Hahahahahahahaha! An update! Yay!!!

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Disclaimer: I don't own FFX-2! But I did let Shuyin and Lenne interact with some characters I made.

Lenne's eyes flew open but kept her forehead down on the table she had slammed it upon earlier when a conversation on one of the nearer tables caught her attention where man and a woman were talking. Slowly, the Summoner turned her eyes towards the couple.

The woman was definitely from Luca, judging from those robes she was wearing and the way she styled her dark hair in a multitude of braids. Ladies from Luca were always very flamboyant. The man, on the other hand, was obviously from the town of Kilika, what with his clothes an assortment of knitted fabric and leather belts. He had a funny mustache, each end tipping up on his cheeks. In front of them, on the table were two sphere recorders.

She caught the conversation when the woman was the one talking. "Bevelle has been acting really weird lately. It seems like they had been doubling their guard around their city until Macalania. Whew! Those Bevelle guards give me the creeps..."

Mustache-man shook his head, disgusted. "I know how you feel. Three weeks ago, an emissary from Bevelle came to Luca. They said they were there to evangelize the word of Yevon."

Lenne's ears pricked at the mention of the name. Yevon? She had always cussed to the name, knowing it was like Bevelle's god. She had always taken it as a joke, but never really thought that Bevelle really was taking things seriously.

So now they're evangelizing?

The woman nodded her head vigorously. "In Luca, too. To tell you honestly, it frightened me. Along with that Maester Lua of theirs, they brought along nearly a hundred of them soldiers. Armed! It felt like I was being preached to at gunpoint."

"Funny. They brought soldiers with them to Kilika, too. Why the heck did they bring soldiers to Kilika!? If I hadn't known better, I'd say the rumors were true." Mustache-man ran his hand down the face of his sphere recorder and cringed. "Now that this is all happening, I don't think I would want to be a recorder anymore. You tend to know too much you shouldn't... "

Lenne was unconsciously edging on her seat. She was normally not this eager to eavesdrop on other people but... for some weird reason, she felt like this was too important to miss.

"Me, too. I guess I don't have to ask what you're talking about?"

"You've been to the Council in your town, haven't you?"

"It was the worst experience ever."

The Council?

She could remember the Council in Zanarkand three weeks ago quite well. That was the time when Bevelle had paid them an "unexpected" visit... She was asked by the Council to perform for their "guests" then, and so, out of curiosity and probably out of boredom, she had stayed to listen to what that Measter had to say.

The mere thought of it made the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. The Maester had held the Council at gunpoint and insisted that they enter this sort of "agreement" or allegiance or something that concerns their god. She really didn't know what really happened then, since Choras had dragged her out of there faster that fast, but she did know that it was no good. Bevelle never was up to any good.

Zanarkand had bluntly refused their offer.

"They told us that if we do not join in their cause, it will get ugly..."

The woman shuddered. "They told us the same thing..."

Us, too. Lenne thought, trying to rid herself of the gooseflesh on her arms.

The man started to wring his hands together nervously. "We had to agree. Kilika is such a small town. We can't really defend ourselves."

"The council in Luca had agreed, too. I heard Besaid agreed as well. Come to think of it, Besaid is such a pushover it'll agree on anything."

Mustache-man looked over his shoulder to the people gathered at the back of the lobby. Lenne assumed that they were with the lady from Luca. "So Bevelle sent you and your party to go to Zanarkand, too?"

Lenne's back automatically straightened. HUH?

"Yes. And you? Oh, don't tell me they sent you, too. Where's your party?"

"Outside. We weren't able to get rooms..."

Lenne couldn't take it anymore. She slammed her palms on the table and was about to stand to ask the couple outright when Xarinne's heavy hand landed on her shoulder.

"Shuyin is decent. Lenne told Xarinne to call when Shuyin is decent," the Ronso announced.

Lenne nibbled on her lower lip, suddenly feeling anxious of what all these people were going to do in her hometown. But Shuyin needed her, and so she had to go.

Standing up from the chair, she followed the eight-foot tall Ronso back to room 434, her head in the clouds.

Bevelle is forcing Yevon to Spira. Zanarkand is the only city that refused...What will happen now?

Memories of her concert days ago haunted her as she made her way down the hall. Shuyin had known what was going on. He had automatically associated the suicide bombing to a war. How?

What was Bevelle planning?

"Is Lenne all right?"

Lenne shook herself out of her reverie at the sound of Xarinne's voice. "Oh, I'm fine." She watched as the Ronso gazed down at her and shrugged, not saying anything until they finally reached the room.

At the very moment she stepped inside, Bevelle, the war, and the whole conversation she had just heard altogether flew out the window.

"XARINNE! I TOLD YOU TO DRESS HIM UP!!!" Lenne squealed as she saw Shuyin lying on the bed with a blanket covering him from the waist down, his broad upper body still exposed. The reason why she knew he wasn't wearing anything else was because she saw his pants on the floor, rumpled and forgotten by the bathroom door.

Xarinne grinned sheepishly. Lenne was fond of the Ronso to death, but she swore right then, she wanted to kick him in the you-know-what just to wipe that grin off of his face. "Xarinne tried, Lenne. Xarinne tried for thirty minutes, but Shuyin would not cooperate. It no matter. Lenne will not stay here anyway."

She felt the blood rise to her face, then drain out instantaneously. Feeling slightly weak, she leaned with one hand on the wall, her other hand rubbing her temple. "Xarinne, there aren't any more rooms. I don't have a choice but to sleep here tonight."

Xarinne brushed her statement aside. "That is all right. Shuyin sleeps like rock. Shuyin can even sleep in boat deck and not wake up. Shuyin will not mind."

"Xarinne, I mind." Lenne felt her knees wobble at the thought that not only did she have to share a bed with Shuyin, but had to share a bed with a naked Shuyin!

Her eyes scanned the room desperately. Maybe she could just sleep on the floor. There's a carpet that definitely looked heaps more comfortable that the cave floor at Mt. Gagazet.

She was seriously considering it, but then the fact that she had actually spent two thousand gil paraded in her mind. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she knew there was no way she was going to sleep on the floor while Shuyin enjoyed the comforts of these overpriced accommodations!

She then tried to rationalize.

It's a big enough bed. I mean, he's there, all the way on the other side.

After rationalizing, she started weighing the pros and cons of the situation.

Pro: Shuyin probably does sleep like a rock. He really wouldn't know I'm beside him until I finally wake up in the morning before him. Con: He might wake up before I do, and I'm dead. Pro: Shuyin didn't look like he moved around too much in his sleep. I mean, look at him! He's hardly moving at all! Con: What if he did move a lot, contrary to my assumptions?

Lenne shivered. This was going to be a really long night.

Xarinne really looked apologetic. "I am sorry, Lenne." Shuyin really wouldn't move. Shuyin would just lie there. But at least Shuyin is feeling a lot better. Still has fever, but not as much."

Lenne cringed inwardly. Whoopee...

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She had tried everything to keep herself from sleeping. By ten, Xarinne had left "their room", announcing that he will be "sleeping under the stars". She had been ever so tempted to come with him, but her fear for Shuyin's well-being got the better of her.

By ten thirty, she tried to practice her Cure spells, which she found out only earlier in the day she knew some. It must have come along with her union with Mayali's Aeon. She even tried it a bit on Shuyin, but since it was a fever that he had, her spell really didn't help him.

By eleven, she started walking around the room, once in a while looking over the sleeping man on the bed and wondering how he was feeling now.

By eleven fifteen, she noticed Shuyin's pants and folded it up neatly, then placed it on the chair next to his shirt.

Then, by twelve, the unexpected happened. She was sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed when Shuyin started to shiver. The sound of his teeth chattering got her to her feet and in a panic.

Shuyin was shivering madly. In a rush, Lenne grabbed the end of the blanket and pushed it up to his chin. Great. Now what was she to do?

What was it that Choras told her when the patient starts to shiver? Oh, yeah! You have to balance the temperature or something like that...

Oh, no...

Lenne bit her lower lip nervously. Choras said that if the patient's fever doesn't break soon...

Ulp!

Lenne started to wring her sweaty hands furiously, pacing back and forth at the side of the bed. She watched as Shuyin continued to violently quiver on the bed.

Choras said that you have to regulate the other person's body temperature by...

Oh, Yevon!

By using your own body temperature. So that means...

Lenne sighed in resignation. Fine. I'll lie with Shuyin.

As she kicked off her boots, she started to rationalize again. I have no choice. Shuyin needs this. So like... I HAVE TO DO THIS! She decided to go for it before she lost her nerve. Slowly and quietly, she sat on the bed. She cringed as it creaked noisily under her weight. She didn't remember it being that noisy before. She was probably nervous. Gently, she inched towards his shaking body and laid her head on the pillow he was using. She didn't bother to slip under the sheets - she didn't dare get that bold as to venture that territory – and lightly put her arms around his shoulders.

Swallowing hard, she pressed close to him, feeling his body radiating the fever's heat. Perhaps it was an unconscious reaction, but when she went nearer to him, he leaned onto her form, as if knowing that it would do him all the good if he pressed near her.

Lenne blinked and slowly raised her eyes to his face. His eyes were shut tight and she realized he was breathing through his mouth.

Shuyin has a nice mouth...

Lenne immediately beat the thought into submission and tossed it out of her mind, her face heating up again. Why is it that Shuyin would always have that effect on her?!

Just when she thought it wouldn't get any worse, Shuyin's arms suddenly slipped around her waist, and she gasped as he pulled her closer. Out of reflex, Lenne tried to shove him off, but his strength surprised her. He held on, crushing her to him, like how he did in Fayth Scar. After struggling for a few moments, she sighed in resignation and just lay there silently, listening to his labored breathing and to her heart that was beating a mile a minute.

She closed her eyes then let her thoughts linger elsewhere. She began to think about the conversation she had overheard earlier and she began to worry all over again. What was that about anyway? What will they do in Zanarkand?

Had it not been for Shuyin, who suddenly pressed his mouth near her ear, she would have went on and on thinking about it all night, but then, he murmured the most unexpected phrase she had never thought would pass his lips.

"Don't leave me..."

For a moment, Lenne started to panic, her eyes flying open. Was he just pretending to be asleep and is really aware of her lying next to him?

Lenne instantly brushed the thought away as Shuyin continued to murmur.

"I have to save her..."

Lenne didn't know if she should be happy that Shuyin was, in fact, asleep, or feel uncomfortable lying next to him while he dreamed of another girl.

The mere thought made her smile sadly.

Oh, well...

Snuggling near him, making sure his body was covered complete by the blanket, she closed her eyes and fell asleep to that tingle of jealousy that confused the heck out of her head, and her heart even more.

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His whole body was like it was made of lead, and his joints were not cooperating with him when he tried to stretch. Not only this, but his eyelids were so heavy he couldn't open his eyes. The only thing he was aware of was the squawking of chocobos from somewhere outside. Gathering all his will power to peel his eyes open, he finally managed and found himself staring at a colorful ceiling. He was lying on his back, his one arm on his chest, the other was pinned down by something next to him...

He turned to his right to see what it was, and his once heavy eyes widened in panic at what he saw.

There, snuggled close to his side, was a sleeping Lenne, her dark hair fanned out on his arm! His face heated up instantaneously. He swallowed nervously, looking around for any means of getting out of bed without waking her up. After several futile attempts of pulling his arm free, with a grunt from the sleeping woman every time he pulled, he gave up.

He could barely remember what had happened to him yesterday. The last thing he could recall was that they reached the Agency. After that, everything was unclear.

Once again, he cursed himself for having been really careless about that White Fang wound. He should have known better than to have underestimated that attack. Being utterly helpless in his current position, he went back to his usual past time: staring at the ceiling. He began to wonder what had led him to this predicament. Why in Spira is Lenne sleeping beside me? And to think she called me a pervert...

He felt his body involuntarily shiver. He swore there was a draft coming from somewhere... Finally, realization hit him. In a rush, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and peered in.

Holy Bahamut! I'm naked!!!

He snapped the blanket back down and realized he was breathing hard. This was just great. He was trapped, and he didn't have any clothes on! He tried to calm himself, regulated his breathing, then sighed. This was not turning out to be a good day...

He eyed the closed blinds on the tall window on the far wall. There was a little bit of light slipping in, but not enough for him to know what time it was.

Slowly, he turned to look at her sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, her mouth slightly open, her chest rising and falling as she breathed. He couldn't help himself. Gingerly, he reached with his free hand as if to brush her hair – he had always wondered how it would feel to run his fingers through her hair – when suddenly, her big, grey eyes popped open. Shuyin felt his heart jump to his throat. For a moment, they stared at each other, neither breathing nor blinking. Then, with a gasp, she catapulted so fast into a sitting position that she almost fell out of bed.

At first, Shuyin didn't move from his place - he really still felt weak – until Lenne started to pull on the blanket nervously. Selfishly, Shuyin pulled it back. "Hey, sharing is good, you know." He could hardly recognize his voice. He didn't care. He needed that blanket.

Lenne stubbornly held on, pulling on it dangerously hard. "I know."

Shuyin sighed in exasperation. Why is it that he always had to be caught into embarrassing situations with this woman anyway? "Lenne, if you have to know, I don't have anything under these sheets but my skin. Normally, I don't mind letting you have everything I could offer, but I have to ask you nicely, just this time, can you please let me have the blanket?"

Lenne stared at him with a pout, then finally let go of her end of the blanket.

When she did, Shuyin snatched it out of arm's reach just in case she changed her mind. After a while, when Lenne just sat there, her face becoming redder by the minute, he cleared his throat. "So tell me. What's going on? Why are you here and why on earth am I undressed?" At this, he narrowed his eyes at her. "This isn't another prank of yours, is it?" He could vaguely remember Lenne had loved to put him on the spot by making him uncomfortable when it came to that.

But she shook her head. For some weird reason, he was expecting for her to protest, but right then, she just... silently explained. "It's not a prank, Shuyin. You probably don't remember it, but you collapsed the moment we got to the Agency front. I tried to rent out two rooms, but since the Al Bhed behind the counter was as knowledgeable of English as I was with their language - " she scratched her head sheepishly. "- I ended up getting a room for two instead. I tried to reason with him, but there weren't any more rooms left. I even tried not sleeping but somewhere around midnight, you started to get a chill. I didn't know what to do, so I did the thing Choras taught me to do when a person has a fever," she said quietly, shyly. "So I lay down next to you."

Shuyin blinked, then realized that had it not been for her, he didn't know what would have happened to him. Shyly gathering the blanket near him, he scratched his head. "Thank you."

Lenne eyed him a moment, then looked away. "You would have done the same thing for me, right?"

Shuyin shook his head seriously. "Heck no. I'd never so much as touch you with a ten foot pole if I knew you were naked. I don't want to be called a pervert," he said, clearly remembering the gorge incident not too long ago.

Lenne narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, you were looking up my skirt."

"I had no choice."

"Yeah, well you still saw up my skirt. What color are my undies?"

"I don't know," he lied.

"Shuyin!" With this, Lenne snatched back one end of the blanket and threatened to pull.

"I really don't know! All I remember was that it had a lot of lace..."

"You did see it!"

"I'm sorry! I couldn't help but see! I had to catch you. You owe me your neck, you know."

Girls were weird. You tell them you don't know and they don't believe you, then when you tell them the truth, they threaten you!

Lenne let go of the blanket and got up from the bed. She tiptoed on the carpeted floor lightly. She really had the grace of a dancer. It was then did he realize Lenne had such small feet.

What the heck am I thinking, looking at her feet? Not that feet were the sexiest part of the human body, but it was a funny feeling, seeing her without boots. She had such translucent skin...

"I'll be in the bathroom, so you make sure you're dressed up when I come out. Oh, and Shuyin?"

"Yeah?"

"My purse is in my bag. I only realized yesterday that I'm bad at budgeting. Can you keep it for me?"

"Sure. It's in you bag?"

"Yeah."

With that, she disappeared inside the bathroom.

Shuyin smiled. He remembered Lenne's escapade at speaking to an Al Bhed and couldn't help but laugh. How could she have mistaken getting a room for two, instead of two rooms?

As Lenne disappeared into the bathroom, he gathered his clothes and started to get dressed in a hurry.

The last thing he wanted was to have her walk in on him without pants.

When he got dressed, he got the purse full of gil from Lenne's bag and conveniently slipped it inside his belt bag.

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Lenne and Shuyin walked side by side into the lobby of the Agency and found Xarinne sitting on the bench which was the only thing big enough for him to sit on. Lenne noticed that the group of people that crowded the lobby yesterday was gone.

It was awfully quiet, and except for one man in blue breeches and a black, heavy looking coat who looked like he was in his early twenties, the lobby was empty. Even that round man, Ran, was not there behind his counter.

Lenne let her eyes watch the man in breeches and nibbled her lower lip. He had the weirdest hair. It was light blue, neatly cut behind but long bangs covering half of his face, and so Lenne couldn't see what he looked like.

Not that she cared. She wouldn't want to see him anytime soon anyway.

When Xarinne saw them approach, he stood up with a broad smile on his face. "Good morning, Shuyin. Good morning, Lenne. Xarinne is glad Shuyin is well."

Lenne smiled at him. For someone who was that big, he sure acted like a little child. "How was your sleep?" she asked the Ronso.

Xarinne frowned. "Even under stars, it is still too warm. Where are we off to next?"

Shuyin secured his broadsword on his hip. "That's kind of the hard part. We're going into Macalania Woods. There are chances that we might end up encountering people from Bevelle. That's not good."

Lenne remembered the conversation again, of what the Maester of Bevelle wanted. She turned to Shuyin and wanted to tell this to him, but decided that maybe it wasn't the right time. Maybe she will ask this of him when they get past Bevelle already. "So, what are we going to do?"

"I think I know a way. We can't possibly skip too far away from the trail. There's a temple in Macalania. If we skip it, you'll miss your second Aeon."

Lenne blinked in amazement. "Really? There's a Fayth in Macalania Woods?"

Shuyin stared at her in disbelief, then shook his head. "Lenne, let me just ask you this. You were so confident on going through your pilgrimage alone, and you don't even know where the Fayth are? What exactly were you planning had I not come along?"

Lenne grinned sheepishly, sticking out her tongue playfully. "Give this little girl a break, you."

Just then, the weird man burst out laughing and spoke loudly in the Al Bhed language. "Fryd y brelg. Dryd'c y Summoner"

"Huh?" Lenne murmured as she curiously turned to the man.

The next thing that happened caught her off-guard. One moment, Shuyin was beside her, the next, he was running to the man, and in a flash, he had him by the collar, raising the man by his heavy shirt about a foot off the floor.

"Shuyin? What are you doing???" Lenne cried out, fear gripping her by the neck.

The next that came out of Shuyin's mouth made her gape in amazement.

"Ybumkewa do Lenne!" Shuyin muttered menacingly at the man, his eyes – Oh, Yevon those eyes – had the violently wild glint in them.

Shuyin knows Al Bhed?

The man, shocked at first, probably because he wasn't expecting anyone in the room to understand him, gritted his teeth and stared back at Shuyin boldly, although she didn't know how that man did it. Shuyin's eyes looked so scary that way. "Hu. Fro cruit E?"

Shuyin gave the man a shake and spoke even louder. "Palyice eu Oui tuh'd, E'mm phayg ouin halg."

The man narrowed his eyes at the very angry Shuyin. "Tch! Veha. E's cunno..."

Shuyin shook him again. "Muug yd ran yht cyo ed eh English!"

Tha man looked at her. Lenne gasped. He had the sharpest green eyes she had ever seen, and even at that distance, she could see the rings in his irises. "I'm sorry," he said, addressing her.

Huh?

Lenne felt herself finally breathe as Shuyin let the man drop down on the ground like a sack of potatoes. The man crumpled in a heap, hand on neck.

What did that man say anyway? Why did he apologize?

Lenne didn't care. She ran to Shuyin and gripped his arm tightly. "What is wrong with you? Why did you attack him?"

Shuyin was still looking dangerously at the man, who in turn was staring back at him with equal hatred. "He said something he shouldn't."

Lenne nervously looked at him. "What?"

"He said something he shouldn't have said about you." He turned his eyes to him, and Lenne felt relief flood her heart when she saw his eyes were back to normal, gentle, as if he were looking down at a child. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

Lenne didn't believe it. She gazed down at the man worriedly. Boy, he was scary when he gets mad...

What did that man say about me...?

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Hello! Finally I get to update! You might think nothing much happened in this chapter, but that guy that Shuyin strangled is someone who will play an important role in Lenne's pilgrimage... I was thinking of a Rikku counterpart. Oh, well.

Oh, and to those who don't have an Al Bhed translator, the conversation went like this.

????: What a prick. That's a Summoner?

Shuyin: Apologize to Lenne!

????: No. Why should I?

Shuyin: Because if you don't, I'll beak your neck.

????: Tch! Fine. I'm sorry.

Shuyin: Look at her and say it in English!