislike of the Farplane was battling with the urge to see if he was there. And, in Rikku's case, her urges always win and she stepped through the barrier.
It was colder in the Farplane than usual as Rikku stepped through. She shivered, wishing she had warmer clothes. She approached the edge, gazing down into the Farplane's deeps. 'Scary' she thought, seeing the many pyreflies swarming in the valleys but she had no time for this. She closed her eyes and began thinking about Tidus and she opened her eyes.
It wasn't Tidus, more like a shadow of him. Kind of like a black and white Tidus except he was all black. She couldn't even see his face. It was time to tell him. "Hi" she said smiling. "I wasn't sure you'd be here but here you are." She unnecessarily gestured to his shadowy form. She starred up at the endless, cloudy sky of the Farplane. 'Famm, rana kuac hudrehk' she thought. She took a deep breath and looked back at Tidus's image. "Look," she started shakily," there's something I wanted to tell you ever since we first meet". "I…" she began but stopped suddenly. She couldn't tell him. What if he rejected her or he still loved Yuna? She dropped to the ground on her knees, beginning to cry. "I…I.." she stammered. She couldn't take it anymore. "I love you, okay!" Rikku shouted, tears spilling down her face. "I love you and always will even if you still love Yuna! But your gone and ever since you left, I haven't been the same!" the blond yelled. On her knees, her hands on the ground trying to shake the tears away. She looked back up the Tidus's figure. It looked the same as ever. She was foolish to think he was going to come back and they say "I love you" to her. "I miss you…,"she whispered another tear rolling down her face, "Please come back" and for the second time in two days, she blacked out.
Tidus had been watching this, a tear running down his face. So, she really had loved him after all but…there was no way to tell her that he loved her, too.
"You want to tell her, do you not." The fayth of Bahamut had just appeared. Tidus could not speak where he was now so he nodded at Bahamut. "I know she loves you more than anything, but her faith in you is growing smaller because she thinks your never coming back and that you love Lady Yuna." Tidus looked away at this. "I know you don't love Lady Yuna as much as her but I can only give you one chance to tell her." Tidus's head shot up. He looked at the Fayth with a look asking if this was true! "Yes, this is true," said the Fayth smiling. "If you can tell her, she probably go back to normal. She won't hate visiting Yuna or cry herself to sleep anymore." However," the Fayth said sadly," It's just for tonight. Our power isn't strong enough to bring you back forever. Not yet." Tidus was sad but was showing confidence at the Fayth's words.
"When you wake up, you'll be in the Farplane were she is and she'll wake up. You need to prove to her that you are back but just for now and tell her that you love her. I hope for your success." and with that, he vanished. Tidus started feeling hazy. 'It's time,' he thought, 'Rikku, here I come'.
Rikku opened her eyes. "Cruud, E byccat uid" she muttered. She looked up, noticing that Tidus's figure was gone. She stood up, looking down into the Farplane. "Hey, where are you?" she called. She felt stupid, calling for a shadow of someone she loved but she couldn't get any love in return. "Right here." said a familiar voice behind her. She spun around, recognizing the voice at once. It couldn't be….but it was. "Tidus, how the hell did you get here!" said a shocked Rikku. Tidus normally would have laughed but there was no time for joking. It was 11:00. He would only have an hour to tell her and be with her.
"Look, Rikku, there's something I've got to tell you." He normally carefree expression was gone and replaced with a serious look. "Rikku, I-". "Save it" spat Rikku in an angry tone. Tidus looked taken aback. "So, now your trying to get two women? I don't think so". Rikku turned her back to him, her arms crossed. "Two women? Rikku, its never been like that." "What do you mean?" snapped Rikku. She hadn't mean to snap that time. "What I mean is," said Tidus a little angrily," is that I don't love Yuna". Rikku turned her head to look at him. He eyes were sad, full of hurt and trusting. "You really don't?" asked Rikku quietly, still looking at him. "I thought I did, but not like serious love. Just like she were the sister I never had". She turned around quickly, her eyes brimming with tears. She ran into his arms so fast, Tidus barely had time to react. She was sobbing.
"I-I always thought that y-you l-loved Y-Yuna" sobbed Rikku. "I m-mean after you a-and her c-came back from Macalania Lake-". " It's okay, Rikku. I thought I loved her but the night I disappeared I realized I loved someone else." whispered Tidus, stroking her hair. Rikku looked into his aqua blue eyes, her tears diminishing from her face. "Rikku, I love you." They leaned in to kiss. " I love you, too, Tidus". They kissed, sweetly first and then more passionate. After a minute, they broke away and embraced. "Rikku," said Tidus sadly," I need to tell you, I'm not back forever. The Fayth sent me back, just for tonight, so I could tell you I loved you." They broke away from each other. "Will you be back again someday" asked Rikku softly. "No doubt about it" said Tidus in his usual cocky voice. "You'd better show up" she teased.
Just then, the clock struck twelve. Tidus looked at his hands. His transparent hands. Rikku ran and embraced him and whispered into his ear," I knew maybe, just maybe you might love me." She took a step back. "And don't you forget about me" she teased. Tidus smiled and said " It won't be too long" and with that jumped over the edge and disappeared.
Rikku looked down and sure enough, he was gone. Rikku was a little sad a first but remembered he'd given his word he'd come back and she trusted him.
That's when her walkie-talkie buzzed inside her shorts pocket. She grabbed it and turned on. "Rikku, here" she said. "Rikku, get back to the ship immediately. Vydran, kyja ic uin haqd yccekhsahd." Brothers voice rang out. "What's the job?" asked Rikku. "Sphere hunting".
Phew, done! Sorry about the ending. I don't do them to well. Anyway, review if you want.